Coworkers of City Colleges worker who died from coronavirus weren’t warned after possible exposure, union says

Chicago City College officials didn’t alert the coworkers of a Wright College employee who died this week of complications from the coronavirus after they may have been exposed to the virus, according to unions representing college employees.

The unions said City Colleges has also not released a safety plan for employees, provided them with a list of essential employees who are still required to report to work at the buildings nor consistently provided personal protective equipment to those workers.

Carmelita Cristobal, 71, died Tuesday at Resurrection Medical Center on the Northwest Side of acute respiratory distress syndrome brought on by a COVID-19 infection, with cardiovascular disease and diabetes as contributing factors, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

In a video-streamed announcement Thursday afternoon, Tony Johnston, president of the Cook County College Teaches Union Local 1600, said Cristobal was sent home from work after potentially interacting with other employees on March 16.

“We don’t know whether the City Colleges took any action, contacted the health officials, or did anything else,” Johnston said. “We need to be assured that the City Colleges is taking care of our members because we still have personnel who are considered essential employees that are required to report to work.”

College officials announced six additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the school’s community Tuesday, bringing the total to 9, but said, “we will no longer notify the CCC community regarding a community member being diagnosed with COVID-19, except as otherwise directed by [the city’s department of public health].”

“City Colleges has been notified that one of our employees, who had COVID-19, has passed away. We are mourning the loss of our beloved community member. Due to privacy, no other details will be shared,” a spokeswoman for the colleges said in a statement Thursday.

The statement also said that “City Colleges has followed the direction and guidance of the Chicago Department of Public Health on all COVID-19 matters ... and will continue to do so throughout this pandemic.”

Audrey Butler, the executive vice president of the Federation of College Clerical and Technical Personnel Local 1708, said school officials weren’t transparent about what occurred and the impact it could have on other workers and their families, some of whom are older.

Butler said workers who noticed Cristobal wasn’t on a recent Zoom conference after the campuses were closed were told she was hospitalized with bronchitis.

Johnston said about 450 security employees work on campus — although their shifts recently have been cut back and they are continuing to be paid — and between 7 and 12 information technology employees at each school are still reporting to work.

“They might not be considered first responders in the sense of things, but they are first responders for us,” Delores Withers, president of Local 1708, said. “There is no safety plan that city colleges is conveying to us.”

Union officials said City Colleges has not provided a list of the number of employees who have been still reporting to campuses and have not consistently maintained and provided personal protective equipment like sanitizer or gloves.

A City Colleges spokeswoman said all janitors are provided with gloves for regular cleaning, hand sanitizer dispensers are available throughout all the colleges and that staff were cleaning and disinfecting all facilities throughout this time period, including where essential staff remain.

Choking up at times, Butler, who worked with Cristobal, said she was well known across the Wright College community.

“Carmelita was a beautiful person. If you needed help, she helped you,” Butler said.