OSH Bulletin - February 2007 CWA Occupational Safety and Health Conference, March 23-35, 2007

CWA Occupational Safety and Health Conference, March 23-35, 2007

The Union's Occupational Safety and Health Conference will be held March 23-25, 2007 at the Holiday Inn on the Hill in Washington, D.C. The conference will focus upon issues such as the CWA's Steward's Army: the role of OSH activists, electrical hazards within the telecommunications industry, and using the collective bargaining process to improve working conditions and help build and strengthen the Union. In addition, workshops will be conducted on a variety of issues including indoor air quality, electrical hazards, using your OSHA and legal rights, and establishing and maintaining effective occupational safety and health committees. Immediately preceding the conference, two four-hour training sessions will be held on "Working With or Within Close Proximity to Power Lines/Electrical Hazards" and "Emergency Response/Hazardous Materials." 

The conference will immediately precede CWA's Legislative Conference, March 25-28. Holding the conferences back-to-back will assist OSH activists in broadening our work by linking occupational safety and health and legislative activities.

Click here for the conference agenda.  You can view and print the conference registration form here [Acrobat 14 K].  Please return the completed conference registration form and send the $100 fee by February 22, 2007.

Hotel reservations must be made directly with the Holiday Inn on the Hill @ 1-800-465-4329 OR 1-800-884-7202. When making reservations, mention you will be attending the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Conference. This will guarantee a room rate of $149 plus tax for single or double occupancy.

The cut-off date for hotel reservations is Thursday, February 22, 2007.

If you have any questions, regarding the conference, please contact David LeGrande at:
E-mail: legrande@cwa-union.org

CWA Leads Push in Wake of Member Electrocutions

With four electrocution deaths among Verizon technicians since last May and a growing list of CWA telecom members nationwide badly injured by power lines, union leaders say electrical hazards are at a critical point and are demanding action from employers.

CWA, along with the IBEW, met with Verizon last month to talk about changes in education, training, tools and equipment to try to ensure that no one else is killed or disabled by telecom workers' proximity to power lines.

"They seem receptive to our concerns," said Ron Collins, Assistant to District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci. "But it's going to be up to the union leaders and union members at Verizon to hold management accountable, to follow through."

More injuries and near-misses also have been reported by CWA members at AT&T, particularly in California. Leaders there have met with the company and have seen some improvements in its published safety policies and practices. National and local leaders hope to future meetings with the company.

The most recent electrical injury among CWA technicians occurred in December in Northern California. In that case, a member of Local 9431 suffered severe burns and nerve damage in his hands when he came in contact with a power line while working to install telephone wire for AT&T.

Dave LeGrande, CWA Safety and Health Director, said CWA fears the risk is growing in part because employers are cutting costs by hiring fewer workers and pushing existing technicians to work faster. "We are concerned that management's productivity demands are causing some workers to cut corners and not adhere to safety procedures," he said.

Collins said he raised that issue with Verizon executives. "My question to them was, "Do you tell your field managers to encourage your workers, our members, to perform all of their safety checks every day?" They said that they do. We said that's not happening, that there's a push to "hurry, hurry, hurry, let's get one more job done."

Collins said future meetings are expected between the unions and Verizon and that CWA wants to provide the company with concrete examples of supervisors failing to encourage safety checks and workers feeling forced to rush. He asked that members with such experiences tell their local leaders, and that those leaders contact CWA staff.

CWA's Safety and Health Department has listed various near-misses, injuries and fatalities in a new seven-page safety fact sheet that is posted online here.

The paper discusses the need for various types of training, safety equipment and regular "tailgate" meetings as work is assigned to focus on health and safety issues specific to a job and worksite.

All locals whose members work near power lines are urged to post and distribute the fact sheet. LeGrande, who also attended the Verizon meeting, is continuing to ask locals to report all electrical accidents or near-misses to him at legrande@cwa-union.org.

Near-misses may cause injuries, or simply alert officials to potential dangers. In Redding, Calif., for instance, a local 9419 member working on an aerial platform recently noticed an arcing bridle wire. He further inspected the area and discovered that one leg of the power line had broken away from its electrical insulator. Hr called the power company and notified AT&T.

Union leaders say the four Verizon deaths over the past eight months-- two CWA members and two IBEW-- are the most they've ever heard of in so short a time. LeGrande said the four other members have died of electrocution over the past eight years.

The most recent death occurred last October when a local 2100 technician installing fiber optic cable near Baltimore-Washington International Airport was electrocuted while working in an aerial bucket. Mark Balsamo, Vice President of the local and its safety and health chair, also attended the Verizon meeting.

(This article was reprinted from the January 11, 2007 edition of the CWA "Newsletter.")

Employers Must Post OSHA Logs Through April 30

Beginning February 1 through April 30, 2007, employers must post a summary of the total number of work-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during 2006. This information, contained on the OSHA 300A Log or an equivalent form, will provide an indication of the employer's provision of safe and healthful working conditions.

CWA leaders and workplace safety and health activists should review the posted information to ensure it includes all of the OSHA recordable cases of workplace injuries and illnesses. Also, local occupational safety and health activists should go one step further by requesting a copy of the OSHA 300 Log. This Log contains more detailed information about the summarized data contained on the OSHA 300A Log, 

If local leaders and activists identify cases that should have been included on the Logs, please contact the nearest office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration or, in states with state-administered plans, the appropriate state office and bring this issue to the agency's attention. If you need assistance in completing this process or have questions or comments regarding the injury and illness logs or a related issue, please contact the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department at:
Web site: www.cwasafetyandhealth.org
Telephone: 202-434-1100.

Federal Highway Administration Issues Rule Requiring High-Visibility Clothing

The Federal Highway Safety Administration recently published a final rule requiring the use of high-visibility safety clothing for workers, including telecommunications and emergency employees, in the right of way of federal-aid highways. The rule requires employers to comply with the American National Standard for "High-Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear" as developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Safety Equipment Association. The standard covers workers whose job assignment places them in the right of way of a federal aid highway, including telecommunications and other utility workers as well as construction, maintenance, emergency response, and law enforcement employees. A copy of the rule, 23 CFR  634, can be obtained by going to www.fhwa.gov.