CWA District 7 Occupational Safety and Health Retreat

On May 5-6, District 7 and the Union's Occupational Safety and Health Department conducted the District's Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Retreat. The retreat was held for the primary purposes of bringing local OSH health activists together to:

• Discuss, coordinate, and develop tactics and strategies focused upon identifying, preventing, and/or resolving member workplace safety and health hazards and related illnesses, injuries, and fatalities,
• Share information on successes and failures, and
• Establish and further communication and networking between and among national, district, and local OSH activists.

Participants included thirty-nine OSH activists from 20 District 7 locals,District 7 Headquarters (Vice President Annie Hill and CWA Representative Joe Petersen), and CWA Headquarters (David LeGrande, Charlie Barrett,and Chris Witkowski, AFA-CWA). Of these,

• Twenty-seven activists (representing 15 local unions) were employed within/represented the Telecommunications Sector;
• Three from CWA Local 7781 which represents ski patrol workers and;
• Two each from local unions within the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and the National Coalition of Public Safety Officers.

The District 7 OSH Retreat targeted several important issues including: 

• The roles and responsibilities of employers as well as the Union's OSH activists in addressing workplace safety and health issues;
• Hazards associated with contaminated indoor air, potable water, and pesticides used on airplanes, as well as the Transportation Safety Administration's decision to allow passengers to carry once-prohibited items (e.g., blades and scissors) on airplanes;
• Workplace hazards associated with methamphetamine labs as experienced by public safety officers, i.e., police officers;
• Occupational safety and health issues unique to ski patrollers; Workplace ergonomics issues faced by telecommunications computer and craft workers;
• Using joint and union occupational safety and health committees to identify and resolve safety and health concerns; and
• Developing occupational safety and health education and training activities and programs.

The district retreat successfully achieved its primary objectives, i.e., to identify local union needs, develop and continue the use of ongoing safety and health networks, and coordinate safety and health projects with the Union's leaders and safety and health activists. These goals were primarily achieved through the delivery
of ten presentations by selected OSH activists during four defined panel sessions, as well as follow-up discussions involving all retreat participants. Presentations targeted real-life, day-to-day activities of CWA leaders, members, and OSH activists.

Going beyond the District retreat, in coordination with the Union's Occupational Safety and Health  Department, District 7 Headquarters will work with local union leadership and OSH activists to develop and implement identification and resolution efforts.

Where possible, this work will place emphasis upon identifying and resolving workplace safety and health concerns/problems within the collective bargaining environment.

Attached are the retreat agenda and participant list.

CWA District 7 CWA Occupational Safety and Health Retreat

May 5-6, 2006

The Yarrow Hotel - Park City, Utah - Friday, May 5, 2006

7:00-9:00 p.m.  Reception

Saturday, May 6, 2006

8:30-9:15 a.m. Welcome and Introduction  

                           Annie Hill, Vice President, CWA District 7
                                Kent Anderson, President, CWA Local 7704
                                Lee Linford, CWA President, CWA Local 7705
                                David LeGrande, CWA Occupational Safety
                                and Health Director

 9:15-10:00           "Workplace Safety and Health: Who's Responsible"

                           Joe Petersen, CWA Representative

10:00- 10:15         Break

10:15-12:00         Local Union Issues (Panel Session)

                          "Flight Attendant Safety and Health Issues",

                          Karyn Kobe, Chair, MEC Air, Safety, Health, 
                               and Security Committee- Alaska Airlines, 
                               AFA-CWA

                         "Public Safety Officer Workplace Safety and Health 
                          Hazards,"

                          Dirk Roesler and Shawn Roberts, Salt 
                               Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Federation,
                               NCPSO-CWA

                         "Ski Patrol Safety and Health Issues,"

                         Noah Keller, Unit Vice President, 
                              CWA Local 7781

                         "Repetitive Motion Health Disorders and
                         Employer Costs,"

                         David LeGrande, CWA Occupational Safety 
                              and Health Department

12:00-1:15 p.m.   Lunch

1:15-2:45            Using Joint and Union Occupational Safety and Health 
                         Committees to Identify/Resolve Safety and Health
                         Issues (Panel Session)

                         "Making the Joint/Union Occupational Safety and   
                          Health Committee Work on Behalf of CWA"

                          Dennis Garrett, Vice President,
                               CWA Local 7804

                          Chuck Mitchell, President, 
                               CWA Local 7790

                         "Workplace Ergonomics,"

                        Terry Wich, CWA Local 7019

2:45-3:00 Break

3:00-4:30            Developing Occupational Safety and 
                         Health Education and Training
                         Activities/Programs

                       "Occupational Stress" and "Workplace 
                        Ergonomics"                                       

                       David LeGrande, CWA Occupational Safety 
                           and Health Department

                       Participatory Session: "Local Union Needs,"

                       Joe Petersen, CWA Representative

4:30-4:45         Closing Remarks and Participant Comments