District 1 Members Share Safety and Health Strategies

Fifty CWA members from District 1 participated in the district's annual Occupational Safety and Health Retreat.

IUE-CWA and NABET-CWA locals were among 23 locals participating in the March 13-14 event in Rye Brook, N.Y.

Training sessions and panel discussions explored topics including ergonomic safety for nurses handling patients, hazardous materials awareness, how industry and sector changes are affecting health and safety on the job, and preventing workplace violence.

In a session led by District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton, members discussed how the Employee Free Choice Act will make jobs safer by expanding collective bargaining and the presence of union-management health and safety committees. Another discussion looked at the Blue/Green alliance and how labor-environmental partnerships can help safeguard workers and communities.

From nurses to office workers to phone technicians climbing poles and manufacturing workers handling potential toxins, CWA Occupational Safety and Health Director Dave LeGrande said CWA members face hazards on the job every day.

"All too often workplace exposure to hazardous chemicals, poorly designed equipment and tools, stressful working conditions and other hazards results in member injuries and illnesses," LeGrande said. "The conferences we hold regionally and nationally to address these issues are vitally important, because we can learn from each other and make everyone safer by sharing and coordinating our tactics, strategies, successes and failures."