CWA District 3 Occupational Safety & Health Retreat

Under the leadership of District 3 Vice President Noah Savant and with assistance of Booker Lester, Administrative Director to the Vice President, the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department conducted the CWA District 3 Occupational Safety and Health Retreat, May 17, 2008. Forty-six (46) local union safety and health activists representing 22 local unions participated in the Retreat held at the Jacksonville Crowne Plaza Riverfront in Jacksonville, Florida. Also, immediately preceding the Retreat, on May 15-16 the Department and the Center for Labor Education and Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama conducted a training session targeting Emergency Response/Hazardous Materials.

Organized and conducted under the direction of the Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department, the Occupational Safety and Health Retreat focused upon:

• Coverage of the Employee Free Choice Act
• Two separate panels targeting local union safety and health issues and using joint and union occupational safety and health committees to identify/resolve safety and health issues
• Developing state-based occupational safety and health committees and  
• Electrical hazards training.

During a spirited session, Booker Lester highlighted the key elements of the Employee Free Choice Act. His excellent presentation supplemented the key issues with information from and the experience of CWA and, in general, the labor movement regarding the many attempts to organize workers only to be turned back by employers’ illegal actions of firing, threatening, and intimidating involved workers as well as the Bush Administration’s apparent support of these illegal activities.

Citing AT&T Mobility (formerly Cingular) as a primary example, Booker discussed the importance of employer neutrality during the union organizing campaigns as well as the use of card-check procedures in recognizing the collective bargaining status of the Union. After his presentation, a question/answer session was conducted in which several participants joined in.

Panels focused upon “Local Union Issues,” and “Using Joint and Union Occupational Safety and Health Committees to Identify/Resolve Safety and Health Issues,” and forming state-based occupational safety and health coordinating committees. Led by several District 3 local union leaders and occupational safety and health activists, the panels targeted a number of important district and local union safety and health concerns.

Topics discussed during the “Local Union Issues” panel included:

• “Customer Service Representative Workplace Ergonomics Issues” (presented by Laura Comella, Vice President of AT&T Information Systems,
• CWA Local 3106), “Telecommunications Technician/Craft Worker Ergonomic Concerns” (presented by Steve Shaw, Secretary, CWA Local 3106),         
• “Using the OSHA Sanitation Standard to Ensure Employer’s are Providing Sanitary Bathroom Facilities and Allowing Workers to Use Such Facilities without Fear of Discrimination/Harassment” (presented by Lisa Brown, Safety and Health Chair, CWA Local 3204) and
• “Public Worker Safety and Health Legislation Passed in the 2008 Florida Legislative Session (presented by Gayle Marie Perry, CWA Local 3104 and Chair of the CWA District 3 Florida Council).

Subjects targeted during the “Using Joint and Union Occupational Safety and Health Committees to Identify/Resolve Safety and Health Issues” included:

• “Developing a Joint CWA/AT&T Confined Spaces Training Program,” presented by Paul Pearson, CWA Local 3410,
• “Identifying and Resolving Encapsulant/Plugging Compound Safety and Health Concerns with AT&T” presented by Harry Jones, CWA Local 3450,
• “Safety and Health Advances Achieved by the Joint CWA/AT&T Louisiana State Safety and Health Committee” presented by Dugg Harrison, President, CWA Local 3411, and
• A brainstorming session regarding the formation of CWA state safety and health coordinating committees within existing CWA state councils.   

Overall, as a result of participant discussion and involvement, the Retreat was a tremendous success. On a final note, local union activists thanked District 3 and the Safety and Health Department for conducting the Retreat and offered strong opinions regarding the need for CWA to continue the district retreat and national conference format, i.e., conducting the retreats and national conference on an alternative year schedule.  

As noted, on May 15-16, immediately preceding the Retreat, the Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department and the Center for Labor Education and Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama held a training session on Emergency -Response/Hazardous Materials. Extending over a day and one-half, the session focused upon a number of important and timely issues including:

• Emergency Response/Hazardous Materials,
• Methamphetamine Labs (targeting the hazardous materials used to make methamphetamine, potential exposure to and health effects associated with these hazards, and exposure/health-prevention/resolution techniques), and
• Hurricane and Tornado Emergency Response (Of note, this was the initial class in which this favorably received subject has been presented).   

In the future, the Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department looks forward to working with CWA national and local officers, staff, and local union safety and health activists as the Department continues to organize and conduct District Occupational Safety and Health Retreats and other activities.

CWA District 3 Occupational Safety and Health Retreat List of Participants

CWA Local 3105

• Rick Eddie, Vice President

CWA Local 3106

• Laura Comella, Vice president, ATTIS
• Steve Shaw, Treasurer

CWA Local 3110

• Carlyle Holder
• Charles Hubbard
• Tammy Smolinsky

CWA Local 3111

• Jeff Williams

CWA Local 3122

• Marc Hansman
• Mayra Mayol
• Sherri Perez
• Terry Sell
• Nancy Underwood

CWA Local 3179

• Randy Higgins
• Lester Pulfer

CWA Local 3204

• Lisa Brown
• Susan Moss, Vice President

CWA Local 3250

• Harry Jones

CWA Local  3310

• Diogenes Miller

CWA Local  3315

• Terry Buchholz

CWA Local  3403

• Walter Bagot, President
• Dwaine Henderson

CWA Local 3404

• Wayne Ballard
• Steve Lewis

CWA Local 3406

• Bobby Beller
• Kendrick Benoit
• Jean Gaye, Jr.

CWA Local 3407

• Katherine Hay, President
• Mike Gary, Secretary-Treasurer
• Erik Lehto

CWA Local 3410

• J. Adam Gaye, III.
• Paul Pearson

CWA Local 3411

• Dugg Harrison
• David Lupton

CWA Local 3607

• Chris Myrick

CWA Local 3640

• Vonda Hardy, President
• Tracey Binckley

CWA Local 3808

• Richard Feinstein, President
• Ches Misso

CWA Local 3902

• James Ehlers
• Johnny McCollum
• Claude Perry

IUE-CWA  Local 83718

• Chandra Nunnery

 Noah Savant, CWA District 3 Vice President

Booker Lester, Administrative Director to the Vice President

Gayle Marie Perry- CWA Local 3104 and Chair, CWA Florida Council

Charlie Barrett, CWA Representative- Occupational Safety and Health

David LeGrande, CWA Occupational Safety and Health Director