OSH Bulletin - October 2006 Working With and/or Near Electrical Hazards

Working With and/or Near Electrical Hazards

During the last several years, more and more CWA members employed in a variety of telecommunications craft/outside plant jobs have suffered work-related accidents, injuries, health problems, and fatalities because of exposure to/contact with electrical energy/power lines.  CWA is committed to ensuring that represented employers provide our members with safe and healthful working conditions and are working towards the prevention of member accidents, injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

The primary reasons for the increase in member work-related accidents, injuries, illnesses, and fatalities are simple:

Represented telecommunications employers are emphasizing productivity issues at the expense of providing safe and healthful working conditions.

Let's remember, the employer has the primary responsibility for providing her/his employees with safe and healthful working conditions, conditions "which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm." Thus, regarding work with or within close proximity to electrical energy, it is the responsibility of the employer to provide:

• Appropriate work practices and procedures that will allow CWA members to perform their jobs in a safe and healthful manner,
• Appropriate safety and health education and training that will allow CWA members to develop the knowledge and understanding necessary to perform their jobs in a safe and healthful manner, and
• Appropriate and necessary hand tools, related equipment, and personal protective equipment that will provide CWA members protection from exposure to/contact with hazardous electrical power.

The Safety and Health Department is presently preparing a fact sheet on electrical hazards for use by CWA leaders and members.  This information will be used to help increase the awareness level of these personnel as well as develop initiatives with represented telecommunications employers.  If you have not already contacted the Department, please send any information that you might have regarding members working with/in close proximity to electrical energy/power lines and related unsafe and unhealthful working conditions as well as member accidents, injuries, illnesses, and fatalities to: www.cwasafetyandhealth.org or legrande@cwa-union.org.

Avian Flu

As identified by government scientists, physicians and public health advocates, there is a real possibility that an Avian Flu outbreak or pandemic may occur.  If this happens, millions of Americans will be exposed, infected, and contract flu-related health problems.  CWA members employed in a variety of occupations including health care workers, emergency responders, and flight attendants work in high-risk occupations and, thus, would be in the first wave of exposed workers. Additional jobs represented by the Union in which exposure might very well occur would include social workers and hospice workers.  Members who might come into contact with an infected person (e.g., a family member, relative, friend, or co-worker) would also have the possibility of developing Avian Flu.

Below are four information sources re. Avian Flu.

The first, an article written by Dana McCarthy, Occupational Safety and Health Director, CWA Local 1168, spells out the primary issues that we as workers and members of the public need to be aware of.  Local 1168 represent several thousand health care workers including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, laboratory and radiological technicians.  Dana's article can be found on the OSH webpage by clicking on the link below. 

http://www.cwa-union.org/issues/osh/articles/page.jsp?itemID=28005051

Next are guidance documents authored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Federal OSHA, and the World Health Organization (WHO).  These documents contain recommendations for identifying Avian Flu as well as protective/preventive actions that may be taken.

The CDC document is entitled:

"CDC: Interim Guidance for Protection of Persons Involved in U.S. Avian Influenza Outbreak Disease Control and Eradication Activities."  It is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/professional/protect-guid.html.

The OSHA publication "OSHA Guidance for Protecting Workers Against Avian Flu is available at: http//:www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/avian-flu.html

The final publication, prepared by the WHO is entitled:

"WHO" Avian Influenza ("Bird Flu")- Fact Sheet is available at:

http//:www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avianinfluenza/en/index.html

 NABET-CWA Develops a National Occupational Safety and Health Network

NABET-CWA President John Clark recently announced the creation of a National Safety and Health Network.  Serving as National Safety Coordinator will be Steve Barreres, long time safety and health activist from NABET-CWA Local 51016.

The network will:

• Establish an ongoing activity that addresses the workplace safety and health needs of local union leaders and members,
• Provide an ongoing centralized resource and information clearinghouse for NABET-CWA leaders and members,
• Assist local unions in establishing their own occupational safety and health committees, and
• Establish a national 24/7, toll-free hotline (1-866-516-7233) that will allow all NABET-CWA members the opportunity to report “dire life and limb issues.” In turn, members will receive prompt attention to address these concerns.  

To view the article “NABET-CWA’s Health and Safety Network,” in the

“NABET NEWS,” please go to www.nabetcwa.org and click on the October 2006 issue.

Has Homeland Security Failed Hometown Police?

Recently, the Antiterrorism Law Enforcement Response Training Foundation (ALERT)*, a non-profit organization that is closely affiliated with the National Coalition of Public Safety Officers (NCPSO-CWA), and the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs-CWA (COPS-CWA), initiated and completed a survey investigation to identify whether law enforcement officers throughout the U.S. have received antiterrorism training and their degree of antiterrorism readiness.  Given the high degree of concern regarding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as well as ongoing terrorist events, ALERT, NCPSO-CWA, and COPS-CWA sought to identify the readiness of law enforcement officers in their ability to prevent and counter terrorist activities.

One- hundred law enforcement departments across the U.S. participated in the study.  The survey data found that 400,000 or two-thirds of the Nation's 600,000 law enforcement officers have not received antiterrorism training and are ill equipped and un-prepared to respond to a terrorist incident.  These alarming results demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the Bush Administration's efforts to ensure that U.S. law enforcement officers are equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to prevent and counter terrorist activities.

Of particular interest, the survey report indicated the federal government has distributed millions of dollars to develop and conduct antiterrorisn training.  However, the distribution of these funds has not translated into training of the officers in most need, those on the street patrol.  Millions of these Homeland Security dollars have been made available to a consortium consisting of only five universities.  Even worse, the consortium allows participant involvement in their training program on an invitation-only basis.  Please go to www.cops.cc to access the survey report.

 *     ALERT, located in California and led by COPS-CWA Local 9111 leader and OSH activist Bill Hemby, provides local law enforcement officers with training focused on responding to as well as investigating and preventing terrorist activities. As a method of increasing awareness about this important topic, during 2006, ALERT and CWA's Occupational Safety and Health Department conducted three "Emergency Response/Hazardous Materials/Anti-Terrorism Training" sessions. In the future, it is anticipated additional sessions will be conducted.

Emergency Response/ Hazardous Materials Awareness Training

The Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department and the Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR), University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a train-the-trainer training program on “Emergency Response/Hazardous Materials” September 11-12, 2006 in Shenandoah, Virginia.  Twenty-one safety and health activists representing ten local unions (seven IUE-CWA locals and three CWA locals), as well as one IUE-CWA staff representative, participated in the training.  Topics included detecting the presence of hazardous materials, assessing safety and health hazards, actions of awareness level first responders, establishing and maintaining effective occupational safety and health committees, and training adults/co-workers.  Participant evaluations indicated the class was extremely well received and will be translated into the safety and health activists’ daily activities.

Over the last six years, more than 600 CWA local union workplace safety and health activists have attended these training sessions sponsored and conducted by CLEAR and CWA’s Occupational Safety and Health Department and funded through a grant from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.  In the near future, additional classes for 2006-2007 will be announced.