February 2014 District 2-13 OSH Conference Call

CWA District 2-13 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call

Conducted Monday, February 24, 2014 from 10:00 a.m.- 1200 p.m.

• Participants-
  Eric Gant, President, CWA Local 2003
  Shannon Fink, President, CWA Local 2009
  Bill Dulaney, President, and Mary Jenkins, Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 2101
  Mike Arsted, Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 2107
  Johnny Brown, Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 2108
  Jesse Davis, CWA Local 2222
  Charles Folsom, CWA Local 2275                                                                                            
  Tony Ross, Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 2336                                                                
  Jim Gardler, President, CWA Local 13000
  Mike Davis, CWA Representative, and
  David LeGrande, CWA Occupational Safety and Health Director

• Participant Reports/New Issues-

Jesse Davis, CWA Local 2222, reported on the ongoing activities regarding a serious asbestos exposure case involving members of CWA Locals 2201, 2222, and 2275. The 2012 exposures resulted in Virginia’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (VOSH) conducting a workplace investigation and issuing a citation against Verizon for violating the OSHA Asbestos Standard. The Company contested the citation.       

Presently, VOSH is enforcing the citation’s training and personal protective equipment provisions. However, Verizon is not providing medical surveillance to all exposed workers as called for in the citation. Jesse indicated he would provide further updates in the future. (Please see the CWA OSH Webpage for an article on this incident).                                                    

• CWA District 2-13/Verizon Occupational Safety and Health Committee-

Mike Davis, CWA Representative, indicated there is a meeting scheduled in the coming weeks. He will report on the meeting during the next call. (Mike has assumed OSH responsibilities while Bill Evitt is recuperating from surgery).

• CWA/USW Occupational Safety and Health Training-

David LeGrande highlighted the CWA/USW training under the union’s grant funded by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). On December 18, 2013, CWA Local 2108 hosted a one-day training session involving 32 leaders and activists from Locals 2101, 2106, 2107, 2108, 2222, and 2336. Participant response to the training was overwhelmingly positive- along with requests for additional training sessions.   

During March, 2014, CWA and the USW will conduct a week-long train-the-trainer training for new OSH activist grant trainers. Following the training, the participants/new trainers will allow the Union to provide more widespread workplace safety and health training and related activity. Included in the training will be two additional District 2-13 activists and trainers: Robert Gourdie, CWA Local 13000, and Frank Willis, CWA Local 2007.

• CWA Heat Stress Campaign-

David LeGrande reported on the continuing development of Heat Stress education and training materials and training sessions. This addition to the grant training program has been recognized by NIEHS as an official part of the CWA/USW grant training. David noted funding for the Union’s Heat Stress Strategic Industry Fund has been extended from July, 2013 to July, 2014.                          

• Lead Hazards

David LeGrande discussed recent developments regarding member exposure to lead while working on lead-encased telecommunications cables. Coming out of a case involving a CWA Local 7201 member/Century Link technician and related citations issued by Minnesota OSHA, CWA, Century Link, and Minnesota OSHA negotiated a settlement agreement regarding the issued citations and working with lead-encased cables. Following this success, CWA and Century Link mutually agreed upon a plan to develop and implement the items contained in the settlement agreement throughout District 7 and other company locations throughout the U.S. Features of the agreement include comprehensive lead abatement procedures, training, and medical surveillance. Subsequently, similar lead issues and hazards have been identified within Frontier West  Virginia work locations. This work has led to efforts by District 2-13 staff, involved locals, and the Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department to address the hazardous working conditions.

Also, workers employed by Verizon-East have experienced serious lead exposures. District 1 Headquarters and locals- joined with the Union’s Safety and Health Department- have initiated efforts to control and eliminate hazardous working conditions. Beyond these efforts, the Safety and Health Department has expanded investigative work to include all CWA Districts as well as identified IUE-CWA-represented employers.

• Date of the Next CWA District 2-13 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call will be held Monday, May 26, 2014 from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. (EST).