January 2014 District 3 OSH Conference Call

CWA District 3 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call
Conducted Thursday, January 9, 2014 from 1:00- 3:00 p.m.

• Participants-
  Mike Devane, President, CWA Local 3104
  Mike Stovall, President, and Josh Denmark, Executive Vice President, CWA Local 3106
  Steve Wisniewski, President, CWA Local 3108
  Ed Stephens, Secretary-Treasurer, CWA Local 3109
  Charley Maxwell, President, CWA Local 3201
  Susan Moss and A Smith, CWA Local 3204
  Billy O’Dell, President, CWA Local 3215
  Doug Williams, Vice President, CWA Local 3250
  Steve Edler, President, CWA Local 3410
  Gary Gordon, CWA Local 3605
  Debra Brown, President, CWA Local 3706
  Bill Eberhardt, CWA Representative, and
  Booker Lester, Administrative Director, CWA District 3
  David LeGrande, CWA Occupational Safety and Health Director

• Participant Reports/New Issues-                                                                                     
  

Doug Williams, CWA Local 3250, indicated AT&T is retrofitting vehicle rear cameras with alarm equipment.

Steve Wisniewski, CWA Local 3108, mentioned AT&T has not been providing appropriate work clothing. In response, Bill Eberhardt, indicated the company had announced such clothing would not be available until the end of January.                                                                    

• CWA District 3/AT&T Occupational Safety and Health Committee-

A joint meeting is scheduled on January 24. Primary CWA issues to be discussed will include the need for equipment to be adequately maintained (including trucks/motor vehicles), hazards associated with climbing/gaffing on green poles, and heat stress. 

• 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. During November, 2013, Billy O’Dell, CWA Local 3215 and the District 3 occupational safety and health grant trainer, joined with Randy Rodriguez, grant trainer with CWA Local 6222, in conducting training sessions at the CWA Tennessee State Meeting. Attended by 42 CWA leaders and safety and health activists, the training focused upon incident investigation, effective safety and health committees, and heat stress. In addition, a one-hour LPAT training was conducted by District 3 Staff. Participants gave rave reviews to the quality and content of the training. During 2014, additional sessions will be conducted in other District 3 locations. 

• Lead Hazards-

David LeGrande discussed developments regarding member exposure to lead while working with lead-encased telecommunications cables. Coming out of a case involving CWA Local 7201, CWA District 7 Headquarters, the Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department, and Minnesota OSHA, a settlement was negotiated regarding citations issued against Century Link as well as adherence to the OSHA Lead Standard. Following this success, CWA and Century Link mutually agreed upon a plan to develop and implement the items specified in the settlement agreement throughout District 7 and other company work locations throughout the U.S. Features of the lead 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 and involved locals as well as the 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 investigation work to include all CWA Districts as well as identified IUE-CWA-represented employers. 

• CWA Heat Stress Campaign-

David LeGrande reported on the continuing development of heat stress education and training materials and training sessions noting this training has been widely used in District 3. This addition to the grant training program has been recognized by NIEHS as an official part of the CWA/USW grant training.  

• Workplace Violence-

Several participants reported on continuing workplace violence cases indicating difficulties in having AT&T take these issues seriously and work with CWA to prevent workplace violence.  As a way of addressing one identified concern, i.e., an emergency alert system, David LeGrande discussed successes among District 6 Headquarters and locals in convincing AT&T to pilot the use of a cell phone APP which would allow technicians to notify emergency personnel and receive necessary assistance.  The successful pilot is awaiting further action/implementation within District 6. David indicated he would pass on additional information as it became available.                      

• The next CWA District 3 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call will be held Thursday, April 10, 2014 from 1:00- 3:00 p.m. (EST).