CWA SAFETY AND HEALTH BULLETIN - March 2006 Issue

Employers Must Post OSHA Logs through April 30

Beginning February 1 through April 30, 2006, employers must post a summary of the total number of work-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2005. This information, contained on the OSHA 300A Log or an equivalent form, will provide an indication of the employer’s provision of safe and healthful working conditions. CWA leaders and workplace safety and health activists should review the posted information to ensure that it includes all of the OSHA-recordable cases of workplace injuries and illnesses. Also, local safety and health activists should go one step further by requesting a copy of the OSHA 300 Log. The Log contains more detailed information about the summarized information contained on the OSHA 300A Log.

If local leaders and activists identify cases that should have been included on the logs, please contact the nearest office of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration or, in states with state-administered plans, the appropriate state office and bring this issue to the agency’s attention. If you need assistance in completing this process or have questions or comments regarding the injury and illness logs or a related issue, please contact the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department at:

Web site: www.cwasafetyandhealth.org

Advances in New Jersey Indoor Air Quality Standard

During 2004-2005, with the assistance of the coalition group Work Environment Council, Larry Endicott, CWA Local 1040, and Mark Watson, CWA Local 1034, co-chairs of the CWA-State of New Jersey Public Worker Occupational Safety and Health Committee, requested the State Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Advisory Board develop a subcommittee to review and update New Jersey’s Public Sector Indoor Air Quality Standard (New Jersey is the only state that has an indoor air quality standard). PEOSH agreed to establish such a sub-committee and has since conducted a series of meetings.

In turn, with the involvement of several CWA New Jersey public worker local unions, representatives of other public worker unions, and compliance officers/investigators (who are members of CWA), in December, 2005, the Indoor Air Quality Subcommittee submitted its final report to and for approval by the PEOSH Advisory Board. In turn, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report and send it to the Commissioner for adoption. It is believed the Commissioner will approve the amendments to the standard at the PEOSH Advisory Board meeting on June 1. The newly revised standard is critical to ensuring New Jersey’s public workers are provided safe and healthful indoor air quality working conditions.

Workers’ Memorial Day

Below is a reprint of a letter regarding Workers’ Memorial Day sent by President Larry Cohen to all CWA local presidents on March 30, 2006.

On April 28, 2006, CWA and the rest of the U.S. labor movement will celebrate and observe Workers’ Memorial Day to remember those workers who have become injured, ill, or killed on the job, as well as to renew our fight for strong safety and health protections. The theme for this year’s Workers’ Memorial Day is “Good Jobs, Safe Jobs: Protect Workers Now.”

For many years, CWA and other unions have led the struggle for safe and healthful working conditions. This work has led to the passage of laws and protections that have improved working conditions for millions of workers. However, since 2001, the Bush Administration has led an assault against workers and workplace safety and health.  We remember the Bush Administration’s efforts to revoke the OSHA Ergonomics Standard during the first few months of 2001.

More recently, since the beginning of 2006, we remember the disasters at the Sago Mine and eight additional mine accidents that claimed the lives of 21 miners. These tragedies pointed out the dangers faced by workers and the weaknesses in job safety and health protections. During the remainder of 2006, thousands of additional workers will be killed on the job and millions will become injured or ill.

Therefore, CWA leaders, members, and occupational safety and health activists must continue to work to ensure that employers are providing safe and healthful working conditions. This Workers’ Memorial Day, I encourage you to become involved by organizing actions or observances in represented workplaces and communities to highlight the cost of work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities—making it clear that CWA and the entire labor movement will continue to fight for safe and healthy workplaces and not allow the Bush Administration to continue weakening the protections provided in the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Mine Safety and Health Act.

You may order Workers’ Memorial Day materials directly from the AFL-CIO by going to: http://www.aflcio.org/shop  or call 202-637-5024.

Please contact David LeGrande, Director of our Occupational Safety and Health Department, if we can assist you in planning an event. Also, please complete and return the attached “Report on Workers’ Memorial Day Events 2006” form so that we may publicize your actions.

Death in the Field: The Plight of Media Workers

Earlier this year, the wounding of Doug Woodruff, news anchor, and Doug Vogt, cameraman, of ABC News, as well as the kidnapping of free-lance reporter Jill Carroll brought home the danger that media workers encounter. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) recently released a report spelling out the workplace safety and health dangers facing media workers. In the report, “Targeting and Tragedy—Journalists and Media Casualties in the Field of Journalism and Newsgathering” the IFJ documented 150 journalists and media workers were killed “in the line of duty.” Broken down by geographic area, the report notes that the most dangerous countries were Iraq (35 killings), the Philippines (10 killings), Columbia, Mexico, and Haiti.

While Iraq was identified as the most dangerous country, there are many countries across the globe where media workers put their lives on the line to provide the public with up-to-date reporting. Linda Foley, President of The Newspaper Guild-CWA and Vice President of the IFJ, states “that governments must move quickly to investigate the deaths of media workers and take real action to ensure their safety.”

Further, Adrian White, General Secretary of the IFJ, in criticizing governments that have not taken actions to protect media workers, states:

"In more than 90 per cent of all cases there are only a few serious  investigations by the authorities

and only a handful of the killers are ever brought to trial….. A combination of police corruption,

judicial  incompetence and political indifference has created a culture of neglect  and indifference

which makes every day a hunting season for attacks on media staff.”

The IFJ is calling for worldwide protests on April 8, 2006 to demand more action by governments to protect media workers. To access the report and for more information go to:   http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=3660&Language=EN.