March 2011 District 4 OSH Conference Call

CWA District 4 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call Conducted Wednesday, March 9, 2011 from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. (EST)

• Participants-
  

Marshall Whitaker, CWA Local 4032
Marty Szleiga, Vice President, CWA Local 4108
Gary Kundrat, CWA Local 4340
Joe Alvarez, CWA Local 4900
Bryon Capper, CWA Representative
David LeGrande, CWA Occupational Safety and Health Director

• Participant Reports/New Issues-
  

Marshall Whitaker, CWA Local 4032 reported on the negative effect AT&T’s productivity and performance measurement policies are having on worker safety and health. In addition, he noted the company’s discouragement against members reporting occupational injuries and illnesses borders on discrimination and a violation of the anti-discrimination provisions of Section 11(c) of the OSHAct. Other participants indicated co-workers were experiencing the same problems re. the company policies.

• First Aid and CPR Training-
  

CWA Local 2100 Occupational Safety and Health Complaint against Verizon David LeGrande reported during the early part of 2010 CWA Local 2100 filed acomplaint with Maryland’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MOSH) against Verizon for not providing instructor-led first aid and CPR training. After conducting a comprehensive investigation, MOSH found Verizon in violation of the OSHA Telecommunications Standard, 29 CFR 1910.268. Verizon contested/appealed MOSH’s citation. Unfortunately, a Maryland administrative law judge ruled against MOSH/in favor of Verizon, thus vacating the citation.

• CWA/USW Occupational Safety and Health Training-
  

Joe Alvarez, CWA Local 4900, mentioned he has developed and offered to conduct initial OSH hazardous materials and incident investigations training sessions for District 4 locals. He extended an invitation to participants to co-coordinate this training.

David LeGrande reported CWA and the USW have agreed to partner in developing and conducting regional occupational and environmental training sessions. Three such sessions have been set for 2011- with the first scheduled May 15-20, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the second September 11-17, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, and the third from September 25-30, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The call letter from President Cohen will be sent to local presidents, national officers and staff in the coming weeks.

• 2010 Elections and Occupational Safety and Health-
  

David LeGrande discussed the active attempts by the Republican members of U.S. Congress to dismantle occupational, environmental, and consumer safety and health. These efforts have involved an onslaught upon existing and proposed regulations as well as funding of OSHA, EPA, and FDA. CWA, the AFL-CIO, a number of other unions and coalition partners (e.g., Blue/Green Alliance) will be fighting to prevent these harmful efforts from becoming effective as well as continue to emphasize the need for improved occupational, environmental, and consumer safety and health legislation and regulation.

Also, he mentioned the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, an important legislative victory achieved during the lame-duck session of the2010-2011 Congress. CWA, the AFL-CIO, other unions, and public health organizations worked for the introduction and passage of this legislation for several years.

• CWA Heat Stress Campaign-

David LeGrande mentioned the Union’s Heat Stress Campaign is continuing. To date, the nearly one-thousand collected CWA Heat Stress Surveys are being analyzed and translated into a report. Upon completion, this report will be made available to the CWA Executive Board, Staff, and Local presidents and occupational safety and health activists for their use. Of concern, many member safety and health problems have been identified. Also, information has shown that several employers are not adhering to well established heat stress guidelines, procedures, and practices. In turn, this information will be used within collective bargaining, regulatory, and legislative activities.

• Workplace Violence-
  

AT&T has developed and begun conducting a workplace violence education program. Noting this is a major issue in several CWA Districts, David LeGrande asked participants to provide him with a copy for evaluation.

• Date of the Next CWA District 4 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call-

The next CWA District 4 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. (EST).