2007 CWA Occupational Safety and Health Conference

The 2007 CWA National Occupational Safety and Health Conference brought together some 175 safety and health activists from every District, as well as IUE-CWA, TNG-CWA, AFA-CWA, NABET-CWA, and the Public, Health Care, and Education Sectors.

The conference, held in Washington, D.C., concurrent with the CWA Women's Conference and immediately preceding CWA's Legislative Conference, was provided an enthusiastic welcome from CWA President Larry Cohen and Jim Clark, President, IUE-CWA Division, as well as closing remarks from Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach. Each of them thanked and congratulated the Union's Occupational Safety and Health activists for their often tireless and successful work as well as their continued commitment to improve member working conditions.

In addition, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D, CA), the Chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, U.S. House of Representatives, and the conference keynote speaker, provided participants with an indication of what to expect from the Democratic majority in Congress. For example, Congresswoman Woolsey pledged strict oversight of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and to return the Agency towards fulfilling its primary objectives: ensuring employers are providing their employees with safe and healthful working conditions and primarily representing the safety and health concerns of workers rather than employers.

Peg Seminario, Director of Occupational Safety and Health, AFL-CIO presented remarks regarding the effect of the November, 2006 elections upon labor's ability to introduce and/or move several safety and health legislative and regulatory issues towards passage/implementation as well as encouraged CWA occupational safety and health activists to participate in Workers' Memorial Day- April 28- activities and events. As always, Peg offered the support of the AFL-CIO's Safety and Health Department to CWA participants.

The conference conducted plenary and strategy and discussion sessions during which several topics including electrical hazards, collective bargaining achievements in safety and health, indoor air quality, ergonomics, effective occupational safety and health committees, and legal rights to safety and health information were discussed. Following are highlights of these events.

Electrical Hazards-

Over the last several years, member workplace safety and health issues associated with electrical hazards have received considerable and deserved attention. In large part, this attention has been the result of five CWA telecommunications member fatalities since 2002. Three of these incidents involved members employed by Verizon. And two by AT&T. Unfortunately, each of theses fatalities was preventable.

Since the 2002 incident, CWA has applied pressure upon all represented telecommunications employers to ensure they are providing our members with safe and healthful working conditions. Unfortunately, the companies, particularly Verizon and AT&T, have allowed safety and health protections "to slide" as they have put more and more emphasis upon increased productivity and profits at the expense of member well-being.

The Union's 2007 Occupational Safety and Health Conference placed considerable emphasis upon telecommunications electrical hazards. For example, Ms. Micki Siegel de Hernandez, Director of CWA's District 1 Safety and Health Program, and Joe Dunn, CWA Local 1123, conducted a special four-hour pre-conference training session and two conference strategy and discussion sessions. In addition, a panel regarding "Electrical Hazards within the Telecommunications Industry" was held. The panelists, including occupational safety and health activists (e.g., Micki Siegel de Hernandez; Ron Collins, Administrative Assistant to the Vice President, CWA District 2; Mark Balsamo, Executive Vice President, CWA Local 2100; and Louie Rocha, President, CWA Local 9423) representing Verizon and AT&T,  focused upon a description of the magnitude of the electrical hazards issue, represented employers' failure to ensure safe and healthful working conditions, union action (including education and training, use of union and negotiated joint labor-management safety and health committees, working with federal and state OSHA offices, and collective bargaining). Participants' degree of concern and their reaction to presented materials will continue to put this issue at the top of CWA's safety and health action priority list.   

Indoor Air Quality-

Many thousands of CWA members employed in a variety of workplaces such as office work environments, hospitals and other health care facilities, and airline cabins are exposed to numerous hazards associated with inadequate indoor air quality. Hazardous conditions may exist when a limited amount of fresh (outdoor) air or polluted air is supplied to the workplace, air is circulated at too fast a rate within the workplace, and/or toxic substances are present with the work environment. Unfortunately, exposure to inadequate working conditions may lead to numerous member upper respiratory illnesses and disorders, eye irritation, skin ailments, headaches, and general discomfort. Further, job stress acts to magnify these health problems.

Chris Witkowski, Director of the Safety, Health, and Security Department, AFA-CWA, and Charlie Barrett, CWA Representative, Occupational Safety and Health, conducted a conference panel and strategy and discussion sessions on this most important topic. Topics ranged from recirculation of contaminated air in aircraft cabins to toxins contained in the office work environment. In addition, Chris discussed a multi-year AFA-CWA effort to have research conducted identifying the need for airline flight attendants and passengers to be provided proper indoor air quality, introducing engineering methods to assist manufacturers in the design of aircraft with proper indoor air quality, and calculating the long term cost savings for airlines carriers associated with properly designed airline cabins.

Occupational Safety and Health Strategies and Successes to Help Build and Strengthen the Union-

This topic, covered during a panel session, emphasized the importance of CWA's development and implementation of strategies designed to achieve improvements in workplace safety and health. Panelists, Dana McCarthy, CWA Local 1168; Joe Petersen, CWA Representative; and Joanne Wells, Local 6201, discussed their successful efforts to help build and strengthen CWA. Topics included negotiating safety and health issues into collective bargaining agreements, establishing effective union and labor-management safety and health committees, identifying and resolving workplace design and member safety and health problems, workplace ergonomics, translating safety and health issues into legislative and political activities, education, and training.

During the conference luncheon, Mary O'Melveny, CWA's General Counsel, provided an update on the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans' with Disabilities Act (ADA). Regarding the FMLA, participants were encouraged to contact their Congressional representatives asking them to vote against the Bush Administration's and business community's efforts to weaken the federal law.

Additional topics of concern, covered in strategy and discussion sessions, included workplace ergonomics (Co-chaired by Joanne Wells, and John T. Young, CWA Local 9509), effective occupational safety and health committees (co-chaired by Ted Comick, IUE-CWA Local 81201 and Helen Moss, University of Oregon- Portland), and legal rights to safety and health information (chaired by Sharon Simon, National Labor College).

Of significance, participant evaluations were overwhelmingly positive suggesting CWA should continue emphasizing occupational safety and health as a top priority, reaching out and involving CWA members in workplace safety and health efforts, and more firmly linking our legislative and political and safety and health conferences and activities. 

Workers Memorial Day-

Many CWA leaders and occupational safety and health activists participated in Workers' Memorial Day, April 28, 2007, activities. In fact, the Safety and Health Department received numerous reports from many locals of activities and events conducted to highlight the toll that workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities have upon affected workers, their families, and communities. These functions focused upon the need to mourn, yet celebrate the lives of fellow workers who have become injured, ill, or killed on the job as well as renew our fight for strong safety and health protections. The theme for this year's Workers' Memorial Day was "Good Jobs-Safe Jobs: Protect Workers Now." Participation in this year's Workers' Memorial Day activities was of particular significance to CWA because during 2006 the Union lost three of our members to workplace fatalities. Also, many of our members have suffered work-related injuries, illnesses, and "near misses," in some cases suffering severe medical disorders because of these incidents.

Congratulations for your hard work!

9/11-Related Workers' Compensation Benefits-

CWA members, including those members who came from outside of New York State to  perform any type of 9/11 rescue, recovery, or cleanup work, either as a volunteer or for pay, for any period of time between 9/11/2001 and 9/12/2002 should register with the New York State Workers' Compensation Board as soon as possible before August 14, 2007. Such filing preserves affected members' right to file a workers' compensation claim anytime in the future for 9/11-related illnesses. This important extension of time was recently announced by the New York State Workers' Compensation Board.

Eligible members may obtain a registration form by going to www.wcb.state.ny.us or calling the Workers' Compensation Board's toll-free number, 877-632-4996, and requesting a registration form. On the form, CWA members must write the dates and locations of the rescue, recovery, or cleanup work they performed, the name of their employer, or the organization they volunteered with. If you did rescue, recovery, or cleanup work as a volunteer, you should register as a volunteer providing the details of the performed work. Also, as the registration form must be a sworn and notarized statement, it is extremely important the information is accurate and complete.

For additional information, please contact the CWA District 1 Occupational Health and Safety Program at 212-509-6994.