Stress Employee Rights
Union Seminars On Workplace Hazards

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

A series of health and safety training seminars to educate union workers and representatives about identifying and avoiding on-the-job hazards will kick off Jan. 10 with a three-hour discussion about employee safety and rights in the workplace.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow AN AREA WHERE UNIONS SHINE: AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council Executive Director Ed Ott, who noted that health-and-safety issues are the prime reason workers look to join unions, says that state and Federal regulations exist largely due to 'the advocacy by labor and our friends lobbying for these important protections.'

The 10 seminars, billed as the 2007 Health and Safety Training Series, are the brainchild of the AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council Executive Director Ed Ott, and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.

A Relay System

Mr. Ott said the goal was to eventually have someone from each of the organization's 400 locals trained in basic health and safety, who in turn could disseminate the information to shop stewards and other union representatives.

FRANK GOLDSMITH: Start at the grass-roots.

The CLC and NYCOSH are also strongly encouraging rank-and-file participation.

In a letter sent Dec. 14 to the heads of local unions, Mr. Ott noted that a recent poll taken by the AFL-CIO ranked health and safety as the No. 1 reason workers look to unionize.

"Both unionized and non-unionized workers have consistently listed workplace safety as a major concern," he noted. "We in labor can say there would be no [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] or [Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau] workplace regulations and standards if it weren't for the advocacy by labor and our friends lobbying for these important protections."

Areas to Be Covered

Participants who complete at least five of the three-hour sessions will be awarded a certificate. Topics include learning workplace rights, identifying work site hazards, emergency planning and evacuations, workplace violence, ergonomics, indoor air quality, the Workers' Compensation system, and talking health and safety at the bargaining table.

One of the first union officials to sign up was Frank Goldsmith, director of occupational health at Transport Workers' Union Local 100.

Mr. Goldsmith applauded the grassroots approach of the series, noting that "the only way change is successful is when you start from the bottom up. That's the army of people who put pressure on Albany and even City Hall."

He cited several health-and-safety issues plaguing transit workers, among them working around a live third-rail, respiratory problems related to inhaling steel dust, cardiovascular problems and undetected ergonomic issues.

'Pressure OSHA, PESH'

"I'm attending for the information, but also to support the notion that the CLC and NYCOSH would pull together all their affiliates to put pressure on the twin arms of health and safety regulations - OSHA and PESH," he said.

Mr. Goldsmith hoped that under the new governorship of Eliot Spitzer, the authorities charged with enforcing worker protections would start fulfilling their responsibilities "under the law and under collective-bargaining agreements."

There was a crucial need, Mr. Goldsmith contended, to bring in the nation's top board-certified occupational health and safety physicians - most of whom work in New York hospitals and facilities - to conduct oversight reviews of labor and management to see if guidelines were properly followed.

He also called for more studies to be done on the long-term health of workers based on job titles.

"Medical professionals must be brought in to look at outcomes for, let's say, Train Operators, for one," Mr. Goldsmith said. "What's their experience with steel dust, post-traumatic stress disorder, and respiratory problems, and how does it compare to the general population? That data must be kept under wraps in the individual sense, for privacy protection, which is important. But trained professionals can look at outcomes to see if there's a pattern of disease among those workers. And if there is, then preventative steps can be taken."

Network Needed

Susan McQuade, a health-and-safety specialist for NYCOSH, helped organize a late December gathering among representatives from different unions - some private and some public - to spread the word about the series.

Among the approximately 69 attendees were laborers from construction, retail, sewing and other trade unions, as well as private-sector workers from musician unions.

"It was just really great to see everybody talking and sharing information about their issues, and the things that affect their members," said Ms. McQuade. "The idea is to enhance formal education and training about safety and health, but also to create a network in the labor movement, too."