Conducted on January 16, 2008
Participants Included:
- Billy Martin, CWA Local 4108
- Peggy Griffith, CWA Local 4302
- Lusta Anderson, Dan Frazier and Bill Preacher, CWA Local 4322
- Gary Kundrat, CWA Local 4340
- Chris Staplefeldt, CWA Local 4603
- Joseph Alvarez, CWA Local 4900
- Linda Hinton, Administrative Director to the VP, District 4
- David LeGrande, Director, CWA Occupational Safety and Health
- Charlie Barrett, CWA Representative
Agenda-
Introductions-
Eight CWA District 4 Safety and Health activists participated in this call along with Linda Hinton, Administrative Director to the VP, District 4, David LeGrande and Charlie Barrett representing the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department.
District 4 Electrical Hazards Training-
David LeGrande, Director, CWA Occupational Safety and Health, discussed the Electrical Hazards training which took place in Indiana the week of January 6th for CWA Verizon outside technicians in Elkhart, Fort Wayne and Westfield, IN. This training was the result of a settlement agreement with Verizon after the electrocution death of Brent Cheney, a member of CWA Local 4773, who was working in a Central Office (CO) in Elkhart, IN. Dave felt that a settlement agreement focusing on training all outside techs would be the best way to go. In Maryland, where CWA member Marvin Benson, also a Verizon technician, had been electrocuted in October of 2006 the training started in September 2007 and is to be completed by February 2008. The focus in both states is to train all outside technicians. Dave said that we are working on expanding to all states in District 4 and then expand training to all states. This would cover approximately 50,000 CWA members and 25,000 IBEW members.
Dave said that it is important, also, to train all first level supervisors. Dave recommended to Verizon management that a way be set up a way to monitor the training of supervisors. He said that he was pleasantly surprised by the degree of seriousness displayed by management. Dave proposed that in each of the training sessions for management that a union representative be present. The union point person/s will go over training, obtain training materials, make sure that training goes smoothly.
The training sessions will be 3-4 hours in length. This week (week of January14th) training was conducted in Portage and Alma, WI. Additional sessions will be held in Marion and Bloomington, IL (CWA) and Marion, OH (IBEW). We expect that Train-the-Trainer training will be completed in all four states by the middle of this month. In turn, training for our members will be completed by the end of March. After District 4, we look to move to District 6 and 9. Gary Kundrat, CWA Local 4340, asked if CPR is going to be incorporated into the training. He said that training provided by AT&T gets outdated. Dave LeGrande replied that it will not be part of this training, but that the company has a requirement to do annual refreshers. Peggy Griffith, CWA Local 4302, informed participants that AT&T now has to do 3 year skill based training, effective January 1, 2008. Joe Alvarez, CWA Local 4900, said he would like a copy of the policy. Peggy will send copy of policy to Linda for distribution. Dave LeGrande said that this is an issue that has come up in every district. He said that Verizon was going to computer based CPR and First Aid training which the union is fighting.
Gary Kundrat asked Dave LeGrande if the electrical hazards training will be rolled out to members employed by all telecommunications companies. Dave said that he hopes to have it available for all sectors. Dave said that he plans to propose to CWA leadership a training program for other than Verizon folks. He said that we probably have close to 100,000 in Quest and AT&T. We plan to take our training program (presented at the last CWA Occupational safety and Health Conference by District 1 activists) and conduct our own Train-the-Trainer program using an 8 hour module focusing on electrical hazards. We can add other issues such as CPR and First Aid. Dave said that the National officers have been very supportive.
Dave LeGrande asked participants if they know of any "near miss" electrical incidents. Peggy Griffith replied that she is not aware of any.
Dave LeGrande also informed participants that last month we completed and made available the electrical hazards brochure. It has been advertised to local officers and can be ordered through the CWA News. Peggy Griffith said it is an excellent brochure and Linda Hinton, Administrative Director to District 4 Vice President, said that she has mailed it out to all District 4 Locals.
Workers Compensation Update-
Peggy Griffith said that in Ohio it appears that AT&T is choosing to fight all Workers Compensation claims. She also said that Senate Bill 7 has tied the hands of union representatives; especially "substantial aggravation." She said that hearing officers are fighting this and that it needs to be defined. She informed participants that the Ohio Workers Compensation seminar will be the week of February 18th. Linda Hinton said that Peggy and Lusta Anderson, CWA Local 4322, are a big part of setting the WC seminar up. The seminar is being held in Columbus, OH. Joe Alvarez, CWA Local 4900, said that there used to be a conference like this in Indiana. Lusta informed call participants that they are expecting over 1,000 participants for the seminar and that this will be the 18th year for it with the Ohio AFL-CIO. Joe asked if states are getting rid of WC programs. Lusta said that California did get rid of WC. Charlie Barrett, CWA Representative, asked Billy Martin, CWA Local 4108, about the Michigan WC system. Billy said that the system was still in effect. Dave LeGrande informed participants that the California WC system is back in effect. Dave asked Peggy if there was a law through Ohio WC or liability system that restricts lawsuits against manufacturers. Both Peggy and Linda said that they didn't think so.
Safety and Health Committee Reports-
Peggy Griffith brought up a ladder issue. She said that AT&T has sent out a letter on a permanent fix. Linda Hinton asked if everyone got the letter. Joe Alvarez said that he had not received it and asked what the fix was. Peggy said that the temporary fix had been to remove the clamp (the clamps had been breaking and the ladders were mostly made in Mexico). The permanent fix is to replace the rope and give a show (DVD) on replacing the rope. Joe said that he believes that the ladder "J" (made in Juarez, Mexico) is no longer being used in Indiana. Peggy said that is good as she has a meeting set for next week with garages in her local and she can let them know about the Indiana situation.
Joe Alvarez asked about the VRAD battery situation. Linda Hinton said that she has a call with the company (safety & labor) next week and will set-up a call concerning the VRAD. Chris Staplefeldt, CWA Local 4603, informed participants that there is a website that shows the VRAD's in Milwaukee "going up." Gary Kundrat said that techs haven't been taught how to handle a "swollen battery." Linda Hinton said that the District 4 Safety & Health Committee will be on call with management regarding this issue. Chris said that they requested a meeting with AT&T and that safety coordinator wasn't aware of there was a problem. He said that the local is going to the Fire Department to get the report with pictures. Joe asked if there had been 4 incidents and Peggy responded yes there had been 4 incidents in 2 years. David LeGrande said that there had been a quite serious incident in Houston, TX where there hadn't been any injuries. The home owner took pictures. AT&T attorneys are involved in this incident (the company sealed the area). Dave said that we will send information to all District Safety & Health coordinators and put an article in the next Safety and Health Bulletin. Dave said that this could be a problem not only for workers but also the for communities.
District 4 Safety and Health Retreat-
Linda Hinton said that the District wouldn't be able to have a retreat until first week in December. Dave LeGrande said that the CWA National Safety and Health Conference will be in 2009 either with the Legislative Conference or the National Convention. Linda said that that would be a better time to hold the District retreat. Peggy Griffith reminded participants that not all safety & health activists go to the Legislative Conference. She also said that it would be good to lock in a date soon as locals will be setting budgets by October.
Next Conference Call-
The next conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, May, 14, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. (EDT).
