Conducted on January, 9 2008
Participants Included:
- Khalif Jibri, CWA Local 9400
- Randy Riffe, CWA Local 9412
- Bill Norris, CWA Local 9416
- Mike Bell, CWA Local 9421
- Norm Klaus, CWA Local 9423
- Rick DeLao, CWA Local 9431
- O.T. Thomas, CWA Local 9509
- Vicki Pallan, CWA Local 9575
- Stephen Simpson, NABET-CWA Local 59053
- Val Afanasiev, Administrative Director to District 9 VP Tony Bixler
- Charlie Barrett, CWA Representative
Agenda-
Introductions-
Nine CWA District 9 Safety and Health activists participated in this call along with Val Afanasiev, Administrative Director to District 9 VP Tony Bixler, and Charlie Barrett representing the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department.
Workplace Occupational Safety and Health (WOSH) Training-
Rick DeLao, CWA Local 9431, informed participants that UCLA is keen on getting into contact with CWA regarding giving classes in Southern California. The UCLA classes are based on an activist role model. They train activists on hazard recognition and how to set up effective safety & health programs.
Val Afanasiev,Administrative Director to District 9 VP Tony Bixler gave overview of WOSH training at the District office in Sacramento. There were 16-18 participants. It was a 24 hour class, over 3 days. Day One covered; Why do workplace injuries and accidents occur, CalOSHA, The Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), Identifying hazards, Risk mapping, Tools to collect information and Controlling hazards. Day Two covered; Controlling hazards(continued), Cal OSHA and OSHA rights, Using the OSHAct, California Workers Compensation programs, Preventing workplace violence. Day Three covered; Ergonomics, Identifying risk factors, Promoting ergonomics programs, Setting up effective workplace safety & health committees and Summing up by setting up action plans. Val said that Rick DeLao and Karen Hart, CWA Local 9415, both certified instructors, did a very good job as co-instructors. O.T. Thomas, CWA Local 9509, said that he took the class over a year ago and it has been very helpful.
Val discussed various aspects and support for the WOSH program. Val said that he would be talking to the council chairs about scheduling more classes; one class in early spring and later in late summer in Northern California and Central California. The possibility of making it a standard part of the stewards training was also discussed. There was general agreement that the program seemed worth while. O.T. suggested developing a 4th day focused on specific industries and how to use the OSHA laws for safety in those specific worksites.
CWA District 9 Retreat-
Val said we will address this at the district conference meeting in Hawaii.
Electrical Hazards Update-
Charlie Barrett, CWA Representative, informed participants that the electrical hazards brochure is available and can be ordered on the CWA OSH Webpage. Charlie said that David LeGrande, CWA Director of Occupational Safety and Health, is currently in Indiana for the initial District 4 electrical hazards training. Val informed call participants that he has been in discussions with Dave about getting the training done in District 9 also. Stephen Simpson, NABET-CWA Local 59053, said that they have a continuing program of Electronic News Gathering (ENG) electrical hazard training. Most groups get 1.5 hours of training before they go out on the road and that all units are equipped properly.
Safety and Health Committee Reports-
O.T. gave the JCOSH report and sent email of future meetings to Val and to Rick. The union has been trying to get a meeting set up. The company is stalling.
Rick gave a synopsis of his area's council meeting for H&S. Rick said that they are focusing on training. Rick said that there will be a meeting of the Southern California Council on Monday.
Good and Welfare-
O.T. gave info on problem with security and violence at Central Office in San Diego where a vehicle had been vandalized. He asked for examples of what the company had done in the past. Val said that AT&T had provided security guards for the problematic areas in the past. Stephen reported a similar incident at a studio parking lot and that the company installed cameras and a panic button phone that dialed 911 and started the cameras recording the event. O.T. thanked everyone for their ideas.
O.T. brought up the issue robotic safety as an area of possible harm for NABET members. Stephen suggested that he and O.T. get together at the District 9 meeting Hawaii to flesh it out. O.T. agreed to put together a package on robotic safety for general review, and maybe expand it later to a presentation. Charlie mentioned that robotic safety is also an issue in the manufacturing sector.
Thanks goes out to O.T. Thomas for providing his notes on the call.
Next Conference Call-
The next Conference Call will be held on April 16th 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
