CWA Safety and Health Bulletin - December 2005 Issue
CWA Members Work in Areas Affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma
Following the occurrence of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, CWA telecommunications members employed by Bell South, SBC, Cingular, and Lucent Technologies were given work assignments to rebuild the telecommunications systems destroyed and damaged by these destructive storms. In addition, many CWA members employed as telecommunications craft workers by other represented U.S. telecommunications companies volunteered for work performed in the hurricane-ravaged cities and states (e.g., Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas).
Needless to say this work involved exposure to many unique safety and health hazards. For example, under often extremely hazardous environmental conditions, telecommunications craft workers performed their work in potentially hazardous aerial, ground level, and confined spaces work locations. Exposures included: safety hazards such as slips, trips, and falls associated with work upon ladders, aerial platforms and buckets, and heavy construction equipment; working in wet and damp work environments; and from debris and unstable surfaces; health hazards like exposure to the sun and hot environments, chemicals, ergonomics, infectious and animal-borne diseases, dust, and mold.
The Union's Occupational Safety and Health Department joined with the Center for Labor Education and Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham in offering technical assistance and training to involved CWA leaders and members. Most noteworthy was the development and dissemination of a pocket-size booklet entitled "Safety Awareness for Responders to Hurricane Katrina: Protecting Yourself While Helping Others." The publication provides coverage of a wide variety of emergency disaster/response topics. Several hundred copies of the publication were provided directly to CWA District 3 Headquarters and involved OSH activists. Also, the Union's Occupational Safety and Health Department posted Safety Advisories on the CWA OSH Webpage.
To the credit of the involved telecommunications companies, members were provided the appropriate work equipment, procedures, and immunizations necessary to ensure the performance of their work in a safe and healthful manner. To date, there have not been any reports of significant member injuries or illnesses related to this work.
CWA Mourns the Death of IUE-CWA Local 86780 Member Alejandro Gonzales
On October 20, 2005, 39 year-old IUE-CWA Local 86780 member Alejandro Gonzales was performing his normal work operations at Newell Recycling in San Antonio, Texas. While conducting maintenance on a forklift, he attempted to remove scrap wire that had become caught in an axle of the forklift. To accomplish this task, he placed wooden supports under the forklift. While attempting to remove the wire, the forklift crashed through the wooden supports and came down on Alejandro. If the employer had provided the appropriate equipment, work procedures, and safety training to accomplish the assigned work, this tragic accident would never have occurred.
Federal OSHA has conducted an investigation of the tragic fatality. The agency's report of findings and action should be issued soon. Upon receipt, the CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department will provide this information to CWA leaders, OSH activists, and members.
Please mourn the passing of Alejandro Gonzales and "fight like hell" to make sure that your employer is providing safe and healthful working conditions. If the Safety and Health Department can provide you with assistance in your efforts, please let us know.
California Establishes an Emergency Temporary Heat Illness Prevention Standard
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal OSHA) has established an Emergency Temporary Standard on Heat Illness Prevention. The six-month temporary standard went into effect in August and is set to expire in December, 2005. At that time, Cal OSHA will most likely seek a 120-day extension during which the Agency will work to develop a permanent standard. California is the first state to establish a temporary standard and consider promulgating a permanent standard on heat stress. At present, Federal OSHA does not have a heat stress standard. However, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) does have a recommended standard.
Although the Emergency Temporary Standard is an important and major breakthrough for California workers, there are improvements that need to be added. For example, there are not any/adequate provisions that focus upon working alone in hot environments, recovery periods, or emergency response procedures.
The initiative for establishing the much needed health illness prevention standard is being led by WORKSAFE, a California-based occupational and environmental safety and health coalitional organization comprised of activists from labor unions, public health, environmental, and community organizations, as well as academics and attorneys. CWA District 9 Headquarters and several local unions are active participants in WORKSAFE and the efforts to establish the Heat Illness Prevention Standard.
CWA District 6 Staff and Locals Work to Have Employer-Conducted Fire Drills
In an effort to have SBC pay more attention to worker well-being and safety and health, CWA District staff and local leaders are putting pressure upon SBC to conduct regularly scheduled fire drills. CWA local union efforts were initiated in 2005 when an SBC manager in Little Rock, Arkansas refused to allow members of CWA Local 6508 to participate in a fire drill. Concerned more with productivity than adherence to the emergency procedures, the manager told the affected service representatives to continue to perform their normal job rather than to participate in the fire drill. Needless to say, such fire drills and worker participation are required by municipal ordinances and should be part of the employer's comprehensive emergency preparedness/response procedures.
The local leadership filed a grievance regarding the manager's behavior and then provided the information to Mark Franken, CWA Representative, who oversees occupational safety and health activities at the staff level within District 6. In turn, Mark made preparations to raise this issue during the upcoming meeting of the jointly negotiated CWA-SBC occupational safety and health committee. Coincidentally, before the contractual meeting, a District 6 Occupational Safety and Health Conference Call was conducted. During the call, representatives of Local 6508 raised the fire drill incident. Of interest, participants from several other participating locals indicated that the company had also failed to allow members to participate in recently conducted fire drills. Armed with this information, Mark brought up these incidents during the contractual safety and health committee meeting. In turn, SBC management indicated that these incidents should not have happened and indicated that in the future the company would conduct regularly scheduled fire drills with affected workers being allowed to participate.
This example demonstrates how CWA leaders and occupational safety and health activists can use the fire drill issue as a method of reminding the employer of their legal responsibilities, i.e., to provide safe and healthful working conditions for CWA members and to adhere to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and municipal ordinances. In addition, these activities should help to continue building and strengthening our union -- CWA.
Human Rights Day, December 10, 2005
As CWA Leaders and OSH Activists, please plan to participate in scheduled December 10 "Workers' Rights are Human Rights" week activities. To learn of specific events, contact your local union or CWA district office.
