Safety has always been a critical concern for workers, but the Covid-19 pandemic brought health and safety hazards and protections to the forefront of all of our minds. Did you know that, according to our contract, departments must have joint labor-management safety committees? (Check out the 1992 Master Bargaining Agreement, Section 11C for the specific language.)
Local 2186 member Tim Horras, who has been a member of the Library’s Safety Committee for several years, describes the important role that safety committees play. “People get hurt all the time in the course of their day-to-day jobs working for the city. Some of those injuries are relatively mild, but some of them can be life altering. In addition to responding to pressing issues, the committee also tries to be proactive about finding out what things need to be nipped in the bud early on.”
In the Library, committee members hear about reported concerns from across the library system’s 54 locations and make recommendations to address them. Tim says, “the safety committee is the immediate go-to place to get action taken on problems, hazards, etc.” Throughout the pandemic, the committee has also made recommendations on Covid-19 specific protocols and protections.
Esther Jones, a Local 2186 member from Parks and Recreation, joined her department’s safety committee during the Covid-19 pandemic. Esther reports that in Parks and Recreation, the safety committee didn’t meet regularly and its work wasn’t well known to members. About a year into the pandemic, workers pressed for regular committee meetings and the committee starting meeting again. In Parks and Rec, Esther says that the committee’s main role is “to bring current health and safety issues to upper management.”
Safety committees pay attention to all kinds of things, as Esther describes: “There are general health and safety things, having things like gloves and other cleaning supplies, mixing cleaning supplies properly, having the equipment to do that, and also Covid, making sure we have proper PPE. We try to bring our own personal as well as our coworkers’ concerns to the meetings.” Esther says that when parents were having Rec Center staff pick their children up from school even though they had known exposures to Covid, the safety committee was able to encourage PPR management to send a letter to all parents reiterating crucial safety policies.
Building hazards are also high on the list of issues safety committees address. Esther recalls a Parks and Rec committee member recently bringing attention to an outstanding work order for a recreation facility with a serious mold problem. Even though the work order had been submitted, nothing was happening. It wasn’t until the safety committee was made aware of the concern that the mold was finally remediated.
Tim says that “Although we’re a recommending body, the committee is the way to get eyes on a particular issue that is of concern to workers.” Safety committees examine concerns and generate potential solutions for problems at multiple facilities as well. At the library, for instance, safety committee members have advocated for hiring restroom attendants in facilities where bathrooms are sites of potential hazards or violence.
According to Tim, being on the safety committee gives him important perspective on his job. “I like the work because I get the opportunity to learn what problems are around the city in different locations.” Esther agrees that the committee is vital. “Upper management can’t know everything. They don’t know the ins and outs of what’s happening every day. If we’re having an issue, they don’t know that unless we as the workers bring those problems to them.”
Tell us what you think: is there a safety committee in your department? What kind of work do they do? Why do you think safety committees are important?
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