November 18th, 2011. In an ongoing state-wide campaign to revive CWA Health & Safety committees, ten Northern California locals converge in Oakland at local 9423 for Tony Mazzocchi Center (TMC) Incident Investigation Training coupled with Heat Stress Prevention training.
Locals represented: 9423 San Jose; 9410 San Francisco; 9412 Hayward; 9415 Oakland; 9431 Auburn; 9432 Placerville; 9400 Northern, CA; 9333 Modesto; 9408 Fresno; 9404 San Rafael
CWA telecommunications shop stewards (prospective health & safety committee members) get off to a lively start using Tony Mazzocchi Center (TMC) curriculum. All activities employ the TMC’s Small Group Activity Method. The method, in which four to eight people work on tasks together, encourages equal participation by everyone present, it also enforces the need to have tight-knit active H&S committees at the local level.
CWA-TMC health & safety trainer, Rick Delao, emphasizing a crucial fork in the road in thinking about workplace environments: do we immediately want to start talking about “the incident” (accident), who did what to who, and how the worker “could have avoided it” (almost always leading to discipline), or do we want to talk about the hazard that came before the incident.
Focusing on and analyzing hazards leads to fixes - less people injured on the job.
USW-TMC-CWA training coordinator, Rodrigo Toscano, illustrates how Systems of Safety work to control hazards. Although combinations of different systems (i.e. training + procedures + warning devices + mitigation) are much more effective than any one system, the most effective in the “hierarchies of control” is design. The hazard is designed out of the work environment (in the example of the over-hanging pipe, the pipe is removed; in the example of a forklift backing up into a person, a remotely operated crane is put in the place of the forklift).
During lunch break in Incident Investigation Training, CWA member jumps right into applying logic tree activity as it relates to his workplace environment.
Rick Delao announces an instant success on the field! A shop steward present in yesterday’s class applies lessons learned from Incident Investigation Training, immediately rolling back “blame the worker” discipline!
CWA rallying spirit as the last hour of training gets started!
November 16-19, 2011. In the exhilarating and hopeful climate of the Occupy Movement sweeping the country (as well as internationally), rolling back anti-union corporate health & safety programs based on behavior (“blame the worker”) models, takes on a special significance. As United Steelworkers President, Leo Gerard, puts it, “if not us, then who?”
In light of this poignant call for unity and action, the need to overcome as many barriers as possible as soon as possible is put at a premium. Internal union bureaucracies, differences in cultures between unions, etc, all are subject to real change and the pressing need to move forward together.
Rodrigo Toscano (Labor Institute / USW-TMC-CWA Training Coordinator), Rick Delao (Northern California CWA-TMC trainer), Bob Schwager (Northern California CWA-TMC trainer).
Roll call introductions at beginning of training session. Listening to the cumulative experience and knowledge of everyone present is simply an awesome way to kick off the day!
The inspiringly decorated hall of Local 9423 lending to an atmosphere of solidarity and collective action.
Bob Schwager talking about how a Systems of Safety approach to safety can be a powerful addition to any shop steward’s tool box.
September 17th, 2011. Incident Investigation Training / Heat Stress Prevention Training. Stewards at this point can plan on scheduling more TMC training on a variety of subjects (Hazard Mapping, Near-Miss Prevention Program).
