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Taking Action to Solve Health and Safety Problems

Step 1. Identify the problem

Like investigating a grievance, identifying health and safety problems means answering basic questions. Answering these questions will result in a list of health and safety problems that need to be addressed. The questions you need to answer are:

  • What injuries or health complaints do workers have?

  • Who has been hurt or is having symptoms?

  • When do the workers feel these symptoms?

  • Where in the workplace are health problems occurring?

  • Why are the workers being injured or having health problems? In other words, what are the conditions that are causing problems?

You can get the answers to these questions in many different ways:

  • Talk to your co-workers at work, on breaks, during union meetings, or at “lunch and learn” programs. Get the word out about health and safety issues with flyers or the local union’s newsletter.

  • Survey the workers.

  • Inspect the workplace for hazards and talk to workers about conditions that cause pain, injuries or sickness.

  • Investigate injuries and close calls.

  • Make a “risk map” for the workplace. Find out where hazards are located by surveying the workers and then draw the hazards on a map of the workplace. The risk map is similar to diagrams that organizers use to find out where employees work and keep track of important information about the workers. An example of a risk map is in Figure 1.

  • Request and review injury, medical, training and other records from the employer.

  • Keep up with changes that may affect workers’ health. Keep up with toxic materials and dangerous machinery being used. Is construction or remodeling happening?

  • Start a library. Get copies of regulations, safety codes, training materials.

  • Communicate with your AFSCME council and International staff about problems, victories, and to exchange other information.

Sample Risk Map
Figure 1: Sample Risk Map

Choosing health and safety issues for building the union

There may be too many health and safety issues to tackle at once. How do you determine which health and safety problem(s) you should address first? Think about the following questions before you decide where to start:

  • Which issues are easiest to win?

  • Which issues can be resolved the fastest?

  • How serious is the hazard? Will solving it result in a real improvement in workers’ lives?

  • How many workers are affected? Do they feel strongly about the issue?

  • Do the workers understand the hazard and what actions the employer is being asked to take to fix a dangerous situation?

  • Which issues will give members a sense of their own power and build leadership in the union?

  • Which issues provide opportunities for workers to participate and take a lead role?

  • Does the issue fit in with the local’s overall strategy and other activities?

You may not pick the most serious issue first if another problem can be resolved faster. If you start with a difficult problem that you cannot correct or that will take a long time, workers may be less willing to try again.

How easy or difficult it will be to win depends on different factors:

  • Is the solution complex?

  • Will it be expensive to correct the problem?

  • Are your co-workers educated about the problem and ready to back you up?

  • Are there laws that you can use to force the employer to make changes?

  • Will the employer correct a problem to avoid bad publicity?

  • Are there other groups in your community that will help put pressure on your employer?

In picking an issue that you can win — and win quickly — you will gain experience and confidence to take on more difficult problems. Other workers will see that things can get done and may join the committee or take part in future efforts. From small beginnings, tougher issues can be solved.

 

Step 2. Find a solution

Once you have collected the information in Step 1, you can figure out what changes need to be made. The goal should be to change the working conditions that are causing problems. Examples of such changes include using less toxic chemicals, keeping equipment in good order, better ventilation, safer traffic control, vaccinations, and protective clothing and equipment. These “controls” are described in more detail in later chapters.

 

Step 3. Develop a strategy

Some employers sincerely care about their employees’ welfare and promptly correct problems. Joint labor/management committees can work well in this atmosphere. For too many AFSCME members, however, the employer will not automatically fix workplace hazards just because the workers have identified problems and suggested solutions. The employer may deny that there is a problem. They may claim that there is no good solution or that they can’t afford to fix it. The employer may also feel that the workers are challenging its control over the workplace and refuse to act because “it is management’s duty to manage as management sees fit.”

 

Do not just say you will not do a job and walk away!


Explain to your supervisor that you know or think that there is a serious hazard. If the supervisor tells you to do the job anyway, then take these other steps:

  • Ask for a union representative.

  • Tell the supervisor you will do the job if it is made safe to do.

  • Offer to do other work that is not dangerous.

  • Ask that the employer's safety manager or representatives of the health and safety committee inspect the worksite.

  • Ask for an OSHA inspector.

The workers must have a plan to put pressure on an employer to make the workplace safer. There are various ways to bring pressure on an employer. Filing grievances and lodging complaints with OSHA or another government agency (see Chapter 12) are common methods. The workers can also choose a union building strategy whereby the workers affected by a hazard are mobilized to demand that the problem be fixed and back up their demands with action. Many workers, however, are reluctant to confront the boss. A plan to mobilize workers needs to be based on activities that workers are willing to participate in. The tactics can be escalated as the need to apply more pressure grows. The following are examples of actions that the union can take to involve workers in order to get problems resolved:

 

Build support in the workplace

  • Pass out flyers and fact sheets.

  • Hold meetings and rallies.

  • Circulate petitions or group grievances demanding the employer correct the problems.

  • Wear buttons or T-shirts at work one day.

 

Apply political pressure

  • Meet with elected and appointed officials.

  • Make elected officials aware of the problems by writing letters and postcards.

  • Get safety problems on the agenda and testify at city council, school board or other community meetings.

  • Be involved in elections.

 

Build coalitions

A hazard to workers is often a hazard to the community. Pesticide use in parks or schools is one example. Parents, religious or civic organizations, environmental groups, other unions or professional organizations may share your concern.

 

Use the media

Try to get media coverage of problems or union actions. These are some general suggestions for dealing with the media:

  • Establish an ongoing relationship with reporters and editors who are interested in labor, health and safety, or environmental issues.

  • Stay in touch with reporters and become a regular news source.

  • Always be sure of your facts to make the reporter’s job easier and build trust with the reporter.

  • Have an articulate worker who has been injured or was made to work under dangerous conditions and an expert ready to talk to the press.

 

Take action in the workplace

  • Conduct informational picketing.

  • “Work to rule.” Follow all of the employer’s rules and safety procedures by the book.

  • Report all hazards or policy violations, no matter how small.

  • Get everyone affected by a hazard to go for medical care and/or file for workers compensation.

 

Refuse to perform unsafe work

Some health and safety problems are “imminent danger,” situations that could kill or cause serious harm before you can file a grievance or get an OSHA inspector to the jobsite. Such situations include going down into a 10-foot deep unshored trench, going into a unmonitored manhole, or interviewing someone about child abuse who has threatened to kill you. You are being asked to choose between your job and your life, a decision no one should have to make. In this case, refusing to do the dangerous work is an option.

Some state OSHA laws and some contracts give workers the right to refuse work in imminent danger situations or when they have a good-faith belief that a situation is unsafe. But regardless of what the law or your contract says, it is never easy to risk your job by refusing to work in a dangerous situation. A refusal to do an unsafe job is very effective when everyone refuses. It is often harder if your co-workers continue to work.

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