f. How do issues/problems get on the committee’s agenda?
g. When hazards are identified, are alternative methods for hazard control, as well as short- and long-term solutions, discussed? (For example, if there are back injuries, are various methods for addressing these problems discussed, such as: mechanical lifting devices, re-design of workstations or equipment, increasing staffing levels, etc.? Or if there is exposure to toxic chemicals, are hazard control methods discussed ranging from eliminating the chemical, to substituting a non-toxic or less-toxic alternative, to installing local exhaust ventilation or other types of engineering controls, to using various types of personal protective equipment in the short term?
h. Are timetables set for implementing hazard controls?
i. Are people identified to be responsible for implementing hazard controls?
5. Other activities (in addition to meetings) engaged in by joint committee:
What are other activities engaged in by the joint committee besides meetings? (check all that apply)
_____regular inspections of the workplace
_____accident/incident investigations
_____assessing potential health or safety impacts from workplace changes (such as introduction of new technologies, materials/chemicals, work processes)
_____other:
6. Preparing for joint labor-management health and safety committee meetings:
a. Do union representatives prepare in advance for joint labor-management health and safety committee meetings?
_____Yes _____No _____Don’t Know
b. If you answered “Yes” to 6.a., how and when does this preparation occur, and what does it consist of?
7. Effectiveness of joint committee and worksite safety and health program:
How effective do you consider your joint committee and worksite health and safety program in terms of (circle a number, with 1 = not effective and 5 = very effective):
(i) Identifying hazards (both obvious and hidden) ?
1 2 3 4 5
(not effective) (very effective)
(ii) Controlling hazards once they are identified?
1 2 3 4 5
(not effective) (very effective)
(iii) Preventing health and safety problems from occurring?
1 2 3 4 5
(not effective) (very effective)
(iv) Preventing health and safety problems associated with workplace changes (including but not limited to changes in staffing levels, hours of work, production quotas/pressures, introduction of new technologies, how work is performed, other changes in work organization) ?
1 2 3 4 5
(not effective) (very effective)
(v) Addressing sources/root causes of the key problems in your
workplace that you believe are responsible for causing/contributing to workers in your facility being injured, made ill and/or stressed on the job ?
1 2 3 4 5
(not effective) (very effective)
8. Communication:
a. How often do union representatives on the joint labor-management health and safety committee communicate with local union officers?
b. Where and how does this communication take place?
c. How often do union representatives on the joint committee communicate with members?
d. Where and how does this communication take place? (Include all major forms of communication between union health and safety committee representatives and union members such as reports at membership meetings, receiving complaints from members about health and safety problems in their areas, one-on-one communication with members on health and safety issues, etc.)
e. Are these communications mechanisms effective in creating or allowing frequent communication between the members and the union’s health and safety committee representatives?
9. Action planning for improving the effectiveness of your joint labor-management health and safety committee:
a. Review your responses to questions #1 - #8, and identify three things that would make your joint labor-management health and safety committee more effective:
(1)
(2)
(3)
b. What would it take to undertake any or all of these?
c. What is your plan for undertaking these items/correcting deficiencies that you have identified regarding your joint labor-management health and safety committee?
REVIEW SHEET FOR EVALUATING ANSWERS
TO RESOURCE HANDOUT
(Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Your Joint Labor-Management Health and Safety Committee)
1. Number of labor and management representatives on the committee:
There should be at least as many union representatives as management representatives on a joint labor-management health and safety committee. This is important for assuring that the voice of the workers is heard.
2. Selection of union representatives:
Union representatives who serve on joint labor-management health and safety committees are there to represent the union’s and workers’ concerns. By law, unions must select their own representatives to serve on joint labor-management health and safety committees, just as unions have the legal right to select their representatives on the committee that meets with management to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement.
3. Training of committee members:
The goal of training and education in safety and health is to prepare participants to be effective in identifying and eliminating or reducing workplace hazards that are causing or likely to cause injury or illness. Training should be thorough and comprehensive and include topics such as: methods for hazard identification; the “hierarchy of controls” and alternative methods for hazard control; legal rights regarding health and safety in the workplace; specific hazards found in that workplace including “traditional” hazards (for example, toxic chemicals and unsafe equipment); hazards associated with how work is organized or being restructured (for example, extended work hours, shift work, staffing levels, work load, work pace); strategies for getting hazards corrected; and resources for further information on health or safety topics.
It is very important for union representatives to be involved in decisions about what training is needed, the content of training programs, how long they should be, who designs and delivers the training, who attends the training, etc.
Another source of information on health and safety issues for union members on a joint labor-management health and safety committee is union-only training provided by the United Steelworkers, the AFL-CIO, COSH groups and/or university-based labor education programs.
4. Joint labor-management health and safety committee meetings:
a. How often does the joint labor-management health and safety committee meet?
Meetings should be at least monthly, and as often as needed.
b. How long are the meetings?
Meetings should be at least two hours, and as long as needed.
c. How are meeting agendas established?
The union health and safety committee members should have a way to get all of their current issues and concerns on the agenda of the joint labor-management health and safety committee meeting. That may mean that the union health and safety committee members go into the meeting with their agenda. Management may have their agenda. The first item of business would be to agree on a common agenda. There may be a way to “negotiate” this ahead of time, before the joint meeting. It is important to insure that the issues of concern to the union will appear on the agenda to be discussed.
d. Are there reports, documents, and/or information that are regularly reviewed prior to or at joint safety committee meetings?
Among the documents and information that should be reviewed monthly (preferably prior to, but at least during joint committee meetings) are:
- last month’s OSHA 300 Log of workplace injuries/illnesses,
- accident reports,
- incident reports,
- hazards identified,
- worker complaints,
- walk-around inspection results,
- results from tests conducted on the work environment,
- summary results from medical tests such as hearing tests,
- reports on corrective actions taken on previously identified
- hazards,
- workers compensation claims (medical only and lost-time)
f. How do issues/problems get on the committee’s agenda?
The union should identify items it wants to have included on the joint committee agenda (see 4. c. above).
g. When hazards are identified, are alternative methods for hazard control, as well as short- and long-term solutions, discussed?
The “hierarchy of controls” should be used as the basis for determining hazard control measures. This hierarchy supports the elimination of hazards as the preferred way of addressing hazards. If hazards cannot be eliminated (for example, if a less or non-toxic chemical can not be substituted for a toxic substance), then engineering controls (like enclosure of operations or local exhaust ventilation) should be used. Warnings (like back-up signals on trucks) and administrative controls (limiting the time that workers are exposed to a certain hazard) should be considered if engineering controls cannot be installed immediately. Personal protective equipment is the most ineffective way to control hazards. In many cases, personal protective equipment should only be used as a temporary measure, while hazard elimination or engineering controls are being implemented.
h. Are timetables set for implementing hazard controls?
i. Are people identified to be responsible for implementing hazard controls?
There should be timetables for implementing hazard controls, officials identified to be responsible for hazard correction, and follow-up actions identified if corrections are not made. Otherwise, even though joint labor-management health and safety committees can become great places to discuss problems, elimination or reduction of workplace hazards may not take place. Each meeting should end with an action list of priority items to be addressed, the action to be taken, the date by which the action will be taken, who is responsible for ensuring that the action is taken, and an understanding of follow-up actions if timely corrections are not implemented. This action list should be one of the first things reviewed at the beginning of the next meeting.
5. Other activities (in addition to meetings) engaged in by joint committee:
What are other activities engaged in by the joint committee besides meetings?
All of the following activities can enhance a committee’s effectiveness in identifying and addressing health and safety problems in a workplace:
-
· regular inspections of the workplace,
-
· accident/incident investigations, and
-
· assessing potential health or safety impacts from workplace changes (introduction of new technologies, materials/chemicals, work processes, changes in work organization, etc.).
6. Preparing for joint labor-management health and safety committee meetings:
a. Do union representatives prepare in advance for joint labor-management health and safety committee meetings?
Union representatives should prepare for joint labor-management health and safety committee meetings in order to effectively represent the membership on health and safety matters. This preparation should include activities such as:
- gathering information about health or safety hazards, workplace injuries and illnesses and other safety or health concerns;
- researching issues that need further exploration such as appropriate control measures,
- identifying union priorities;
- identifying actions that need to be taken to in cases where identified hazards are not addressed, or are not addressed adequately, or are not addressed in a timely fashion;
- regular and on-going communication with members; and
- Determining a strategy to accomplish established goals.
Many unions have established union-only health and safety committees to engage in these types of preparatory activities and to coordinate the union’s involvement in health and safety. These local union health and safety committees can include the union’s representatives to the joint labor-management health and safety committee as well as other union representatives (for example, local union officers, grievers, negotiating committee members, members who are interested in health and safety). Without such a union-only mechanism, it is difficult for unions to adequately prepare for joint meetings, and the effectiveness of the joint committee in addressing problems can be reduced as a result.
7. Effectiveness of joint committee and worksite safety and health program:
How effective do you consider your joint committee and worksite health and safety program?
In the areas where the union identifies the joint committee as not being as effective as the union would like, barriers should be identified, solutions developed and strategies for improving the effectiveness of the committee identified. Contact your Local Union Officers, your USW Staff Representative, the USW’s Health, Safety and Environment Department (412-562-2581), state AFL-CIO, local COSH group, university-based labor studies program, and/or other resources for assistance.
8. Communication:
Union representatives on joint labor-management health and safety committees should communicate regularly with union leadership and membership. The most effective communication unions can have with members is two-way communication where union health and safety representatives are in regular contact with members and the members are in regular contact with a local union health and safety committee member. This requires that there be “easy to use” ways for members to communicate with their union health and safety representatives. Consider such communication mechanisms as:
- surveys,
- body mapping,
- one-on-one communication,
- newsletter articles,
- union meetings,
- health and safety information included on union’s website,
- special health and safety meetings,
- health and safety training programs for members,
- union bulletin boards,
- flyers and leaflets, and
- sub-committees on particular issues/topics.
One goal of all health and safety activities is to get members involved. The more union members become involved in health and safety issues, the more effective union health and safety representatives on the joint committee will be. This is because these representatives will be able to learn more about the nature and extent of hazards on the job, as well as ideas for addressing those hazards.
9. Action planning for improving the effectiveness of your joint labor management health and safety committee:
Developing a strategic plan for improving the effectiveness of your joint committee will help the committee in its on-going efforts to address health and safety at the workplace. It will help the committee identify hazards and other problems, determine how to eliminate or reduce the hazards, and determine how to accomplish this.
These documents are Acrobat Reader PDFs.
If you do not have Acrobat Reader CLICK HERE for a free download.
