1984-11 November IBEW Journal.pdf - International Brotherhood of ...

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Sf:1FETY TIPS for you and your family TODAY'S GREATEST HAZARD Dlle of the greatest hazards to the Am eri can worker today can be dum natcd this mOllln! Yes, many have not rccogmzcd the fact thaI one of the greatest hazards to the health and safelY of the u.s. wo rkers was the eJectton of Ronald Reagan four }'cars ago 35 prcslfJcllt of the United States. In the latc 19605 orgamzed b oor worked diligently to succeed In Obta lnllll\ pas5:I.gc of thl' Occupational Safet), and Health Act (OSHA) " to assure safe ;and healthful workmg conditIOns fo r work Ing men and women; by assisting and encouraging the states in their cHon s to assure safe nnd healthful working con dillons; by provldll\lol for research, mformatlon, educatIon, and nammg III the Acid of occupati onal sllfety and health, and for o ther purposes." The Act, as passed by Congress and Signed IntO law In 1970, states In ::'cctlon S{a) that " Each employer----l l l shall furnish [0 each of hIS employees employmcnt Jnd a p13ee of employment whIch arc free from recogntzed hazards that arc cauSing or arc iLkely to cause death or SCrt OUS phYSical harm to hIS employees" This Act sets up provisIOns for adoption of safety and health standards and prOVISions for their enforcement by the agency Enfon:cIIH:nt prOVISIOn!! spell OUt procedures for handltng worker compl llntS, unannounced Inspections by OSHA, r ll,1uons ag;nnst employers for " wilful, " "repeatcd, " "sen ous" or "other than senous" VIOlatIOns, monet:lry fines or penalties for such violations and re' qUlrcments fo r abatement of such II,I.! lITds In the years from 1970 through 1980, OSHA continued to develop more and more safety and health standards to tn11) lement thIS law. PreS idents, 11\ appOInt · 109 3SSlStant sccretan cs of Labor for OSHA, picked Indl\'lduals known for theIr background and knowledge in thIS field As e:'t3 mples, President Ford app€)Intcd Dr Monon Com and Presldrnl Carler appolllled Dr Eula BlIlghall\ 10 thiS Import:lIlt POSt. These indiViduals ....'erc well known for their professIOnal 3blilty and experllse In the Held of silfety :lnd he3hh. Dunng the 1980 election eamp1ugn, ROl\olld Reagan stoted that he belteved there wos " no need fo r OSHA," For Ihe 16 I ISEW JOURNAL I NOVEMBER 1984 fi rs! 41 motHhs of hiS admll1lSUaliOll, that phtlosophy has been IInplemerlted by many aCllons. Wtthm days of taking office. all regu lal10ns m process were frozen. B)' Execullve O rder. the Office of Management and Budget, a pan of the E.xcruuve Branch of goVe nlmClll, ...... dS JnOllltcd chIef fegulator, establtshlllg regulatory pnOTIIleS olnd acung as the gatekeeper of agency frgul:uory actions. All work at OS HA was stopped. Many standards and prae· IIce5 that had becn adopted 1Il the months pnor to thIS were blocked and ell her cance ll ed, postponed or weakem::d The n ght of an employee representallve to walk around With the OS HA Inspector without loss of pay wa .. cancelled. Rulemaking on new Standards for asbestos. benzene, cadlum, chromates and Illc kcl was aba ndoned. Instead the pnonlles became a program of wea kemng eXISlmg standllTds on lead, eotlon dust, heanng conservation, cancer poltcy and access to employee medical records Fortunately, the Supreme Court upSet their plans on cotton dust and lead by upholdmg the cXI"l lng standards. In more than three years, a ni)' one permanent standard has been Issued for a toXIC subslance, ethylene OX ide, and thaI came under a court order The ani), other final health standard Issued, the 1983 Hazard CommunICatiOns Sland:lrd regarding chemical hazard IIlformalion ,'xrllldcd 75 pe rcent of the workforce and was primarily ilHended to preempt stmn~er stale " Tlght-ta·know" laws Instead of appolllUll/o; a person knowledgeable conceming safety and health to head thIS Important agency, PreSident Reagan appolilted Thome Auchter, .. eonstrucuon company executive fro m FlOrida who had been actI ve In Reagan's c:amp3lgn III Flonda Auchter appolntcd some speCIa l aSSIstants who also h3d no expeTl cnce III safety and health, but ....·ho also had been acttve III the Reagan cam pal,.:n The Occupational Safet y and Heal th ReView COIlUniSSlOn, sct up to rule O il 3ppcals to OSHA Clt:ltIU1I5, had ol~ eh::m man a Repuhltcan who, while not alw3ys :Igreelllg with I3OOr, h:ld 0 bac kground of w nr t'rn for safety and health as II representative of a large steel finn :lnd at - tempted 10 wnte faIT deCISIons. When hi " lime came lor re3ppOuttment, Reagan J kicked him out and appolllted Roben A Rowland, a Texas tax attorney, whose sale qualtficallon seems to be that he was vIce chaumall of Reagan 's Texas campaign In his first twO years on the Commission, he served with two of Pres Ident Carter'S appointees. In that penod of time, Rowland, In ruling on appeals of OSHA citations and fine~ for Viola· lions of the Act, vuleJ ag.1ln~t OSHA III 83 percenl of the cases heard. Fortunately, Ihe o ther twO comml)5 10ners dlslIgreed and supported OSHA III 72 percent of the cases. Late last year Commissioner Cottllle's term expired; and Reaga n appOInted E. Ross Buc kley, a former attorney lor Gulf UII Company, as hI S replacement. SlI\ce that lime Rowland upheld OSHA only once, and In that case downgraded the cltallon and penalty In the other three cases where OS HA was upheld, Rowland dlssenled. In the other cases heard, Rowland and Buckley ruled J 3gamst OSHA I Earher thIS yeal Auchter re)lgned to become the head of a conStructiOIl company In Kansas City. The I'le)5 reported that In 198 1 Auchter had directed OSHA to drop sen ous Cita tIOns and over S 12,000 In proposed fint''> :lgolIl1SI thiS company. Reagan, as soon as Congress recessed • for a poli tical convention, made a " recess aPPOintment" {thereb}' aVOiding the ne· cesslty of Senate approv31 until after the electlon) of Robert A. Rowl:tnd to SliC· ceed Auchter. The man who h3s cantin· ually voted against holJIU,!; cmploycrs responsible for safety and health IS now the head of OSHA! It I) 1\0 wonder Ihat the number of actual inspections, the number of clla· tlons and the amount of penaltIes fpven fo r vIOla lions have all been droPPll1g drastically the last four years To allow the I:lw to work to protect ... workers' safety and health, our most Important move today IS to defeal Ronald Reagan thiS mo nth so thnt one who has always supported the OSHA program, Walter Mondale, Colli :tppolnt peopk to head thiS agency who be lieve III enforclllg the law and requITIng employers to pro· ~ . VIde every worker 11 safe and hea lthful workplilce
IBEW Member Helps Open Olympic Games A member of IBEW Local 2 104, Ni· agara Falls, New York, zoomed into the world spotligh t at the OlympIc Games in Los Angeles when his oncman rocket belt powered hjrn In a wclcom ing sa lute at open ing-day ceremonies. Will iam P. Suitor, ;1 senior control room operator at the New York Power Authority's Niagara Power Prolect, lifted off from the rim of the Los Angeles Coli seum ncar the Olympic torch at the start of the festivities on July 28. He swooped over the crowd and landed ncar visi ting dignitaries including President Reagan. The entire trip from liftoff to touchdown lasted just 21 seconds. "It 's nothing but a controlled explosion," said Suitor, a 14-ycar employee of the Power Authority, the nation's largest non-federa l public powerorg.1nization. " You can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in two seconds so you can cover a lot of ground in that time. The amazing thing is that it's so maneuverable. Yo u can thread a needle with it. " Suitor has been flying the rocket· propelled device for about 20 years and has performed stunts with It for ---- == -=== - - ';--/ ___- .P_:- William Suitor, a member or IBEW Local 2104, Niagara Falls, N.Y., soars through the air with his rocket bell during the openlng-day ceremonies at the OlympIc: Games in Los Angeles television, the lllovies and at sporting events. Suitor schedules hiS flymg appearances dunng tllne off from his regular iob at the Power Authority's Niagara Project. He h
Page 2 and 3: EDITORIAL COMMENT THE COURSE OF REA
Page 4 and 5: Twelfth District Progress Meeting H
Page 6 and 7: • • Doug Fisher, business manag
Page 8 and 9: • Partial view 01 the delegates a
Page 10 and 11: INTERNAT IONAL BROTHERHOOD O F ELEc
Page 12 and 13: . , Brother Poill':' II, dle.:u'e I
Page 14 and 15: s.. VMpn II 8' ......, Ht
Page 16 and 17: _ ~.£MIIG ........ W Yast IlcNIG A
Page 20 and 21: departl11ent of Research and Educat
Page 22 and 23: thlln SSOO-mlillon a yeM on bbor co
Page 24 and 25: 22 ,he bUllneu manage •• 0 OHne
Page 26 and 27: Chefs Picturfd art Ihe ((Ioks who m
Page 28 and 29: eu, as oPJ'IO,ed 10 87 uRIan milu,
Page 30 and 31: 28 menced lor ino ther lo b well do
Page 32 and 33: m the R"e and ,he SIX loul Brothell
Page 34 and 35: " labor .nd the It5t 01 our country
Page 36 and 37: On the Job Genenud po"' ~r will be
Page 38 and 39: DtmoctallC leaders such as Senator
Page 40 and 41: Sister Sil ler 8ub. ,. COI~' " d ll
Page 42 and 43: Crew That' lit pholo, of member. of
Page 44 and 45: " Picnic Piclured, left 10 rl8ht ,
Page 46 and 47: .. fun~r.il. I,m you'll be lon, r~m
Page 48 and 49: .. the 1 pound 5 ounce d,ulbt(f bor
Page 50 and 51: - me who" the wOlld s~lls IIry.n wl
Page 52 and 53: .. 8un" Pa, Parade ..- Lotll 111, f
Page 54 and 55: 52 Two QI our 8.o,hcn lelllcd hom ,
Page 56 and 57: 54 ~ b~lInced by 19112 'lr 1983" On
Page 58 and 59: lor IUriher .tS .5. Bob Aube su//u~
Page 60 and 61: Bu,hlou5 S""vl~'" OVA, and Donald H
Page 62 and 63: .. Chow Time Pif;IUld '1lht Loc.IIS
Page 64 and 65: ., - fiht.tn·yur-old Olympian It I
Page 66 and 67: 64 whIle Bob and Ihe truck drlnr ro
Page 68 and 69:
.. Mourned Retired Brothel luliu. D
Page 70 and 71:
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Page 72:
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1984-11 November IBEW Journal.pdf - International Brotherhood of ...

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