Union Approach to Health and Safety: - United Steelworkers

work on improving safety and health conditions at the workplace. These
committees include representatives from both labor and management, and
usually meet on a regular basis (such as monthly).
Some joint labor-management committees have been very effective in
identifying and addressing certain health and safety problems on an ongoing
basis. Other joint committees are less effective in solving health and
safety problems.
The next section includes a list of questions regarding joint labormanagement
health and safety committees. The more “yes” answers, the
more likely a committee is to be effective in addressing health and safety
problems in a workplace.
Questions to Ask About Joint Labor-Management Committees:
1. Does the union have at least as many members serving on the joint
committee as management?
2. Does the union have the sole right to select the union members of the
joint committee? (Note: Under the National Labor Relations Act and
labor law that tracks the NLRA, it is unlawful for an employer to
“dominate” a joint labor-management health and safety committee
where there is back-and-forth “dealing” and discussion of health and
safety issues. Among other things, employers are prohibited from
selecting bargaining unit members to serve on workplace or
departmental health and safety committees or teams.)
3. Are there union and management co-chairs of the committee?
4. Are the management members of the committee senior enough to
make real decisions that cost money?
5. Can the committee make decisions and put them into effect?
6. Does the union have an equal say in establishing the joint committee’s
agenda and priorities?
7. Can the committee make inspections of the workplace?