Safety Committee Disbanded?

[The Blackadder]

As a safety committee member I have heard nothing.

ON the other hand I have still not heard anything from Mgmt. when I ask them how it is safe to work people 10 plus hours a day, day in day out.

If UPS really cared about safety they would not us working 10 plus hours a day.

But then we all know what the higher ups at UPS think about us.

Be safe get home take care or yourself! No one else is going to do it for you.

 

[Catatonic]

Be safe get home take care or yourself! No one else is going to do it for you.

Good advice ... I've always had that attitude.

 

[brownIEman]

Me too.... Even on my 17 hour days...

 

[browniehound]

Ya know I never understood why UPS would pay its hourly commitee members all that OT when they basically serve no purpose. Seriously, what do they do and what does it accomplish? I percieve it as they talk about safety and it accomplishes nothing towards anyone working safely.

One day, they had the hourly co-chair give a safety tip at the PCM. In this weird, thick southern accent he says "ok guys the safety tip is 'Aim High In Steering' baseballs, billboards, dartboards. center you truck on the lane" Those were his exact words. Obviously he had a couple of the 5 seeing habits mixed in there and I laughed really hard.

Now if he can't get it right, what the heck is he doing on the safety commitee and why hasn't it taught him the most basic of UPS safety rules if anything? Billboards and dartboards? Good god! That is just classic humor to me.

 

[Jones]

Ya know I never understood why UPS would pay its hourly commitee members all that OT when they basically serve no purpose. Seriously, what do they do and what does it accomplish? I percieve it as they talk about safety and it accomplishes nothing towards anyone working safely.

One day, they had the hourly co-chair give a safety tip at the PCM. In this weird, thick southern accent he says "ok guys the safety tip is 'Aim High In Steering' baseballs, billboards, dartboards. center you truck on the lane" Those were his exact words. Obviously he had a couple of the 5 seeing habits mixed in there and I laughed really hard.

Now if he can't get it right, what the heck is he doing on the safety commitee and why hasn't it taught him the most basic of UPS safety rules if anything? Billboards and dartboards? Good god! That is just classic humor to me.

That's the answer I'm going to give to any DOK question from now on. I already got the weird, thick southern accent down cold.

 

[Integrity]

To All,

The Safety Committee hourly members should follow the contract. They should only do what the contract states they do.

The problem is that most safety committee members don't know that the committees are nationally bargained for to help the employees not the company.

Another part of the problem is that local union officials don't enforce the contract with regard to activities that safety committee members participate.

Shutting down committees is not the answer, following the contract is the answer.

Article 18 Section 20.4 of the Master, if you are interested.

Sincerely,
I

 

[soberups]

Ya know I never understood why UPS would pay its hourly commitee members all that OT when they basically serve no purpose. Seriously, what do they do and what does it accomplish? I percieve it as they talk about safety and it accomplishes nothing towards anyone working safely....

UPS is required by OSHA to have a Safety Commitee.

It is not a requirement, nor is it even desired, that the Committee ever accomplish anything.

Authentic safety improvements cost money, and the last thing that the company wants is an independent, employee-controlled organization within UPS that could potentially cost money.

So the best way to control that Committee...is to co-opt it. Put it "in charge" of safe, cheap, meaningless little things like audits and acronyms and word games. Keep it "busy" with activities that are easy to take credit for such as contests and barbecues. And, most importantly, give the "leaders" of the committee preferential treatment and special priveleges in exchange for their cooperation.

Done properly, the result is a "Safety Committee" that is completely under the control of the company.

 

[menotyou]

B-B-Que's? Who gets a b-b-que?

 

[Integrity]

UPS is required by OSHA to have a Safety Commitee.

It is not a requirement, nor is it even desired, that the Committee ever accomplish anything.

Authentic safety improvements cost money, and the last thing that the company wants is an independent, employee-controlled organization within UPS that could potentially cost money.

So the best way to control that Committee...is to co-opt it. Put it "in charge" of safe, cheap, meaningless little things like audits and acronyms and word games. Keep it "busy" with activities that are easy to take credit for such as contests and barbecues. And, most importantly, give the "leaders" of the committee preferential treatment and special priveleges in exchange for their cooperation.

Done properly, the result is a "Safety Committee" that is completely under the control of the company.

soberups,

Your appraisal of the committees being completely under the control of the company is accurate.

By their actions this appears to be the way the local union officials want it.

All Teamsters have a stake in tha safety committees.

Why do you think the local union officials are refusing to enforce the contract language pertaining to safety committees?

Disbanding safety committees is wrong. Enforcing the contract language is right.

Disbanding safety committees is simply showing, the company, OSHA, the world that unions are unreasonable.

This is a sign of imaturity on the leaderships part.

The local union officials have allowed this problem to get out of hand, it is up to them to take whatever steps they need to to make it right.

They should start by meticulously following the safety committee language in the National Agreement Article 18 Sec 20.4.

Sincerely,
I

 

[menotyou]

Integrity,

Why do union officials ignore Article 37? Why are teamsters continuously targeted and harassed without any intervention from them to stop this practice?

Sincerely,

Menotyou

 

[Integrity]

Integrity,

Why do union officials ignore Article 37? Why are teamsters continuously targeted and harassed without any intervention from them to stop this practice?

Sincerely,

Menotyou

menotyou,

I don't know the specific answers to your specific issues, but I do know this.

Union officials should not ignore Article 37. Union officials who fail to do this should be respectfully and firmly challenged.

Union officials should make preventing harassement and intimidation of the working man and woman one of their highest priorities.

If I were handling your concern I would ask the following:

Please state in detail how the local union officials are ignoring Article 37.

Please state in detail how you have been targeted and harassed, what you did about it, and how the local union officials have failed to intervene.


Sincerely,
I

 

[TheKid]

I am on vacation but I got a text yesterday from my BA informing me that our safety committee has been disbanded.

 

[menotyou]

Dispatcher chased me into a truck because I was clucking like a chicken. He wrote me up for causing "mayhem". (was thrown out, later) Nothing was done about him chasing me into truck and I wasn't allowed to file a grievance. 2 years later, a driver threatened to shove an add/cut sheet up the dispatchers ass and he was fired. Same building, same union local.

 

[brownmonster]

Dispatcher chased me into a truck because I was clucking like a chicken. He wrote me up for causing "mayhem". (was thrown out, later) Nothing was done about him chasing me into truck and I wasn't allowed to file a grievance. 2 years later, a driver threatened to shove an add/cut sheet up the dispatchers ass and he was fired. Same building, same union local.

Your building needs it's own reality show.

 

[menotyou]

I know. It is extremely entertaining when you aren't the star!

 

[Integrity]

Dispatcher chased me into a truck because I was clucking like a chicken. He wrote me up for causing "mayhem". (was thrown out, later) Nothing was done about him chasing me into truck and I wasn't allowed to file a grievance. 2 years later, a driver threatened to shove an add/cut sheet up the dispatchers ass and he was fired. Same building, same union local.

menotyou,

In order for I to make any comment, I will need more details.

Please give me a precise run down of what happened.

Please start from the beginning of the incident to the end.

Please bring me up to the point where you feel the union officials ignored Article 37 and did not intervene with targeting and harassment.

Please be as specific and detailed as you can within Brown Cafe TOS.

Sincerely,

I

 

[menotyou]

When I came back from surgery, I was not allowed to do the job that I had been doing for 4.5 years, which was DA. I was loading the hardest and heaviest area that involves an army base. The loader from that area was moved to "accommodate" me. He was scanning. I was inquiring as to who gave the order that put me where I was. I was told it came from above. Who? No answer. So, as I continued to load, I started clucking like a chicken to "wacky"(sup who later shoulder-checked me) who was standing in my work area trying to explain why I couldn't do any job in belt except load. "scooter" came down the other side of the belt, almost jump the belt without turning it off(had to a take his foot of the moving belt to stop it) stopped the belt-and production- to jump across and chase me into a truck I was loading. I ran out the other side as a co-worker came running down the belt to stop "scooter" from attacking me. Ignoring Art 37 came from nothing being down about a supervisor chasing me out of my work space. Isn't that a form of workplace violence?

 

[Integrity]

When I came back from surgery, I was not allowed to do the job that I had been doing for 4.5 years, which was DA. I was loading the hardest and heaviest area that involves an army base. The loader from that area was moved to "accommodate" me. He was scanning. I was inquiring as to who gave the order that put me where I was. I was told it came from above. Who? No answer. So, as I continued to load, I started clucking like a chicken to "wacky"(sup who later shoulder-checked me) who was standing in my work area trying to explain why I couldn't do any job in belt except load. "scooter" came down the other side of the belt, almost jump the belt without turning it off(had to a take his foot of the moving belt to stop it) stopped the belt-and production- to jump across and chase me into a truck I was loading. I ran out the other side as a co-worker came running down the belt to stop "scooter" from attacking me. Ignoring Art 37 came from nothing being down about a supervisor chasing me out of my work space. Isn't that a form of workplace violence?

menotyou,

Was the surgery related to an on the job injury?

Was your job one of the part-time clerk jobs eliminated as part of the full-time clerk grievance that arose from the PAS implementation?

Sincerely,
I

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Your building needs it's own reality show.

I know. It is extremely entertaining when you aren't the star!

Black River Blues?

 

[packageguy]

I know some places in central jersey have no safety committee. Lots of those memebers in there truck finger******* the load.