Safety Committee

[over9five]

I went to the safety committee once. We had all been working 11-12 hour days for a month. I went to the committee and told them this had to stop. We were all very tired and someone was going to get hurt. Tired people make mistakes. The response I got? "Working 11-12 hour days is not a safety issue".
Really.

My shop steward used to be on the committee. He quit the day after they sent us out in a blizzard, and wouldn't call us back in. You know what I did all day in the blizzard? Drove my PC around and around and around. I didn't dare stop, because I would have been stuck.

There's a safety committee, but there's no REAL safety issues being addressed by it.

[mikestrek]

Originally Posted by McBrown

For this and many other reasons, I handed my Bus. Manager a letter a few weeks back and resigned as Safety Co-Chair.

When management does their "analysis" as it relates to crashes/injuries, they are trained to find out what could have been distracting you. (i.e. trouble with the wife, dog ran away, any other reason why your mind might not be on the job) This is blatently trying to put all the blame back on the drivers.

I can't tell you how many "repeater interviews" I sat in on where the "offender" was saying these exact same things. Pressure to perform by management.

When I am pulled into the office for any bitching session, I make sure to tell them I chose to leave my bulkhead door open or I chose not to use my handrail. It's what they want to hear anyway. Then I hear the horror stories of the guys who fell out of their truck on to slippery ice and had a compound fracture of the leg or a projectile the size of a pack of gum lodging itself in some driver's head causing him to be in a vegitative state. I thank my steward for coming with me, offer to buy him a coke for wasting his time in the office, and get on with my day.

Safety! IT'S NO ACCIDENT! Yeah right, it's certainly not an accident when they put the blame back on us!

McBrown, I couldn't have said it any better.

[speeddemon]

We have a safety program because OSHA says we have too. My father N law is an OSHA inspector. I regularly use that bit of leverage.......=)

[mikestrek]

Originally Posted by feeder53

I would work on a safety committee if I had the ability to have input and
implement change.

Agree, That makes sense.

[broncobros1]

Originally Posted by But Benefits Are Great!

...that and if the pay was decent....

Are you f-ing joking!? Try to find any where else that is willing to pay you what you receive! Get a clue!

[brownman15]

Originally Posted by sx2700

LOL @ safety committee.....I "won" a $50 gift card over 2 years ago. I'm still waiting for it.

i won a xm radio last summer never say it and that cm is gone now.

[IDoLessWorkThanMost]

Originally Posted by brownrodster

The missload comittee... If you want to spend 1 or 2 days per week driving around shuttling missloads then by all means join the safety, er, missload comittee.

In the last building I worked in, that's the air drivers job. Shuttle around ground misloads. the safety committee union rat didn't do squat, not even misloads Just sat in the A/C office and blabbed all day. Sad!


P.S little story summerized.

About 3-4 years ago, I was sorting on the "sort aisle" - there were 2 guys unloading and me sorting. Because of a jam on a sort belt, I moved laterally to break a jam that was behind me.

Moving out of my work area by 3 feet, to unjar the boxes, A 50 pound tube rolled off the belt and fell onto my leg (overflow above all the other boxes from the other side) Of course, it was the enourmous flow that caused this to happen, yet management claimed it was my fault for being out of position! and this was posted into my record, and I eventually took on more problems and harrassment because I did report the injury at the time.

That was very very painful and I was not going to leave without reporting it.

Saftey at UPS? Does not exist - until work is performed at a reasonable pace, and you put yourself in positions where you cannot possibly be injured for any reason. The above references a good example of doing too much (apparently, in UPS's eyes) to not distrupt the operations.

I've been on the committee for 17 years,started as part time then to full time driver.Yes the comm is sometimes a joke,only having meetings when they have time not living up to what the comm is for.I was sick and tired of doing it half assed so I told them do it correct or I'm done!!It has improved alot since then.Not the perfect comm but improved. The members have to do what they are there for not just the extra pay and to rat out employees!!!I have made management update a lot of safety issues and made my building alot safer and employees come to me when they have concerns because they know I will take care of the problem!My thing is do what it is for.....Make a safe place to work..... Remember this.........If your health is bad because you were not working safe then you have nothing............

[mikestrek]

Originally Posted by IDoLessWorkThanMost

In the last building I worked in, that's the air drivers job. Shuttle around ground misloads. the safety committee union rat didn't do squat, not even misloads Just sat in the A/C office and blabbed all day. Sad!


P.S little story summerized.

About 3-4 years ago, I was sorting on the "sort aisle" - there were 2 guys unloading and me sorting. Because of a jam on a sort belt, I moved laterally to break a jam that was behind me.

Moving out of my work area by 3 feet, to unjar the boxes, A 50 pound tube rolled off the belt and fell onto my leg (overflow above all the other boxes from the other side) Of course, it was the enourmous flow that caused this to happen, yet management claimed it was my fault for being out of position! and this was posted into my record, and I eventually took on more problems and harrassment because I did report the injury at the time.

That was very very painful and I was not going to leave without reporting it.

Saftey at UPS? Does not exist - until work is performed at a reasonable pace, and you put yourself in positions where you cannot possibly be injured for any reason. The above references a good example of doing too much (apparently, in UPS's eyes) to not distrupt the operations.

So the truth does come out. Nice Story.

[mikestrek]

Originally Posted by IDoLessWorkThanMost

In the last building I worked in, that's the air drivers job. Shuttle around ground misloads. the safety committee union rat didn't do squat, not even misloads Just sat in the A/C office and blabbed all day. Sad!


P.S little story summerized.

About 3-4 years ago, I was sorting on the "sort aisle" - there were 2 guys unloading and me sorting. Because of a jam on a sort belt, I moved laterally to break a jam that was behind me.

Moving out of my work area by 3 feet, to unjar the boxes, A 50 pound tube rolled off the belt and fell onto my leg (overflow above all the other boxes from the other side) Of course, it was the enourmous flow that caused this to happen, yet management claimed it was my fault for being out of position! and this was posted into my record, and I eventually took on more problems and harrassment because I did report the injury at the time.

That was very very painful and I was not going to leave without reporting it.

Saftey at UPS? Does not exist - until work is performed at a reasonable pace, and you put yourself in positions where you cannot possibly be injured for any reason. The above references a good example of doing too much (apparently, in UPS's eyes) to not distrupt the operations.

So the truth does come out. Nice Story. Agree.

[But Benefits Are Great!]

Originally Posted by broncobros1

Are you f-ing joking!? Try to find any where else that is willing to pay you what you receive! Get a clue!

$8.50 / hour is decent? I want to live where you live.

[IDoLessWorkThanMost]

Originally Posted by mikestrek

So the truth does come out. Nice Story.

Yeah , the truth hurts at UPS.

[IDoLessWorkThanMost]

Originally Posted by But Benefits Are Great!

$8.50 / hour is decent? I want to live where you live.

He/she probably thought you were a full-time driving cleaning up big money.

[Mike Hawk]

Originally Posted by But Benefits Are Great!

$8.50 / hour is decent? I want to live where you live.

Go load trucks for an extra dollar!

[longlunchguy]

In our center the fastest way on to the safety committee is to have an accident. As soon as your write up is handed down, it is "suggested" you should sign up. It's hilarious watching the poor guy who just smashed a miata reading the safety tips at the pcms for a month.

[mikestrek]

[quote=longlunchguy;360772]In our center the fastest way on to the safety committee is to have an accident. As soon as your write up is handed down, it is "suggested" you should sign up. It's hilarious watching the poor guy who just smashed a miata reading the safety tips at the pcms for a month.[/quot
LOL. That is way to funny. No, We haven't done that in our center but interesting.

[dannyboy]

A couple of things.

First off, if you allow the company to run over your rights, then you sit there and blame the company? How does that work? A bunch of spinless cry babies!!! Its in the contract, you voted it in, do something with it.

The safety committee is your safety committee, not UPS's. They had to create the program, and the union has said they have to pay you for your time doing safety committee work. There is also language that addresses safety issues that the company will not follow up on. File grievances, use your tallents to make UPS adhere to the contract.

Or do like so many of you here, type your frustrations out on this site without ever taking the time to change things. Shame on you! You deserve the safety committee you have, after all by not demanding your rights, you have given them away and allowed UPS to do as they see fit.

For those that have taken the company to task while serving on the safety committee, our thanks. I know that the job is thankless. But you can and do make a difference. And while the members of management kick and scream when you try and make serious changes, hold your course. They might not like what you do, or even like you. Who cares. But they will respect your actions. And it will bear fruit.

For those of you that have, lead on. For those that have not, enjoy what you have allowed to be mis-created.

d

[scoobypanda]

Wow.....thanks for backing me up Dan. I said similar things, but I tried to be a little more tactful and politically correct while you went right for the jugular. You are THE MAN. Knowing that I am pissing off management a lot more than I am pissing off my co-workers is my usual barometer for success. Safety and the safety committee is a great tool/weapon. It just takes some work and a thick skull.

[dannyboy]

Im sorry if I stepped on any toes.

Well, not really.

I just get tired of the snipers on the sidelines posting how the safety committee has become a tool for the company.

Well what in the hell did you think they were going to do, invite you in to become one more challenge to their day? Get real. IF you want change, and I mean real change, start from the inside and be that agent of change. There are tools there for you to use, use them. Keep hitting them with safety grievances until they cant see over the stack. Document everything you do and tell them about.

Then if you dont get any results, turn up the heat. Lots of things you can do, and many of them will bring attention to you as a driver. But so what. Do your job like you know how it needs to be done. No matter who is or is not watching.

And when the company cochair tries to push some asinine program that treats the drivers like 2 year olds, come up with something else, something different, something that will make a difference.

Hell, the world if full of would be/has beens that can sit by the keyboard and shoot down those that would dare to lead.......and there are many here.

Make your difference, make your mark, or shut the heck up. If you cant be part of the solution, its because you are part of the problem.

d

d

[mikestrek]

Originally Posted by dannyboy

A couple of things.

First off, if you allow the company to run over your rights, then you sit there and blame the company? How does that work? A bunch of spinless cry babies!!! Its in the contract, you voted it in, do something with it.

The safety committee is your safety committee, not UPS's. They had to create the program, and the union has said they have to pay you for your time doing safety committee work. There is also language that addresses safety issues that the company will not follow up on. File grievances, use your tallents to make UPS adhere to the contract.

Or do like so many of you here, type your frustrations out on this site without ever taking the time to change things. Shame on you! You deserve the safety committee you have, after all by not demanding your rights, you have given them away and allowed UPS to do as they see fit.

For those that have taken the company to task while serving on the safety committee, our thanks. I know that the job is thankless. But you can and do make a difference. And while the members of management kick and scream when you try and make serious changes, hold your course. They might not like what you do, or even like you. Who cares. But they will respect your actions. And it will bear fruit.

For those of you that have, lead on. For those that have not, enjoy what you have allowed to be mis-created.

d

dannyboy, Good comment. I see your point.