Page 3 - Work Force September 2020

Safe@School: new initiative aims to make schools safer for workers; school community
ALBANY — With so much uncertainty facing school
workers getting ready to return to classrooms, bus garages, kitchens and cafeterias, libraries, and school buildings in the midst of the global pandemic, CSEA is focusing on providing them training, resources and guidance.
The aim? To help answer their concerns and keep educational support professionals safe, as well as the school communities they support.
categories within districts, including bus drivers, cleaners and aides/ monitors.
“There are so many questions about safely returning to school, whether online or virtual, that we saw a need to develop a specialized resource area just for the members who keep our schools running,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “Our goal is to protect them as well as the entire school community they support. Utilizing the professional staff in our Occupational Safety
To that end, our
union recently launched the Safe@School Initiative, a cooperative venture between
“We have an opportunity to join our resources and knowledge, not to just protect one group, but to hear the concerns and do our very best to protect all those affected and make a huge difference. One voice for the safety of all.”
and Health Department, we’ve pulled together some great resources to answer their questions and provide the protection
they need and deserve.”
“Providing our school workers with the most accurate
Holland-Patent School District Local President John Brown, CSEA’s Special Local Government Schools Committee chair, on the job earlier this year, prior to the pandemic. Brown also serves as Oneida County Educational Employees Local president.
the staff
professionals
in the union’s
Occupational
Safety and
Health (OSH)
and Communications Departments, the members of CSEA’s Standing Safety and Health Committee and the members of the union’s Special Local Government Schools Committee.
and up-to-date information as they look at reopening is our major concern,” said John Brown, chair of CSEA’s Special Local Government Schools Committee. “Combining the efforts of our statewide Safety and Health Committee with our schools is a terrific way to use the knowledge that all these members bring to the table. By joining forces, we should
be able to identify health and safety issues that are of utmost concern and provide some guidance and information to them as they go back
to work in uneasy times.” “Opening
schools not only
affects the CSEA
members, but will
affect the teachers,
management,
students, parents
and community,”
said Jane Meunier,
chair of CSEA’s
statewide Standing Occupational Safety and Health Committee. “We have an opportunity to join our resources and knowledge, not to just protect one group, but to hear the concerns and do our very best to
Learn more at:
protect all those affected and make a huge difference. One voice for the safety of all.”
Matthew Kozak, director of our union’s Occupational Safety and Health Department, said department staff have been working hard to provide current resources to help ensure safer schools.
“We want to make sure that workers have the tools and knowledge during this very scary time to help them do everything possible to maintain the safest schools possible,” he said.
— Mark M. Kotzin
The result is a new web page, accessed by visiting https:// cseany.org/school-safety that provides education, tools and other resources. One highlight is a series of specialized webinars, exclusively produced by CSEA’s OSH Department for school workers. They include topics covering specific job
Meunier
September 2020
The Work Force 3
https://cseany.org/school-safety