February 2023 Volume 2 | Issue 8:

Know Your Rights: Holding Employers Accountable

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Upcoming Event: CSEA Women’s Conference – April 28-30

CSEA’s 2023 Women’s Conference, to be held this spring in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is a great opportunity to meet members of CSEA’s Statewide Standing Occupational Safety & Health and Local Government Schools Committees. Visit the Safety & Health table and be sure to stock up on giveaways and materials for your workplace! To learn more and register for the conference, visit cseany.org/womens-conference-2023.

Save the Date! Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial – March 30

The 18th annual award reception and scholarship fundraiser will be held on March 30 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the RWDSU Union Hall, 307 Seventh Ave, 5^th Floor, New York, NY 10001 (Only steps away from Penn Station). Enjoy a night featuring special honorees and awards. Learn more at https://trianglememorial.org/annual-event.

MEMBER ALERT

Injury and Illness Annual Summaries: Know Your Rights and Employer Requirements

PESH and OSHA have workplace injury and illness recordkeeping requirements for, respectively, public and private sector employers. Annual summary posts contain data from these logs (SH-900 or 300), where this information must be recorded and maintained. These logs and summaries serve an important purpose and can be used as a tool to improve workplace safety.

• Every year, employers must sign and visibly post the Summary of Work-Related Injuries & Illnesses in your workplace from February 1 to April 30.
• Every employer is required to have a procedure for reporting workplace injury and illness incidents and inform each employee on this procedure.
• By law, employers are not allowed to discourage or discriminate employees for reporting such incidents. OSHA whistleblower protections protect employees for speaking up about safety hazards and concerns in the workplace.
• If an incident report is requested, the employer must provide a copy of the entire form to the requesting employee by the end of the next business day.
• As an employee, you have the right to access all of these records. It’s a good union practice to annually request logs from the previous year to review and use to identify hazards and implement prevention measures. This can be performed by a safety committee and/or with the help of your CSEA Occupational Safety and Health Specialist.
• If requested, copies of the records must be provided to both current and former employees, and/or authorized employee representatives by the end of the next business day. No information from these logs may be redacted by your employer.

For more information, read our Reporting & Recordkeeping fact sheet.

Don’t Let Employers Off The Hook!

Hold them accountable by requesting copies of your employer’s Work-Related Injury & Illness Logs (SH-900 or 300). Use this sample letter as a template.

Stand Up For Safety!

Has your employer posted an Annual Summary of Injuries & Illnesses at your workplace?

*Send us a picture of the summary posted in your workplace to receive a prize!*

“DEAR BERNIE” ADVICE COLUMN FOR SAFETY SOLUTIONS

 Write to “Dear Bernie” with your questions or concerns relating to workplace safety and health and receive advice from our OSH professionals!

*Submissions will be published anonymously.*

Dear Bernie,

Our boss has sent us out to do some tree cutting and trimming work. Are the standard first aid kits we carry in our work trucks adequate for chainsaw work?

Thanks in Advance,

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for writing to us; your question raises an important issue that affects a wide variety of CSEA members and job tasks. OSHA and PESH regulations require that all employers provide adequate first aid supplies that are readily available when a hospital or other acute care center is not in close proximity to the workplace. Close proximity generally means four minutes or less for a high-risk worksite, where death or serious physical harm can reasonably occur, or 15 minutes or less for all other workplaces. These requirements are outlined in 29CFR1910.151 Subpart K: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.151

Contents of an adequate first aid kit are determined by the nature and degree of the hazard(s) present for the work being performed. In your situation, a basic first aid kit would likely not be adequate for tree cutting and trimming work. OSHA and PESH require, at minimum, an ANSI Z-308 approved first aid kit. Please note that these are minimum needed supplies and not necessarily adequate for high hazard tasks like tree work.

If CSEA members are cutting down trees, that operation would fall under the logging standard 29CFR1910.266: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.151 and would require a first aid kit that at least contains the following items: gauze pads (at least 4”x4”), at least two large gauze pads (8”x10”), box of adhesive bandages, package of gauze 2” wide roller bandage, wound cleaning agent, scissors, blanket, tweezers, tape, latex gloves, resuscitation equipment, two elastic wraps, splint and directions for requesting emergency assistance.

The logging standard does not apply to tree trimming or pruning, limb cleanup or storm cleanup. It is generally recommended by CSEA that members doing any tree work have a first aid kit that, at minimum, complies with the logging standard.

Sincerely,

Bernie

Helpful Links on Tree Care & Landscaping:

https://www.osha.gov/tree-care

https://www.osha.gov/landscaping

OSHA’s “Solutions for Tree Care Hazards” fact sheet/infographic.

SAFETY QUOTE

The most dangerous phrase in the language is,
“We’ve always done it this way.”

– Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

DID YOU KNOW?

Since OSHA’s establishment in 1971, the number of workplace fatalities have been cut by 60%, and occupational injury and illness rates have been cut by 40%. At the same time, U.S. employment has nearly doubled from 56 million workers at 3.5 million worksites to 105 million workers at nearly 6.9 million sites. – Job Safety & Health Quarterly: JSHQ. The Administration, 1989.

READER’S RESPONSE: Building Power through Safety & Health!

Let’s hear about your experiences and involvement with safety and health at your workplace! Inspire and empower others by responding to the prompt below OR by submitting your own “Readers Response” question to be featured in next month’s issue. Then, you can read member replies to your question in the following issue!

• What topics covered by the Safety Net have been most helpful to you and why? Also, let us know what type of content you’d like to see in upcoming issues! What type of information or content do you prefer and/or enjoy most?

*Don’t forget: all participants receive a prize. We look forward to hearing from you!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Keep an Eye Out for Next Month’s Member Spotlight!

Featuring an outstanding group of CSEA members and their recently established safety & health committee who’ve been making major movements in improving workplace safety and health! Read their story in next month’s issue on their exemplary efforts and accomplishments to inspire safety activism in your workplace.

What’s your story? We’d love to hear it! Share your content, which could simply be a safety-related quote/slogan, meme, or photo. You may also submit your own written content; tell us about a particular experience, success story, or give a shoutout to a CSEA member/committee/local, or any other noteworthy recognitions! Please note that all content must be original or attributed to the original source.

*Be featured in the Safety Net or choose to do so anonymously. All participants receive a prize!*

AM I COVERED BY OSHA?

Private Sector Workers

Most private sector employers are covered by U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), either directly through OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state plan.

State & Local Government Workers

Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by OSHA but have OSHA protections if they work in a state that has an OSHA-approved state program.

In New York, the state Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau enforces safety and health standards promulgated under the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Act and several state standards.

Public sector employers include:

• State
• County
• Town
• Village governments
• Public Authorities
• School Districts
• Paid and Volunteer Fire Departments

RECORDKEEPING & REPORTING: PESH/OSHA FORMS & INSTRUCTIONS

OSHA: Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements:

https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping

OSHA: Injury & Illness Recordkeeping Forms – 300, 300A, 301:

https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/forms

PESH: Employee Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Information and Forms:

https://dol.ny.gov/public-employee-safety-health

OSHA TOP 10 VIOLATIONS

Fiscal Year 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022)

1. Fall Protection
2. Hazard Communication
3. Ladders
4. Respiratory Protection
5. Scaffolding
6. Lock-out/Tag-out
7. Powered Industrial Trucks
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements
9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection
10. Machine Guarding

OSH NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

New From OSHA: Heat Illness Prevention Newsletter

Safety + Health Magazine (NSC Publication) | Jan. 23, 2023

Washington — OSHA has published its first issue of Heat Source, the official newsletter of the agency’s Heat Illness Prevention campaign. Read more

News Release from OSHA

U.S. Department of Labor | Jan. 26, 2023

Department of Labor announces enforcement guidance changes to save lives, target employers who put profit over safety. Seeks to hold employers to greater account for safety, health failures.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOL/bulletins/345233f

GET INVOLVED

Be an Advocate for Safety: Help Rebuild CSEA’s Safety Network!

Download/print this newsletter in bulletin format: cseany.org/safetynet

Show us a photo of the newsletter bulletin posted in your workplace to receive a prize!

*Send photos to bernadette.foley@cseainc.org

Get Featured in the Safety Net

We love hearing from you! More importantly, readers truly enjoy and connect with member-driven content. Our goal is to gain visibility and strengthen CSEA’s safety network. What better way to do this than to hear from one another and learn in the process?

Send in your content by responding to any of the following newsletter columns: “Member Spotlight,” “Dear Bernie,” or “Readers’ Response.”

*All who participate will receive a prize! NOTE: Names and any other personal information will NOT be published without permission.

*All submissions can be emailed to bernadette.foley@cseainc.org

MEMBER RESOURCES: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH

Materials & Publications

View/download – A-Z list of fact sheets: cseany.org/safety-resources

Request Free Prints – Publications Order Form

Workshop Trainings & Webinars

This month’s training highlights:

• Deployment Training
• Disaster Preparedness
• Disaster Site Awareness
• Fall Protection
• Outdoor Hazards
• Noise/Hearing Protection
• Personal Protective Equipment

View/Watch – webinar trainings: cseany.org/osh-webinars

CSEA Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) Specialists

Have a general safety concern?

Contact your OSH Specialist here: cseany.org/member-support

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Hurt at Work?

CSEA endorses the law firm of Fine, Olin and Anderman

Get started now by clicking https://www.foalaw.com/csea-members/

Or call at 855-637-1207

SUBSCRIBE TODAY