Status of Safety Committee Negotiations

July 15, 2002

            The Union has brought forward proposals that will make our jobs, the community, and the environment a safer place. The three main issues for the Union are A.E.D.’s (Defibulators), diesel emissions, and port security. At this time, there has been no agreement on these issues. The Employers continue to stall, mislead and frustrate the Union committee. Your negotiators are resolved in these demands and will continue to fight for what is right.

            The Employer has brought forward proposals that will delete long established safety rules and give them the ability to discipline a worker for being injured. Their four main proposals give them the ability to write a complaint on crane ops, hatchtenders or spotters for inadvertently hoisting a UTR or landing hard on a chassis, the ability to write a complaint if you fall while mounting or dismounting equipment, or cite you if your hand gets smashed while removing a cone during a bombcart operation. The Union has addressed and brought solutions for all the Employers concerns, but they cost money and they’re not willing to go there. The Union committee will not allow the PCMSC to become a punitive document.

The Safety Committee

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