Health and Safety
The health, safety and well-being of UAW members in GM facilities was again a top priority for your UAW bargaining team during this round of negotiations. Building on previous achievements, union negotiators won new improvements in ergonomics, lockout control, health and safety training, reducing exposure to hazardous substances and other important health and safety protections.
Annual Plant Emergency Exercise
The UAW improved plant emergency and take-shelter exercises. Under the proposed agreement, evacuation and take-cover drills will be performed in real-life situations on all shifts when workers are present.
Improved Access to OSHA Information
The UAW will be notified on a monthly basis of OSHA citations, communications, findings and settlements in UAW-represented facilities.
Lockout and Energy Control
Any time changes are proposed to the lockout process or Monitored Power Systems (MPS), such changes must be first approved by the Joint Local Health and Safety Committee. The changes will then be communicated to all affected employees, including skilled trades, to ensure compliance prior to implementation.
All plants will also be required to conduct an annual review of MPS and lockout placards. Records of this annual review will be tracked by the Plant Safety Review Board (PSRB) to ensure compliance.
Chemical Exposure Protection Improved
The UAW has gained commitment from the corporation to utilize professional hygiene practices and methods to evaluate and control exposure to all chemical hazards and other harmful agents such as radiation, lasers and new technology.
This process will involve investigation of all exposure routes, such as absorption, inhalation and others, utilizing the Hierarchy of Controls. Medical Surveillance
Whenever renovations, demolitions and construction operations are being planned, the Plant Safety Review Board (PSRB) will ensure that health and safety considerations are addressed, including medical surveillance of all workers potentially exposed during these operations.
Confined Space Entry
Personnel who perform atmospheric testing of confined spaces will be required to meet new qualifications, as agreed to in these negotiations.
To further ensure our members’ safety, new parameters for all atmospheric tests will be developed by the National Joint Committee (NJC). The Industrial Hygiene Technician (IHT) will be involved in the identification and development of evaluation of control methods and participate in the annual program review.
Noise Abatement/Control Program
In areas where hearing protection is required, each Plant Safety Review Board (PSRB) will direct the plant Noise Control Committee to develop plant noise abatement programs to reduce noise levels. Progress reports will be reviewed by the National Joint Committee (NJC).
Additionally, the Industrial Hygiene Technician (IHT) will play an increased role in the plant noise control committee. During the annual sound survey, the IHT will assist in the collection and subsequent analysis of noise data.
Emergency Response Teams
To further protect UAW members, the parties agreed that the Plant Safety Review Board (PSRB) at each site will ensure that an emergency response plan is in place which addresses all Emergency Response Team (ERT) training, concerns and situations specific to their location.
Lektro Pick Vehicles
Lektro Pick Vehicles (LPV) have been the source of numerous serious injuries from accidents. The union was successful in getting the corporation to agree to remove all LPVs at GM SPO facilities by September 2008.
Health and Safety Training
The union expressed concerns over the use of non-UAW-GM health and safety training courses or development of such courses. Only those training courses approved by the National Joint Committee (NJC) will be used.
Any course development or training courses by outside contractors or GM University must have prior approval by the NJC and must meet UAW-GM Health and Safety guidelines.
Metal Removal Fluids
During these negotiations the union demanded that exposures to Metal Removal Fluids be substantially reduced. As a result, the corporation agreed to take numerous steps toward reducing exposure to Metal Removal Fluids. Some of these steps are:
• GM will establish a priority tracking process for all personal exposures greater than .05 mgm3 on an 8-hour time weighted average. The tracking process data will be reviewed by the PSRB and the Divisional Review Board to ensure that exposure to Metal Removal Fluids are reduced in all areas.
• Activities such as personal air sampling, ventilation checks and medical surveillance will be increased.
WFG Compliance With Joint Health and Safety Policies
At the insistence of the UAW, the corporation has agreed that Worldwide Facilities Group (WFG); Controls, Conveyors, Robotics, and Welding (CCRW); or any other GM groups will comply with all UAW-GM health and safety practices and procedures, and the National Agreement when they perform a service within a UAW-represented location.
WFG will now have a representative at the Plant Safety Review Board (PSRB) to address any health and safety issues raised by the UAW.
Bus-way Plug Unit Safety Improved
To further protect UAW skilled-trades members, a standard policy will be applicable to every UAW-represented GM facility regarding energized systems. The parties agreed that the practice of installation or removal of bus-way plug-in units will only be performed with the bus-way unit de-energized.
If it is not feasible, the guidelines set forth in Section 6 of the GM Standard for Electrical Safe Work Practices must be followed.
Improved Health and Safety Data
The UAW sought to improve health and safety data available at the local level. As a result, management agreed to update and replace the Health Information System (HIS) with a new system – Medgate – that combines both medical visits information and industrial hygiene data. The new system will make it easier to analyze injury/illness as well as input, retrieve and analyze air sample data.
The new system will allow the local Joint Health and Safety Committee (LJHSC) to generate special reports as needed for analyzing injury/illness trends.
New Technology Specifications and Training
New language mandates that management notify the UAW during the product development process to review potential health and safety issues. A joint team will lead this process to ensure compliance.
A representative from the Manufacturing and Engineering Group will meet with the National Joint Committee (NJC) to review advancements in technology that may impact health and safety.
Ergonomic Analysis Improvements
The UAW made huge strides by gaining new job analysis methods to analyze and redesign work tasks. With these tools, the Joint Ergonomic Technicians Team (JETT) will identify and correct more jobs that cause strains and sprains.
The corporation also agreed to use the 1991 NIOSH lifting equation. This assessment tool significantly improves protection for our members from the risks of jobs that require lifting, bending or twisting.
A revised Risk Factor Checklist that includes 2007 American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist Hand Activity Level Threshold Limit Value (HAL-TLV) will give UAW health and safety representatives a stronger tool for evaluating risks to the upper extremities.
Ergonomics Design Process 21 (EDP 21)
The UAW Joint Ergonomic Technicians Team (JETT) will now have more opportunities to address issues. JETTs will now have the right to open jobs for evaluation and repair two months after they start the T-4 process, or when they exit T-4, whichever comes first. Issues will be tracked in the Technical Ergonomics Database (TED).
Contractor Compliance With UAW-GM Work Practices
Any time outside contractors perform work that can adversely impact UAW members’ health and safety, the corporation will require the contractor to abide by local UAW-GM safe work practices.
As currently established, the Plant Safety Review Boards (PSRB) will monitor contractor activity to ensure compliance.
Hazard Evaluations Established
In response to the deep concerns of the UAW, the corporation will now direct supervisors to evaluate job assignments when members are assigned hazardous jobs that may lie outside the scope of their regular work.
The supervisor will be responsible for providing a written Safe Operating Procedure (SOP) and Pre-Task Safety Plan, detailing precautions the members must take to perform their task(s) safely. The SOP and Pre-Task Safety Plan will be developed with input from the Local Joint Health and Safety Committee (LJHSC) and the Joint Skilled Trades Safety Team (JSTST). Mutually agreed-upon local practices will not be changed or restricted.
Pedestrian Vehicle Safety
Powered industrial vehicles are a source of injuries and accidents. A joint team will be established by the National Joint Committee (NJC) to identify and develop safety innovations for powered vehicles (such as presence sensing devices and audio-visual alarms) to help eliminate pedestrian-vehicle incidents.
Unescorted GM Employee’s Policy Established
Unescorted GM employees who are in UAW-represented GM plants for purposes of developing production processes, installing product launch equipment and other projects must now adhere to local UAW-GM health and safety requirements. The Plant Safety Review Board (PSRB), with input from the Local Joint Health and Safety Committee (LJHSC) and the Joint Skilled Trades Safety Team (JSTST), will ensure compliance.
Joint Research and Occupational Health Advisory Board
The UAW worked hard to ensure that studies for future research projects that impact members’ safety continue. As a result, the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Board (OHAB) will remain intact, and all current and future research commitments will continue.
In an effort to utilize joint research funds more effectively, the National Joint Committee will also investigate opportunities for jointly sponsored health and safety research with the UAW-Ford National Joint Committee for Health and Safety and the UAW-Chrysler National Joint Committee on Health and Safety.