Safer work

Photo: LUIS VASQUEZ

Staying safe is a high priority for UAW Local 686 members at Perry’s Ice Cream

There’s more to making ice cream than most people think, especially when it comes to health and safety. Few know that better than the 140 UAW members who work for Perry’s Ice Cream Co. in Akron, N.Y.

"Here, health and safety is a priority," said Bob Englehart, UAW Local 686 president. "Everyone is committed to it, and it makes a big difference. It helps us keep workers and customers safe."

Yes, working at Perry’s involves more than making sure the treat stays creamy and cold.

It also involves sterilizing 20,000-gallon silos, handling 80,000 pounds of refrigerant and keeping work surfaces bacteria free.

Workers at Perry’s do everything from handling raw ingredients to the finished product, keeping equipment running and making sure the grounds are maintained. Workers in the 90,000-square-foot plant run eight production lines and produce 15 million gallons of ice cream a year.

"No matter where you work, you have to keep health and safety in mind because you could be putting your life on the line," said Willie Jago, a lead mechanic and Perry’s employee for 30 years.

Jago and others from the amalgamated local in Lockport, N.Y., participated in industrial emergency response training at the plant in June – one of seven hazardous materials programs in recent years that show Perry’s employees and management are committed to keeping the workplace safe. The trainings are conducted by the UAW Health and Safety Department and include information on ammonia alarm systems, proper air monitoring, evacuation procedures and hands-on hazardous materials decontamination demonstrations.

"It makes a difference when you have training and you get to experience everything firsthand," said Frank Maloney, a maintenance and machine repair worker. "No matter what you think you know, when you put on that safety suit, it’s a different world," added Maloney, who has worked at Perry’s for 15 years.

"What I’ve learned here has become like second nature to me. I even pay more attention to health and safety issues at home now," he said. "Whether I’m on the roof, using a lawn mower or changing a spark plug, I want to make sure that if I start my day with 10 fingers and 10 toes, I end it the same way."

UAW members organized in 1998 and successfully negotiated a first contract in January 1999. Local 686 also represents more than 4,600 members who make radiators, oil coolers, condensers, evaporators and HVAC units at Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems; valves and regulators at Sherwood-Harsco; metal products for Metal Cladding Inc., and rubber and plastic products for Avon Automotive. In addition, they represent cafeteria workers at the Delphi facility and hospital workers at Reflections In-Patient Unit in Lockport.

Sandra Davis