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Joe Miceli, Safety & Health Committee Chair Colleen Wheaton, Central Region President

Spring 2017

The CSEA Central Region 5 Safety & Health Committee Newsletter

Safety Happenings: Around the RegionA Regional Safety Overview from Occupational Safety and Health Specialist Josh Kemp

Unified Court System: Following up onIndoor Air Quality (IAQ) concerns in Cortlandand Oneonta locations; testing was performedand currently under review.

NYS DOT: Continuing to work on tow plowconcerns, Workplace Violence Prevention(WVP) with flaggers, tree work andbloodborne pathogens.

CNY Psych. Center: PESH Complaint filedregarding WVP. Continuing work on safersecurity measures in forensic wards.

Auburn Correctional Facility: Held twopermit-required confined space entry trainings.Currently scheduling four more.

Cayuga Correctional Facility: Developmentof Permit Required Confined Space Entryprogram. Currently scheduling training.

CNY DDSO: Assisted with mold abatement,bed bug infestation and violence concerns.

NYS OCFS: Worked with Taberg and FingerLakes facilities regarding violence and“throwing.”

Oxford Veterans Home: Worked with Localpresident to resolve ergonomic concerns withpatient input system.

SUNY Binghamton: Assisted with chemicaland radon exposures on campus. Assisted withmumps outbreak on campus.

SUNY Delhi: Held Safety and HealthCommittee training. Assisted with mold andpotential asbestos exposures.

SUNY Oswego: Held Safety and HealthCommittee training. Conducted an inspectionand Labor-Management (L-M) meetingregarding malfunctioning refrigerant alarmsand asbestos exposure. Currently working withPESH and L-M regarding the campus permit-required confined space training entry program.

Cayuga County: Assisting with WVPprogram and chemical release in county officebuilding.

Chenango County: Conducted inspection ofergonomic concern at county landfill.

Herkimer County: Held lunch and learntrainings on Active Intruder, Heroin, WVP andBullying. Assisted with IAQ concerns in theprinter room at Herkimer Community College.Provided assistance with asbestos abatement incounty office building.

Lewis County: Performed Work Zone-AllHazard training. Provided assistance regardingremoval of lead-based paint.

Oneida County: PESH Program inspectionperformed.

Onondaga County: Working on EmergencyAction Plans for County buildings. AnnualPESH variance inspection was performed.PESH Complaint filed in DOT garage

regarding excessive pigeon feces in workareas.

Massena Hospital: "Basics of Safety andHealth" lunch and learns performed.

North Syracuse School District: Workingon violence and security concerns in thedistrict.

City of Rome: PESH inspection resultingfrom two members being hospitalized froman overexposure to chlorine gas. spoke atLocal membership meeting. L-M to discussCSEA-offered trainings. Scheduling workzone training for DPW.

Town of Cicero Highway: Work Zone-AllHazard training performed. IAQ Inspectionperformed in garage.

Town of Otsego: PESH issued ten citationsfollowing the death of member AdamBurgess.

Town of Webb: PESH Complaint filedregarding WVP, Lockout-Tagout,trenching, work zone and various otherconcerns.

Village of Potsdam: Assisted with WVPProgram, Lockout-Tagout Program andPermit-Required Confined Space Entryprogram, following PESH citations.

Village of Herkimer: Assisted with theVillage WVP Program.

Safety Report: Our Peer Training ProgramBy Occupational Safety and Health Specialist Josh KempNo one knows their work site better than thosewho work in it. CSEA’s Peer TrainerProgram focuses on the most hazardous jobduties workers face and trains workers in thesefields to allow them to train their co-workersand eliminate preventable fatalities andinjuries resulting from such hazardous work.

This cost-effective, labor/managementinitiative creates an internal safety and healthtraining structure that allows for site-specific,compliant trainings for workers by workers.

CSEA and management participants undergo32-40 hours of train-the-trainer coursesthrough CSEA’s OSH Department. Topicsinclude: Emergency Response to HazardousMaterials; Confined Space Entry; HazardCommunication/Right-to-Know; TemporaryTraffic Control for Emergency Response;Trenching & Excavation for EmergencyResponse; Mold; Safe Refuse Collection;Asbestos Awareness; and Lock-Out/Tag-Out.

Following their training, the peer trainersreturn to their workplaces to deliver thetraining, which is free and available to allemployees, not just CSEA members.

The result is a safer workplace as well as adecrease in injuries, lost work days andworkers’ compensation claims. This savesemployers and taxpayers money.

We salute our Region’s twelve PeerTrainers!

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Observing WorkersMemorial Day every Aprilalways gets me to thinkingabout safety and health inour workplaces. After all,every worker I know wantsto go home at the end of theday in the same conditionshe or he came in to work,but when we reflect on thosewho have died or been hurton the job, we realize thatnot everyone gets to do so.

Our union has a vital roleto play in advocating to keepour members safe andhealthy in the workplace, andoccupational safety and health is apriority for CSEA. That’s why we havea whole department of staffprofessionals who work to do just that.We are committed to doing everythingwe can to make sure none of ourmembers are killed or injured on the jobdue to preventable hazards.

You will read an update in this issuefrom our Region Occupational Safetyand Health Specialist Josh Kemp, whoalong with our Region Safety & HealthCommittee members, have been

handling many issues inour locals and units toraise awareness of andeliminate hazards to ourmembers.

At the State level, wecontinue to fight forgetting school workersadded to the list ofemployees covered byworkplace violenceprevention laws. Wewere also successful inthe past year gettingsanitation and recyclingworkers added to the list

of workers covered by New York’s“Move Over” Law, so that hopefullyfewer workers in that industry areinjured on the job.

At the Federal level, I worry. I worrythat existing safety and healthprotections for workers will be repealedor not enforced. Even more so, I worrythat in the coming future where unionmembership is completely voluntary, wewill lose several things related to jobsafety and health. First, we could losethe political resources to stand up forstronger safety and health laws,

standards and enforcement. Second, Iworry about our union’s ability tomaintain a vigilant and effectiveOccupational Safety and HealthDepartment, staffed by experts in thefield, if we have to scale back operationsdue to a lack of resources when membersquit on each other and our union.

So we need to double down onextending our “Never Quit” message tothe important issue of keeping all of ussafe and healthy at work.

If we can all agree that we want togo home safe and whole at the end ofthe day, then we all need to agree tostick with our union and support havingstrong safety laws and unionprofessionals who can investigate andenforce them. We cannot just leave thisto chance or to some external agency.We need to make sure that WE arestanding up for ourselves and our ownsafety on the job. We cannot afford toquit, because lives can literally be atstake, as I was recently reminded onWorkers Memorial Day.

In Solidarity,

A Message From Region President Colleen Wheaton

Never quitting on safe and healthy workplaces

Is an official publication of theCSEA Central Region

Safety & Health Committee

Colleen Wheaton, PresidentJoe Miceli, Chair

Bob Timpano, AdvisorJosh Kemp, OSH Specialist

Mark Kotzin, Editor

Send address corrections to:CSEA, 6595 Kirkville Road

East Syracuse, NY 13057

Colleen Wheaton

Alive! A message from the Chairby Joe Miceli, Chair, Region 5 Safety & Health Committee

Our 8th Workers Memorial Dayobservance was a beautiful day and awonderful way to remember those we’velost. This year we only read one name. Ilook forward to the year when no namesare read. That will mean we’re doing ourjobs better and safer.

I'd like to thank Matthew Harper forall his help setting up our observance.There’s a lot that goes into this and Mattfound and set up the site, arranged for ourcolor guard, bagpipes and pastor, alongwith having the mayor deliver aproclamation. Every year, we have great

help, so thank youto all who’ve helpedin the past. Thankyou also to all whoattended. We arealready trying todetermine nextyear’s location.

Let’s all have a safe summer andremember to Slow Down to Get Aroundand Don't Zone Out. These are not justsayings, they save lives.

Be Safe, Joe

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Workers Memorial Day 2017

Workers Memorial Day in pictures

Workers Memorial Day 2017 (clockwise from top):Attendees bow their heads as Pastor Dennis Murray delivers

his benediction; (R-L): Health & Safety Committee Chair JoeMiceli,, Region President Colleen Wheaton, City of Oneonta UnitPresident Matthew Harper, Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig andOtsego County Local 839 President Tim Backus stand by theliving memorial tree; Region President Wheaton accepts a

proclamation from Mayor GaryHerzig; City of Oneonta UnitPresident Matthew Harper placesthe plaque dedicating the tree;bagpipers and the Mt. VisionVolunteer Fire Department HonorGuard present the flags to begin theobservance; and a close up showsthe plaque marking the tree weplanted as a living memorial fromCSEA.

Photos by CSEA CommunicationsSpecialist Mark Kotzin

Region 5 Safety & HealthCommittee Members

We need toknow!

Keep 5 Alive Spring 2017

Joe Miceli, Chair, SUNY Oswego.............................................................(315) 312-2732Bob Timpano, Regional Advisor...............................................................(315) 733-1435Heather Berry, Region 5 Judiciary...........................................................(315) 671-1099Arthur Briggs, Mohawk Valley Psych. Ctr.............................................(315) 738-2699Ralph Cavo, Oneida County......................................................................(315) 941-6876Matthew Crim, Herkimer County............................................................(315) 219-7686Ronald Doughty, Upstate Medical University.........................................(315) 464-4351Matthew Harper, Otsego County..............................................................(607) 610-4147Tom Hingher, SUNY Cortland.................................................................(607) 753-2120James Jackson, Oswego County................................................................(315) 341-2906Lynn May, Jefferson County.....................................................................(315) 642-0338Don Page, CNY DDSO...............................................................................(315) 336-8413Linda Park, Onondaga County.................................................................(315) 435-3280Tom Simchik, Madison County................................................................(315) 264-8940Kevin Thompson, Black River Valley State Employees........................(315) 782-4473Karen Tisci, Southern Tier State Employees..........................................(607) 741-4414Marlene Wescott, SUNY Morrisville........................................................(315) 684-6459

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If you come across aserious workplace hazard

or have any type ofemergency situation

arise that has orcould jeopardize thesafety of CSEA

members, you shouldimmediately notify your

nearest CSEA Officer, andrequest that they immediately report thesituation to CSEA’s OccupationalSafety and Health Specialist Josh Kemp.

CSEA can most effectively respondto emergency situations and protect yoursafety with prompt notification. Thisallows us to assess the situation and tohopefully addressproblems beforeanyone is hurt.

OSH SpecialistJosh Kemp can bereached at (800) 559-7975, ext. 3376.

Note: Our Safety & Health Committee is always seeking additional activists to beappointed by their presidents who have a commitment to safety and health issues.Committee nomination forms are available by calling the Region Office at (800)559-7975.

Remembering our fallen on Workers Memorial DayOur Region Safety and Health Committee

recently planted our eighth “living memorial”tree in Otsego County as a reminder of workerskilled or injured on the job.

Since 2010, our Region Committee hasparticipated in the annual national observanceof Workers Memorial Day by planting a livingmemorial in one of our twenty counties. Wenow have eight counties covered, including:Onondaga; Jefferson; Schuyler; Broome;Oneida; St. Lawrence; Oswego and Otsego.

Region President Colleen Wheaton said theCommittee’s goal is to plant a tree in eachcounty until all twenty counties in our CentralRegion have one. If we keep to this schedule,our entire Region will be covered by the year2029.

“We plan to continue this proud traditionof recognizing those we’ve lost with this livingreminder and tribute,” she said.

This year’s tree planting at Neahwa Park

in Oneonta was extremely well attended, withmore than 50 people attending from around ourRegion, including activists from Jefferson,Oswego, Onondaga, Oneida, Cortland,Broome, Otsego, and Delaware Counties, toname a few.

Safety and Health Committee Chair JoeMiceli kicked off the observance, introducingthe bagpipers and the Mt. Vision VolunteerFire Department’s Honor Guard, whopresented the flags for the ceremony. The Mt.Vision VFD participated in memory of AdamBurgess, a CSEA member working in the Townof Otsego Highway Department who was killedin 2015 after being struck by a falling tree. Healso served as a first assistant chief in the firedepartment.

During the ceremony, Pastor DennisMurray from the Sidney Center Baptist Churchoffered an opening prayer and poem. He wasfollowed by Wheaton, who welcomed thecrowd and introduced City of Oneonta Mayor

Gary Herzig. Mayor Herzig read aloud aproclamation he issued on behalf of theobservance. Following his remarks, RegionCommittee Chair Joe Miceli read aloud thename of CSEA Local 815 member Donald F.Schultz II, who was killed on the job lastOctober, as City of Oneonta Unit PresidentMatthew Harper installed the plaque dedicatingthe tree the union planted for this year’sobservance.

“It was a very nice, moving ceremony, andI’m proud of our Region Committee for all thework they put into the observance,” Wheatonsaid.

By Communications Specialist Mark Kotzin

Living Memorial Tree Locations● East Syracuse● Watertown● Watkins Glen● Binghamton

● Utica● Massena● Oswego● Oneonta