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Joe Miceli, Safety & Health Committee Chair Kenny Greenleaf, Central Region President

Spring 2019

The CSEA Central Region 5 Safety & Health Committee Newsletter

Safety Happenings: Region mourns DOT workzone fatalityBy former Communications Specialist Mark Kotzin

Safety Happenings: Around our RegionReported by Occupational Safety & Health Specialist Josh Kemp

CSEA’s statewide Peer Trainer Programwelcomes the following new members fromour Central Region: SUNY Oswegomembers Jason Hrncirik and Dustin Barberaand SUNY Potsdam members ChristopherSherman and Ray Dousharm.

Speaking of our Peer Trainer Program,at the recent statewide conference, PeerTrainers Matthew Harper and RobertStevens, City of Oneonta won this yearsCharlie Noble Award. Congratulations!

Congratulations also to Syracuse StateEmployees Local 013 President DianeBurton who was appointed to our statewidestanding Safety and Health Committee.

We strengthen our dedication to keepingworkplaces safer with every Safety andHealth Committee our union created.

Welcome to our two newest committeesformed at Broome DDSO and BaldwinsvilleCentral Schools!

OSH Specialist Josh Kemp has beenbusy, performing direct safety training attwenty different work locations throughoutthe region in the recent past.

Kemp has also been assistingwith our union’s Member Engage-ment activities, making presenta-tions in ten different Locals/Unitsand also participating in our recentChemung/Schuyler County“Blitz.”

As noted in the story above,CSEA's OSH Department iscontinuing to investigate the deathof Dennis "Matt" Howe. The

Department of Labor’s Public EmployeeSafety and Health (PESH) Bureau’s inves-tigation is ongoing.

Here’s a visual representation of thetypes of issues our OSH Department hasbeen handling around our Region:

OWEGO – A sea of yellowsafety vests lined the stepsoutside the church as State DOTworkers said a final farewell totheir co-worker Dennis “Matt”Howe.

Howe, 45, died in Marchfrom injuries he sustained aftera tractor-trailer hit the truck hewas working in alongside StateRoute 17 in Tioga County. Howe was parkedon the highway shoulder, in the rear vehiclein a NYS DOT road crew work zonepatching potholes.

CSEA Occupational Safety and HealthSpecialist Josh Kemp is investigatingHowe’s death on behalf of our union, andsaid that the repair operation the DOTworkers were doing, commonly referred toas “throw and go,” is inherently dangerous,especially because it doesn’t require a fulllane closure to occur.

Following Howe’s death,Governor Cuomo ordered flagsflown at half staff and CSEAPresident Danny Donohue wasamong many who offered trib-ute.

“This tragic incident high-lights the risks so many CSEAmembers face every day,”Donohue said. “This serves as

a strong and powerful reminder that we allneed to do our part and drive carefullythrough work zones so our hardworkingpublic employees can return safely to theirfamilies and loved ones after every shift.DOT employees are some of the mostvulnerable workers, and every one of usneeds to help ensure their safety.”

Central Region President Ken Greenleafattended Howe’s funeral and later invitedHowe’s widow Alycia Haus to attend ourRegion’s Workers Memorial Day obser-

vance where Matt was remembered.

“It was very moving to have Alyciaand other members of Matt’s family withus as we mourned his tragic death,” hesaid.

CSEA is working with PESH and NYSDOT management to determine whatchanges can be made to prevent this typeof incident from occurring in the future.Dennis “Matt” Howe

Photo: Joe Hall

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Over the years our unionhas made great strides inmaking sure our CSEA workplaces are safer. ThroughLabor-Management conver-sations and agreements, youhave helped insure safer andhealthier environments, notonly for our members, butfor the communities weserve as well.

Recently I was remindedthat there is still much moreto do. With the recentpreventable death of ourbrother Dennis “Matt” Howe in TiogaCounty, we were tragically reminded thatwe cannot ever become complacent withthe way our employers may have usconduct our work assignments. We mustquestion and evaluate every aspect of ourjobs to make sure as employees we gohome safe at the end of every day. Forinstance, the road patch repair operationthat Matt was involved in was an inher-ently unsafe practice. This in part contrib-

uted to his death. Hadanyone really thought aboutthe devastation that opera-tion could cause? If so, weshould have collectivelyaddressed the danger andshut it down.

As workers, we also needto take the time to make surewe are always aware of oursurroundings, paying moreattention and noticing anypotential hazards we couldface. Then we must reportthem to our employers and

to our Union, so we can immediatelyaddress unsafe practices and workingconditions. In doing so we can helpprevent the terrible incidents that happen,and you might just be saving your ownlife. We have a great resource in ourOccupational Safety and Health Depart-ment staff, but they can’t fix hazards theydon’t know about.

As a Union we need to constantly bereminding our members to always think

safety first. We can help by formingworkplace safety committees that helpkeep those issues front and center.

Finally, as drivers, we all need to takeresponsibility to take our laws seriouslyand obey them. Everyone is always in sucha hurry and speeding through work zoneshas created many accidents that would nothave occurred if someone had just paidattention. In Matt’s case, had the truckdriving not only slowed down but movedover, perhaps this would have not hap-pened. At Matt’s funeral I heard his wifeAlycia deliver her eulogy to Matt, askingeach of us to please slow down and moveover in his memory. Let’s honor him bydoing that and remember to stay focusedwhen out on our roadways.

In Unity,

A Message From Region President Kenny Greenleaf

Every needless death reminds us of work to be done

Is an official publication of theCSEA Central Region

Safety & Health Committee

Kenny Greenleaf, PresidentJoe Miceli, Chair

Tom Hingher, Officer LiaisonJosh Kemp, OSH Specialist

Mark Kotzin, Editor

Send address corrections to:CSEA, 6595 Kirkville Road

East Syracuse, NY 13057

Kenny Greenleaf

Alive!

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

Well we’ve hit the halfway markfor our Workers’ Memorial DayObservances with our 10th annualtree planting at SUNY Cortland.Once again, it was a beautifuldedication which couldn't have beendone without a lot of help. First Ineed to thank Tom Hingher. Without Tom, Iwould have to be running back and forth toarrange everything. He set up everything fromthe location to the purchase of the tree. He gotthe minister and even had the mayor get up andspeak. Every year we do this we need a pointperson to handle these things so again let methank Tom. I would also like to thank LynnMay for leading us in the Pledge of Allegianceand our minister Thomas E.C. Margrave forhis kind and thoughtful words. I also need tothank Region President Ken Greenleaf and allof our Region Officers past and present whoattended, as well as Cortland Mayor BrianTobin who also spoke about the need for saferworkplaces. Josh Kemp our Safety and HealthSpecialist spoke about having to deal with all

three deaths that occurred in thelast year. Thanks also to all whogave up part of their Sunday toattend, and all who attended fromour Safety and Health Committee.

At the observance, I read thenames of three workers who diedon the job this past year: JeanMacDonald from the Town ofHempstead Local 880, JeffreyFarrell from Monroe County Local

828, and Dennis “Matt” Howe of Southern TierState Employees Local 002. Our hearts go outto them and their families. We were honoredto have Matt Howe’s wife Alycia attend ourobservance and she thanked us for doing this.It’s us who should be thanking her. People needto slow down in work zones and pay attention.Everybody deserves the right to go home fromwork. Work safe and report things that aren’t.

We will now start planning next year’sMemorial. Please have a healthy and safesummer and remember it’s road constructionseason. Lives are at stake. Have a greatsummer. Work Safe and Be Safe, Joe

Joe Miceli

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Workers Memorial Day 2019

Workers Memorial Day in pictures

CSEA Region 5 observes Workers Memorial Day 2019 (clockwise from top):

CSEA activists gather at the Workers Memorial in Ilion after a moving ceremony;Executive Vice President Mary Sullivan addresses those attending the CNY LaborCouncil AFL-CIO’s Workers’ Memorial Day dinner; Central Region Safety & HealthCommittee Chair Joe Miceli reads aloud the names of those workers we lost in thelast year at the Region’s WMD observance at SUNY Cortland; SUNY Cortland Local605 President Tom Hingher places the plaque that designates the tree as a LivingMemorial; Alycia Haus, widow of fallen DOT worker Dennis “Matt” Howe wipes awaya tear at our remembrance in Cortland; Occupational Safety & Health Specialist JoshKemp speaks at the Cortland event; and Central Region President Kenny Greenleafspeaks to the crowd at our Cortland event.

Photos by CSEA former CommunicationsSpecialist Mark Kotzin

Region 5 Safety & HealthCommittee Members

We need toknow!

Keep 5 Alive Spring 2019

Joe Miceli, Chair, SUNY Oswego.............................................................(315) 806-3893Matt Harper, Vice Chair, Otsego County...............................................(607) 643-3441Tom Hingher, Region Officer Liaison......................................................(315) 753-2120Heather Berry, Region 5 Judiciary...........................................................(315) 956-4188Arthur Briggs, Mohawk Valley Psych. Ctr.............................................(315) 717-9780Ralph Cavo, Oneida County......................................................................(315) 941-6876Matthew Crim, Herkimer County............................................................(315) 219-7686Bobby Darisaw, Jr., Onondaga Educational...........................................(315) 491-3186Ronald Doughty, Upstate Medical University.........................................(315) 464-4351Brett Furnia, SUNY Canton......................................................................(315) 212-1083Roxanne Heannings, Delaware County....................................................(607) 832-5825Laurie Hoalcraft, Syracuse Retirees.........................................................(315) 383-3081James Jackson, Oswego County................................................................(315) 529-4860Paul Jones, CNY DDSO.............................................................................(315) 271-3795Lynn May, Jefferson County.....................................................................(315) 486-9958Michael Merchant, Tompkins County.....................................................(607) 342-3380Kelly Otis, Broome DDSO.........................................................................(607) 349-8271Don Page, CNY DDSO...............................................................................(315) 336-8413Linda Park, Onondaga County.................................................................(315) 435-3280Tom Ryan, Cayuga County.......................................................................(315) 283-1974Tom Simchik, Madison County................................................................(315) 264-8940Kevin Thompson, Black River Valley State Employees........................(315) 782-4473Karen Tisci, Southern Tier State Employees..........................................(607) 741-4414Stacey Whitsell-Dickenson, Tompkins County.......................................(607) 316-3435Roseanne Wicks, Region 5 Judiciary.......................................................(315) 671-1099

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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.

Safety Tips: Fire Extinguisher SafetyContributed by Brett Furnia, CSEA SUNY Canton Local 603

We often hear about the importance ofhaving smoke and carbon monoxide detectorsin our homes and workplaces. I’d like to touchon another important item every household andwork area should have – fire extinguishers.Many people think the main purpose of fireextinguishers are to put out fires. In many smallfire situations, this is true, but the main purposeis to extinguish a path for you to leave an areawere flames are present.

Let’s look at what makes a fire: You needa chemical reaction between three elements:oxygen, fuel, and heat. You cannot have a fireunless all three things are present. You takeone item away, the fire will go out. With a fireextinguisher, depending on the type used, youwill take one of the three elements away.

There are five types, or classes of fires.You need to be familiar with them in order tochoose the right extinguisher. Here’s a brief

description of them:

● Class A – Wood, paper, and trash fires● Class B – Flammable liquids and gases

(propane, natural gas)● Class C – Electrical fires● Class D – Combustible metals● Class K – Cooking oils and greases

Always make sure you have an extinguisherthat can handle the type of fire threat in yourarea. In a lot of homes, the most common fireextinguisher is a dry chemical ABC type.

Once you know the types of hazards in yourhome/area, purchase your extinguishers. Hereare some recommended places to put yourextinguishers: Place one in the basement,which is usually where your heating equipmentis located. Place one in the kitchen, one oneach floor of the home, and one in the garage.Make sure they are in a convenient place andreadily seen.

Once you have your extinguishers, it’sa good idea to know how to use them incase of fire. I always use the PASS technique:

Pull the safety pin on the extinguisherAim the hose towards the base of the

fireSqueeze the triggerSweep the hose back and forth at the

base of the fire to extinguish and preventspreading the fire.

The last thing I’d remind you is toinspect your extinguishers every month.Make sure the safety pin is in place, thegauge shows the extinguisher is full, andthere is no visual damage to the unit. If youhave a dry chemical ABC type extinguisher,turn the unit upside down and gently shakethe extinguisher to keep the dry powderinside from settling, insuring your extin-guisher will perform to its specifications.