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Caution, May Contain Asbestos... By Sandra Munoz, Human Relations Dir. This month I received a call from a member who had found a bag which looked like garbage. He picked it up to throw out and then realized that it said "Caution may contain asbestos." He quickly put the bag back down and called a supervisor. He was taken by management to the hospital for evaluation. At the hospital they found nothing wrong with him but said he needed to come back in three to six months for another evaluation. This member was very concerned because he felt he may have been exposed to asbestos and the possible side effects of contamination do not show up immediately. He called me the following day very upset because his supervisor told him that this was not considered an on-the-job injury. He was told that the USPS was not going to pay for his medical bills. As confusing as it may appear, his supervisor is right. This is not considered an on-the-job injury by the Office of Workman's Compensation because there is no fact of injury at this time. This is one of five basic requirements that has to be met in order to be approved as an on-the-job injury. I informed the employee that he needed to fill out a CA-1 that would permanently remain in his medical file at the USPS if in the future he suffered any fact of injury or side effect from his possible exposure. If this were to be the case, then it would be considered an on-the-job injury and any medical treatments would be covered by OWCP. I also told him that he needed to be sure to keep a copy of the CA-1 he filled out because you never want to rely on management to have any paperwork that may be that detrimental to you in your possible future. As for his medical bills, the member needed to use his own insurance to cover it. As the APWU's representative for the Joint Safety and Health Committee in Hollywood I can attest to the ongoing fight that we as a committee have had to endure to have management remove the lead-based paint in the dock area at the Hollywood Main Office. After years of struggles, the USPS stepped up to the plate and did something about it. In early March management at the Hollywood Main contracted a company to remove the lead-based paint. This company used a product called RemovAll210. This is a water-based paint remover that is biodegradable and non-toxic. The removal of the lead-based paint was to take place in two parts. On the first phase of the removal things were not all smooth sailing. Numerous employees were complaining about the odor that was caused by the use of RemovAll210. I contacted the Acting Manager of the Hollywood Main Office, Ray Oberle, and came to the realization that the work area surrounding the first round of paint removal was initially, not properly ventilated. I must give him credit; as soon as he realized that this was the case, Mr. Oberle did everything in his power to correct the situation. He immediately turned off the A/C unit, had temporary blowers installed, had the back doors remain open, and placed fans in strategic locations to help disperse the fumes and odor. The second round of paint removal went on without a hitch. The project to remove the lead-based paint is now complete. It took a combined effort from the members of the Joint Safety and Health Committee to see that it did. Many times we were frustrated beyond belief, but stuck to our guns in pursuing this issue. It may have taken a while, but Gary Heil this one's for you. For those of you that do not know him, he is the clerk that works on the dock at the Hollywood Main Office on a daily basis. The committee continued to tell him that we were not going to give up or give in until this situation was resolved. I wanted to take a moment and thank one of our dedicated members Diane Calfee. She recently provided a list of names and addresses for service members overseas that were in need of care packages. I forwarded this list to our National Human Relations Director, Sue Carney. I recently received a copy of various letters that Ms. Carney sent along with the care packages to our troops. Diane Calfee also implemented the phone card donation project for our troops in Hollywood. This project has window clerks offering customers the chance to purchase phone cards for our service members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and donating them. She even managed to have the USPS pick up the postage in shipping them to the troops. She has spend many countless hours of her time recruiting funds and packaging these phone cards. We have sold out of our phone cards on numerous occasions in different offices. Her dedication to our troops and their well-being is inspiring. It shows you that one person really can make a difference. |
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