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USING OSHA EFFECTIVELY, WISELY By Bob DelPrete, Former Southern Region Safety/Health Rep With the passage of the Postal Employees Safety Enhancement Act (PESEA) in September of 1998, the USPS became more accountable to OSHA. The USPS is now mandated to conform to its standards. As such, the USPS can be issued penalties in addition to citations, should they decide to do otherwise. OSHA, therefore, has become quite a powerful tool when workers and their representatives seek to resolve differences with management on matters pertaining to safe work environments, free of recognizable hazards. Each employee has the undeniable right to complain to OSHA about unsafe working conditions, and they may do so in an "informal" or "formal" manner. An "informal" complaint is one that is done either by telephone or fax, and a "formal" complaint is one that specifies the complaint in greater detail with a signature by the complainant. Both can now be done over the internet on your computer (www.osha.gov) and anonymity can be assured in either case. With the apparent ease with which one can file a complaint with OSHA, the temptation to file is often overwhelming. I have heard from numerous OSHA compliance officers that this is a problem, and I am continuously urged to inform members how OSHA can best serve a worker with a complaint. While no one can deny a worker the right to file a complaint, they ask that the following points be remembered before OSHA is summoned for assistance: * Be certain that a hazard exists. Identify the problem and determine if it can injure an employee and how; * Be certain that there is exposure to the hazard. Identify who may come into contact with the hazard and thus become injured; *Cite the OSHA standard, if possible, that is being violated. Union representatives and local on duty OSHA compliance officers can help with this; *Make your immediate supervisor aware of the hazard and the standard, if possible, to be met. This can be done at Step 1 or 2 of the grievance/arbitration procedure. If all these points are covered and management does nothing to resolve the matter, OSHA can be contacted by any of the means specified above. |
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