15 Responses to “Unions: Boon or bust when it comes to safety?”

1. RWA Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 9:11 am

   I think they help the employee, however a lot of times they really hurt the employer.

2. Alan Alves Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 10:46 am

   As a union masonry contractor I know first hand that Construction Unions make the workplace 50% less Safe for the following reasons:
   1. Union members cannot be tested for drugs or alcohol. A huge safety issue.
   2. Many members will not adhere to company safety policy, and cannot be fired because they are protected by the union bosses.

3. Steve Hills Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 11:34 am

   I am disappointed!
   Why is this article even mentioned in a safety bulletin, it has absolutely nothing to do with safety. It starts out mentioning OSHA and then spends all its time talking about how vicious unions are in their current organizing tacticts.
   Plus he never mentions why OSHA was there in the first place, was this a random inspection or had he been cited, or perhaps one of his employees called? This is the story!

4. Henry Velasco Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

   I think some unions give safety training to their apprentices, I find that when I safety train our new construction union workers, they already know a lot about safety, but there is still the ocasional worker that breaks the rules and cuts corners even after they have been trained. boon

5. Unions hurt Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 12:19 pm

   From the experience I have of being a non union manager of union employees, I’ve seen how damaging the union can be to a facility. The union here only protects the sick and the stupid, but does nothing for those employees who show up to work everyday and work safely.

   This union does not address safety concerns, even if approached by its members. They purposely avoid safety concerns because it is not profitable for them – they make more money and cause more trouble by lobbying for poor workers to keep their jobs.

   Most unions were needed before OSHA, but are now a drain on the employers, especially the small business owners.

6. George Facista Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

   Unions spend Millions of dollars on safety training and training in their respective work processes. Union instructors attend comprehensive train-the-trainer sessions and are part of well organized training efforts. Union training and safety standards are set high. You will not find union instructors selling safety certifications because credibility is paramount. Many unions have national drug testing programs and highly organized training programs.

7. Paul Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 1:47 pm

   OSHA does not make anyone “SAFE” and unions do not make anyone safe. “Workers” make themselves safe! They achieve this via good training, real world work experience, having a safe attitude when conducting work tasks, and following the appropriate safety standards. And as most of know, the “supervisor” is the vital link as to success of the entire safety program. If the supervisor does not reinforce/discipline safety issues, OSHA could develop 30 more standards and it would do absolutley no good!

   I know in the industry I have worked in, complying with OSHA, company safety polices/procedures are “CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYEMENT” wheich are spelled out in many contracts.

   Just my .02

8. RJB Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

   Steve you obvously don’t understand the theme of this article. He is not bashing unions. He is commenting on why a particular legislation is not a good one for small employers and their employees. Why OSHA was there or what was found is not the issue. At one point in the country’s past the usions were a desperately needed thing. They forced poor employers to correct bad bussiness practices. The federal government had few laws and they were poorly enforced.
   In the last 40 years many laws have been enacted by the Labor department to ensure worker safety and fair compensation. The unions have become that which they fought against and bring little to the table. You can bash bussiness all you want. When push comes to shove a business HAS to make a profit for the workers to have a job.

9. TSM Says:
   August 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 am

   It all depends on the strenght of the union and the leaders. We currently deal with a weak union that does not bring much to the table but arguments during negotiations. I have not personally seen anything “pro employee safety”at the negotiations.

10. Sad State Says:
    August 4th, 2009 at 7:46 am

    RJB has nailed it. George Facista may have had a good experience with unions and safety however not all unions are serious about safety if they were they would self police their members to act in a safe manner instead of expecting business to “reinforce/discipline safety issues”. When it comes down to it all the training in the world is not worth anything, whether union or not, if the individual decides to cut corners.

11. sheral Says:
    August 25th, 2009 at 11:41 am

    Alan, I agree 100%. The union at my factory is a total hinderance to safety. The workers hide behind the union to greive any reprimand they get…. the process is time consuming and irritating. However, when something happens, it’s always the company’s fault for not being tough… give me a break. The day of the union has long since passed. They are obsolete now and aren’t needed since there are so many government watchdogs around.

12. Jed Says:
    September 14th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    In most cases, unions hurt safety efforts by protecting the workers at all costs. Unless it’s extremely gross negligence on the part of the worker, the union will do everything possible to protect the work as if the worker is entitled to the job. I agree with Sheral. The day of the union has long since passed. With the advent of OSHA and other federal and state employment laws, unions are pretty much obsolete and exist only to serve thier union elites for political purposes.

13. Union Steelworker Says:
    November 17th, 2009 at 9:06 am

    Do we know why Unions were created? Safety for the working man. No one cared for the worker and his/her family. Yes, maybe some have lost sight of that or never knew in the first place. But simply put, Unions support the working class. Don’t forget that this country once ran by the working middle class. And I love the comment about OSHA not keeping the worker safe. It is so true. Safety programs and government “watchdogs” do nothing to keep anyone safe. They are a mostly reactive punishment program who does nothing for the injured of dead, except fine the company that isn’t in “Compliance” with their rules. I control my own actions and if I act in an unsafe manner can injure myself or my co-workers.

14. Mike Says:
    March 23rd, 2010 at 8:42 am

    Unions definitely make plants less safe. A good safety culture neads many things – leadership, committment, communication, cooperation, and sometimes discipline. Unions degrade (or attempt to degrade) all of those factors, particularly discipline. Our company has several unions in my area of responsibility: they never raise safety concerns, they push back on safety related discipline whenever they can get away with it, and they promote a culture where only managers are responsible for safety. Unions also attempt to create an adversarial relationship with employers, which is very bad for safety.

    The idea that unions help workers (safety, better pay, fair discipline, etc) is an old myth. Our union workers don’t make any more than their non-union counterparts – both inside and outside the company. The union benefits are no better (arguably worse). Most disturbing is that the union members pay dues to support the union bureaucracy, and have their pension funds squandered by mismanagement.

15. Marie Says:
    July 20th, 2010 at 6:32 am

    Our Union has a warped sense of reality. Therefore their approach to safety is just as skewed. They aren’t much help to the employee or employer.

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