Building a culture of safety

by Frank Miramontes, Local 18 President and Joint Safety Institute Administrator

In October, I participated in a roundtable presentation before the Work in America Institute, an organization dedicated to advancing productivity and the quality of working life through the principles of sound human resource practices. With Jim Barham, Chuck Kokoska and several other DWP representatives, we discussed the gains that have been achieved at the DWP through mutual gains bargaining and the labor/management process.

It was a great opportunity, not only to share what we have learned, but to hear from others who are engaged in similar ground-breaking labor/management developments.

NOW THAT “Worker Safety Groups” have been established in every Business Unit in the DWP, our goal is to see that they are fully functional. Every employee in the Department should have contact with a WSG member at least once each month. Direct, ongoing two-way communication between WSG members and the entire work force is at the heart of the Worker Safety program.

Communication is the key word. As the program matures, WSG members will learn to ask the right questions and to LISTEN to what the front line workers have to say about safety issues, near misses and other concerns. Listening is an art and a skill that must be developed through practice.

We also hope that individual frontline workers will find this process empowering. Communication with the WSG member should be the first step toward a serious consideration of the issues that are being raised and a meaningful change in the workplace that addresses these issues.

Do you remember the “topside creeper” I wrote about a few months ago? It is a simple piece of equipment—a rolling platform—that a truck mechanic uses when working on the motor. A tremendous improvement in workplace safety that saves the mechanic’s back and saves the Department money. This is the kind of creative improvement that we should see throughout the Department as workers are encouraged to look critically and constructively at their work environments.

We have been working to put the structure in place that will support a culture of worker safety. Now it is up to all the participants to make that culture a reality.

It has been my privilege as Local 18 President to participate in this exciting evolution in L/M relations. I am gratified by the support expressed by the members in our recent elections.