THE INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEERS

October - November 1996

THE WAY I SEE IT BY: Frank Hanley, General President

An advance notice recently went out from my office to all local unions concerning the IUOE's biennial Training & Safety Conference, scheduled for April 28 - May 2, 1997 in Orlando, Fla. While more detailed information on the conference will be forthcoming, I urge all locals to reserve these dates now, because, given the subject matter, this conference is one of the most important and most participatory conferences the IUOE conducts.

I have emphasized time and again the importance of training and education for our members. There is no substitute, there is no better formula when it comes to getting and maintaining a job. Skill will get you work, constantly upgrading those skills will keep you working. It's as simple as that; don't let anyone tell you differently.

I have expounded often in the past on the numerous training and educational programs developed by the International for the H&P and Stationary segments of our union since I assumed office, so I won't go into much detail here about those programs.

But I do want you to take note that the Apprenticeship and Training Department recently implemented two new programs for our local unions. The new programs are Grade Stakes and Concrete Pump Operations.

These new programs are in addition to the ones already in the field on Crane Operations, Backhoe Operations, and Pre-Ops and Post-Ops Procedures.

A host of other programs will be available in the near future, including ones covering operations of Graders, Scrapers, Pipeline Industry Equipment and Material Handlers.

An equally impressive array of programs on subjects germane to the stationary engineer also are available from the International.

The bottom line is that a multitude of comprehensive, quality training programs are here for the taking. It is up to the local unions and the individual members to take advantage of them and to constantly upgrade their current skills. It's a changing industry we work in, it is up to us to keep pace with all the changes through education, training and upgrading.

While we are witnessing technological innovation and change in the industries in which our members toil, I am still deeply distressed that not enough positive changes have occurred in these industries to protect our members' lives and limbs.

On the plus side, it is true that thanks mainly to the 25-year-old Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and a heightened safety awareness among our members and other workers, workplace fatalities have been cut in half since 1970.

But the construction industry still suffers more fatalities per year than any other industry. More than 1,000 construction workers were killed in work-related accidents last year. That's more than four fatalities per workday. Altogether, more than 6,500 workers lost their lives on the job last year, and an estimated 50,000 more died from workplace diseases -- and that's just not acceptable.

These are nothing more than cold statistics. Remember that behind each of those numbers lies a spouse's anguish, children's deprivation and loneliness, and all the concomitant, frightening uncertainty that overwhelms a family when one of our members is seriously, or fatally, injured at work.

Let there be no doubt that in its 45-years of existence, the programs and materials produced by the IUOE Safety and Health Department and implemented by our local unions have helped save an untold number of lives and help prevent even more serious injuries on the job.

It is imperative to remember that no one in Washington has the power to prevent an accident on a jobsite in Chicago, or in St. Louis or in New York City or in Osh Kosh.

That power exists only in the geographical area where the bulldozer is carving the earth, where the tower crane hoists its load, where the internal forces of the boilers are kept under control.

What we can do in Washington is pull together the available knowledge and coordinate programs...programs that leaders on the jobsite can implement to create a safer, healthier environment.

We can fight to protect OSHA from constant attempts to weaken the law by reducing the number of employers covered by the statue or cutting back the agency's enforcement powers.

Our job is to convince not only Congress, but also the American people and employers, that providing a safe, healthful place of work is not only the right thing to do, it is a practice in good economics as well.

It is good business to run a safe business, A safe workplace brings less lost time because of injury and illness, lower workers' compensation rates, a reduction in worker turnover and higher morale.

Rest assured the IUOE will continue that fight. The stakes are too high -- namely our members' lives and limbs -- to do anything less. While it may seem like a pipe dream, my ultimate goal is to have a zero accident rate so that our members -- and all workers -- can return home at the end of the workday the same way they left home: alive and well.

ACCIDENTS INVOLVING CRANES CLAIM 502 LIVES

More than 500 U.S. construction workers died on the job from 1984 to 1994 as the result of accidents involving cranes.

That figure was among the preliminary results of a yet-to-be-released research paper, "A Study of Fatal Injuries in the Construction Industry Involving Cranes," funded by the Center to Protect Workers' Rights and compiled by the University of Utah's Anthony J. Suruda, M.D.

Based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration re cords for that time period, the report found 480 separate incidents involving cranes and 502 deaths.

Electrocution as the result of power line contact was the leading cause of death, with 198 lives claimed; 58 deaths occurred during crane assembly or dismantling.

Of the 502 fatalities, 65 were crane operators; the rest mostly were other workers on the job. Crane operators were most likely to be killed when the crane was upset or overturned. Twenty-three crane operators died in such accidents, followed by 17 operator deaths as the result of power line contact.

Suruda still is researching whether or not OSHA cited the employers for safety violations in these incidents. Once completed, he said the report should have many uses, including targeting certain aspects of crane operations in union training programs.

Types of fatalities involving cranes in the U.S. construction

Industry--Identified from OSHA Investigations in 1984-94

IUOE SCHOLARSHIP, CREDIT CARD INFORMATION

The 1997 Union Master Card Scholarship Program is now accepting requests for applications from eligible U.S. residents.

The program is open to IUOE members, their spouses and dependent children who will be entering an accredited college or vocational school in the fall of 1997, or who already are attending such a learning institution. Graduate school students are not eligible.

Requests for applications should be forwarded on a postcard only. The message side of the postcard should contain the member's name, union affiliation and home address, along with the request for scholarship application. The postcard should be addressed to: Union MasterCard Scholarship, P.O. Box 9389, Minneapolis, MN 55440-9389.

The deadline for filing the completed application is January 31, 1997.

The IUOE MasterCard credit card now is being issued by Household Credit Services, a division of Household Finance Corp., which entered into a contract with the AFL-CIO Union Privilege Program.

As part of the switch from the Bank of New York (Delaware) to Household, credit card applications now will be obtained directly from Union Privilege when ordering bulk quantities, or when ordering just a single application.

For bulk orders, local unions should call 1-800-472-2005 and place their order with Valerie or Doreen; for a single application, the number to call is 1-800-452-9425.

Finally, the number to call with questions or problems about an individual account is 1-800-622-2580.