Office Quandries
Peter Rachleff
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Weekly Answers to Office Quandries |
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Professor Peter Rachleff |
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 I've worked at a printing plant in California for 10 years. The plant has many safety violations and I was looking forward to Cal OSHA popping in someday and busting this place on all of them. Around the 8th year of waiting, Cal OSHA sent management a letter informing them that they would be coming at such & such a date. Well, during the next five days, our management ran around fixing everything they could think of and ended up getting a very decent report from Cal OSHA. Of course, the minute they were gone everything went back to business as usual! This pre-notice seems to completely defeat the purpose of OSHA. Or is it unconstitutional not to give notice?
California
Luckily, you're not alone. There are groups and organizations that can help you. After OSHA was passed in 1970 (and signed into law by Richard Nixon! Do you think Bill Clinton would sign an OSHA bill today?), grassroots organizations popped up around the country to educate workers about their rights under the law, teach them about toxins in the workplace and safe workplace practices, and help them figure out how to develop the political and economic clout to get their employers to provide safe workplaces. |
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Your story is a very common one. Federal and state OSHA officials tip off management that they're coming, which leads to a sudden clean-up, a passing bill of health upon inspection, and a return to the usual crap afterward. If your strategy continues to be one of waiting for OSHA to come in like a white knight and straighten out your workplace, you and your fellow workers will continue to suffer injuries, illnesses, and a general sense of insecurity. It's up to you to change this situation.