Focus on Safety: Dangerous Workplace Hazard Ahead!

Lost time from workplace accidents and injuries cost employers tens of millions of dollars a year. OSHA fines are another hazard for employers with bad safety records.

The solution is obvious. Employers should invest in reducing and eliminating the hazards that cause injuries. Instead, growing numbers of employers are turning to schemes to hide their safety problems to reduce costs and keep OSHA at bay.

These schemes go by different names: safety incentive programs, safety bingo, safety raffles, even safety monopoly. All of these gimmicks have two things in common.

They seek to save the employer money by intimidating workers into not reporting injuries. And they shift the focus off of the employer’s responsibility to reduce safety hazards and lay the responsibility for accidents and injuries on workers and their “bad habits” or “unsafe behavior”.

One major Teamster employer that has begun experimenting with safety bingo contests is UPS. In Saddlebrook, N.J., UPS held a Christmas raffle. The catch? Only workers who did not report an injury were eligible for the drawing.

At a Teamster grocery warehouse in Baltimore, Sysco added a new twist. Management began assigning workers to teams in what it calls “Safety Monopoly”. Each week, each team advances one square towards winning prize money. But if any member of the team reports an injury or accident, then the entire team is penalized by not moving ahead a square.

“The company penalizes you if you get hurt. They post the name on a board so everyone will know who is holding the group back,” said James Harrell, a Local 355 truck driver. “People are afraid to file for workers’ comp because they don’t want to be penalized in the game.”

Blaming the Worker

The theory that supposedly underlies these programs is that workers’ unsafe behaviors are to blame for injuries and accidents. Under this theory, providing prizes and rewards will encourage workers to behave safely on the job and therefore not get injuries.

The real goal is obvious: to use financial incentives and peer pressure to discourage workers from reporting accidents and injuries.

Employers and insurance companies argue that such programs only discourage the reporting of fake or very minor illnesses and injuries. But this argument makes no sense. Under the law, employers are not required to record minor injuries requiring only first aid. The injuries that are not being recorded because of safety incentive programs are, by definition, more serious.

Unreported injuries means trouble for working Teamsters. Workers may not get the medical treatment they need and may lose their ability to collect workers’ compensation. Not reporting minor injuries and accidents also allows unsafe conditions to accumulate, leading to repeated and possibly more serious injuries.

Against the Law 

Every employer is required to record workplace injuries in an OSHA 200 log. Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act prohibits employers from discriminating against workers for exercising their rights under OSHA, including the right to report a job injury or illness to their employer.

When an employer denies a prize or bonus to a worker for reporting an injury, they are discriminating against that worker.

Workers at USA Waste Management in Columbus filed an 11(c) complaint against their employer for having a bonus pool which rewarded employees with clean safety and health records. OSHA punished the company for having a program that created a disincentive for workers to report injuries.

The ruling was praised by unions and health and safety advocates across the country. But it has not yet formed the basis for a consistent OSHA policy. OSHA evaluates the consequences of safety incentive programs on a case by case basis.

Coordinated Teamster Action Needed 

Safety incentive programs are on the rise among Teamster employers. Its a national problem. But so far, Teamster locals have been left to deal with the problem on their own. National, coordinated action is needed to provide Teamster locals and members with the backing we need to defend our safety rights.

The IBT should:

• Oppose safety incentive programs and outline an education and action plan for our union. The United Auto Workers and the Steelworkers are two examples of large International unions that have already taken these steps.
• Develop educational materials for local unions, stewards and members about the hazards associated with safety incentive programs. Local unions need to know their rights in dealing with employers who try to impose these programs. Stewards and members need to know how to build shop floor unity against programs that are designed to divide the workforce.
• Build political pressure on OSHA to aggressively pursue complaints on behalf of workers who face discrimination for reporting injuries or illnesses.

What You Can Do

If your employer attempts to implement a safety incentive program, here is what you can do:

• Share information with your co-workers and union representatives: The first step is education. Many Teamsters, including officers, are unaware of the dangers behind safety incentive programs and dont know that the AFL-CIO has taken a strong position against them. The AFL-CIO Safety and Health Department has an excellent fact sheet on Safety Incentive and Injury Discipline Policies. It includes information on the AFL-CIO resolution that opposes safety incentive programs as well as suggestions for union action. You can order this fact sheet and other information from the AFL-CIO Safety and Health Department at 202-637-5366 or oshmail@aflcio.org You can also visit the AFL-CIO web page at www.aflcio.org/safety/
• Ask your union to demand to bargain over the implementation of these programs. Health and safety, including prize and discipline programs, are mandatory subjects of bargaining. Unions should use their rights under the National Labor Relations Act to demand to bargain over the introduction or continuation of safety incentive programs. Unions should take the position that employers safety budgets should be devoted to the reduction and elimination of safety hazards. For example, if an employer wants to give cash and prizes to workers, unions could bargain for rewards for workers who blow the whistle on job hazards and make suggestions on ways to control or eliminate safety problems. That would be much better than rewards that pit workers against each other in a race to under-report accidents and injuries.
• Investigate the possibility of an 11(c) complaint: If employers are using incentives or prizes to punish you and your co-workers for reporting injuries, you should consider filing an 11(c) complaint with OSHA. As with most government agencies, your complaint will get more of a hearing if it is filed by the union. Complaints filed by several individuals are more likely to generate action by OSHA than just a single complaint.

For more information about safety incentive programs and other health and safety issues, contact TDU, or check out the OSHA website.