Again, the goal is to be better educated as individuals, as a union, so that we may be better prepared to accomplish our days. The following is given for your empowerment and as a tool to help others obtain a reasonable and safe standard.
Firstly, it is with great sadness that we share the following statement from APWU President Jonathan Smith:
“The entire APWU family and postal workers of all crafts mourn the heartbreaking death of Nicholas Acker, a young postal worker killed while on duty November 8 at the Detroit Network Distribution Center. …. This tragedy is a reminder that workplace safety must always come first. We value people over productivity. The APWU will continue the fight to make that a reality across the Postal Service.” – see entire statement at APWU.org
Brothers and Sisters of the APWU Local 232, we invite you to consider the family and fiancé of Nicholas in your prayers and reflections.
The safety reminder this month is simple, a repeat, but important. It is peak season. Mail volumes are elevated, and floor space is a premium. As reviewed in previous messages, BE SURE THAT YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CLEAR EXIT FROM YOUR ASSIGNED STATION. Be mindful of your exit path / escape plan. When necessary, inform supervision of barriers and/or hazards.
Let it be said that the USPS does have a well-planned safety program. If implemented in the correct spirit, it would/could accomplish an ever-evolving safe environment engaging both management and labor. We as labor can improve our execution of the USPS Safety Program; however, it is recognized that management at many stations, offices and plants is not fulfilling essential elements of the plan. A banner displayed above the workroom floor at the Citygate plant reads, “Execute the Plan – No Excuses”. Is it possible that management does not understand the safety plan? Have they not been trained in the nuances of the plan? Why else would someone not execute such a well-described, organized plan that promotes safety and health for all involved (including themselves, management, and their stewardships for labor)? Is it a training problem or performance problem? Gathered evidence indicates that, in many cases, it is a training problem. They have not been taught and encouraged to embrace the plan. And frankly, the ‘first-line’ supervisors are made busy with other ‘priorities’.
The APWU Local 232 Safety and Health Committee recognizes the need to change the paradigm inasmuch labor and management are coached and encouraged in their respective roles and obligations. The following is the fourth installment of how to accomplish that change for a refreshed attitude toward safety.
Part 4 – Encourage Management to Make Available PS Form 1767 (Report of Hazard, Unsafe Condition or Practice)
The first tangible building block for the USPS Safety Program is PS Form 1767 Report of Hazard, Unsafe Condition or Practice. Its function has been explained in earlier editions of The Safe Zone. Briefly, it is the reporting document for you as labor to record safety concerns to be submitted to supervision. Supervision, in turn, is to acknowledge your concern with a written abatement plan.
The benefits of PS Form 1767 include 1) provide early detection of hazards, 2) provide an enhanced safety culture, 3) improve morale, 4) enable regulatory compliance, and 5) provide records for evaluation so that informed changes may occur and, when necessary, grievances may be substantiated. PS Form 1767 Report of Hazard, Unsafe Condition or Practice is the basic reporting tool for safety concerns.
By utilizing PS Form 1767, each of you is empowered to communicate without repercussion. Each of you then becomes a promoter of safety and a protector for all.
It is exciting to witness the dramatic increase of your use of this form. Many of you are participating and understand!!!
The use of this form provides a bridge from the sensory or thought to real physical action – the act of writing begins that process. It requires investment from labor. It requires investment from management. True use of the form should be neutral, a safe zone, inasmuch that management and labor work together for the common good. This is the first tangible building block for the USPS Safety Program.
BUT WHERE IS THE FORM FOUND? YOUR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR SHOULD MAKE IT CONVENIENT FOR YOU to obtain. It should be in a familiar location. Yes, a steward could get one. Yes, it is available on USPS Lite Blue website. Yes, it is available on APWU.org and APWU232.org.
Yet, here is the teaching opportunity. Ask, invite, and encourage your immediate supervisor to make the form convenient for you. You should, if desired, be able to acquire it in anonymity. Odds are that many supervisors are not aware of their requirement to make it available. BYPASSING the immediate Supervision denies their involvement. WE CAN NOT CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR IF WE KEEP INSISTING THAT WE DO THEIR WORK AND SOURCE THE FORM FROM ANOTHER LOCATION. Without supervision’s initial action, their initial commitment to supply the forms, we can anticipate that they may be unprepared in the USPS Safety Program. We can expect that they will reject the completed form. We can expect they will take offense to them. They may shred them in front of us (as was recently done). Their motivations likely will be conditioned out of fear and ignorance.
Regarding safety concerns, we see them to be exactly that. Too often, management perceives the concerns to be an attack on them.
Do not mistake what is being said. Do complete the PS Form 1767. Do cite safety concerns. And use all your influence, encouragement, and education to help management overcome their unfulfilled role as a safety administrator. Enable and empower them within your ability to be successful in their application. This battle requires the strong help of you, the rank-and-file laborer who is completely vested in its success.
Supervision needs to own the USPS Safety Program and lead the way. In many instances, they are not encouraged properly by their superiors. Therefore, despite the obvious implications, we, APWU Local 232, need to train them from the bottom up.
Safety is for everyone. That is obvious. Together, let us encourage management to do the right thing. Let’s have them start by making available PS Form 1767 Report of Hazard, Unsafe Condition or Practice.
You are an honored colleague, a sister or brother among us. You have value and are of importance. I am proud to consider you an associate. A safe and blessed season be upon you and your household!
-Tony George
APWU Local 232 Safety Officer