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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2015)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | May 15, 2015 | PAGE 9 After 20 years, OSHA issues rule to protect WASHINGTON construction workers in confined spaces La Center, Wash. school board WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI)— It’s taken more than 20 years, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on May 1 issued a final rule to increase protections for con- struction workers in confined spaces. The rule establishes new re- quirements for working safely in confined spaces, such as man- holes, crawl spaces, tanks, and other spaces not intended for continuous occupancy and which are difficult to exit in an emergency. Hazards workers face include toxic substances, electrocution, asphyxiation and explosions. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statis- tics, construction workers die at a rate of 9.7 per 100,000 full- time equivalent workers, com- pared with a rate of 3.3 workers across all industries. The Center to Protect Work- ers’ Rights, a union-created safety organization for the con- struction industry, said more than a third of the confined space deaths happen to untrained co- workers or friends who try to rescue a worker who has col- lapsed in a confined space. “In the construction industry, entering confined spaces is often necessary, but fatalities like these don’t have to happen,” said Sec- retary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “This new rule will signif- icantly improve the safety of construction workers who enter confined spaces. In fact, we es- timate that it will prevent about 780 serious injuries every year.” The new standards will pro- vide construction workers with protections similar to those in factories and general industry. That’s because unlike most gen- eral industry worksites, con- struction sites are continually evolving, with the number and characteristics of confined spaces changing as work pro- gresses. The new rule emphasizes training, continuous worksite evaluation, and communication OPEN FORUM To The Editor: In spite of Oregon being a Blue State, there is trouble brew- ing in River City. Organized la- bor is beginning to wonder if the traditional “Working man’s Party” has adopted so many new friends, that we are no longer of importance. Catch phrases like “hope” and “change” may sound good, but pushing the same failed “free trade” policies of the Clinton and Bush administrations smells bad—like the same old stuff (SOS). It’s been said the expert politi- cian gets money from the rich— and votes from the poor, while promising each to protect them from the other. While not poor, we in labor have to ask: Why is President Obama visiting Nike to drum up support for yet an- other free trade deal that has been so beneficial to multina- tional Wall St. at the expense of America’s Main St? At last count, Phil Knight’s nest egg had surpassed $22 bil- lion. Instead, maybe you should ask Mr. Knight if he finally has so much money that Nike could start manufacturing here in the U.S., instead of continuing to squeeze that last ounce of profit from Asian sweatshops. requirements. Employers will be required to provide training in a language and vocabulary that workers understand. The maximum penalty OSHA can assess for failure to comply with the new rules is $7,000 for each serious violation and $70,000 for a repeated or willful violation. The new standard is sched- uled to go into effect Aug. 3. Besides the manholes, crawl spaces and tanks, the new rule covers construction workers in bins, boilers, pits—such as elevator, esca- lator, pump and valve pits—fuel, chemical, water and gas tanks, incinerators, scrubbers, sewers, trans- former vaults, heating, ven- tilation, and air-condition- ing ducts, storm drains and water mains, drilled shafts, silos and step-up transform- ers, among other confined spaces. Trouble brewing in River City over fast track In the televised presidential debate with Ross Perot, Al Gore guaranteed free trade would “open up new markets for Amer- ica-made goods” and create more manufacturing jobs than would be lost. At the time, NAFTA and subsequent deals did not have a track record for examination. But they do now. And they’re colossal failures. Negative trade balance numbers across the board. So how can anyone keep a straight face parroting the same old sales pitch? Fortunately, Sen. Jeff Merkley gets it. He has stated: “My test for any treaty is, ‘Does it create a level playing field that en- hances our ability to have more good-paying manufacturing jobs?’ Most trade agreements have not met this test, so I’m cer- tainly not going to fast track something the details of which have not even been shared with the public.” Speaking of Sen. Merkley, do you remember how he won his Senate seat? In 2008, with dis- gust for incumbent Republican Gordon Smith straying from party core principles, the Consti- tution Party ran a candidate, splitting the conservative vote, handing Merkley the election. If any incumbent should be aware of this, it would be Sen. Ron Wyden. Yet, he seems to be- lieve he is so entrenched that he can throw a large segment of his supporters under the bus and still skate to another victory. Gordon Smith thought so, too. Supporting trade deals that have closed untold numbers of facto- ries, sent millions of manufactur- ing jobs overseas, and filled store shelves with “Made in China” etc., sow seeds of discon- tent. The equivalent of the spoiler Constitution Party—The Work- ing Families Party—has been formed and is gaining strength with every Democratic party sellout. Dean Wolf IBEW Local 48 Retired Tigard, Oregon LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Northwest Labor Press wel- comes letters to the editor. Letters should be under 500 words and should include contact info as well as which union you belong to. Send to editor@nwlaborpress.org or Attn: Editor; PO Box 13150; Portland, OR 97213. passes right-to-work resolution The board of directors at La Center, Washington, School District unanimously passed a right-to-work resolution April 28. The resolution, entitled “right to choose,” puts the school dis- trict on record supporting “right- to-work,” which allows employ- ees to work at the district and receive representation from their union without any obligation to pay dues. Under Washington state law, however, the school board does- n’t have the authority to change union rules, so the action was symbolic, albeit divisive. The Columbian newspaper reported the vote came after a 40-minute discussion drawing an unusually large crowd of sev- eral dozen people. School Su- perintendent Mark Mansell emailed the newspaper: “It was clear to me that the majority of the audience was not in favor of the resolution based on the num- ber of speakers and periodic clapping.” Service Employees Interna- tional Union Local 925 repre- sents classified employees at the school district. It is working un- der a collective bargaining agreement that contains a union security clause. The contract ex- pires Aug. 31. Teachers are represented by the La Center Education Asso- ciation. They renewed their con- tract last year. It runs through the end of August 2017. La Center School District is located in Clark County and serves approximately 1,600 stu- dents in kindergarten through 12th grade. The District operates one elementary school, one middle school and one high school. The District operates on an annual fund budget of over $14.5 million with approxi- mately 150 employees. The board of directors are Wendy Chord, Todd Jones, John Parsons, Bob Taylor, and Cris Yaw. ...AFL-CIO leader Whelan dies From Page 1 1965 session. In 1965, at age 39, Whelan succeeded the retiring James T. Marr as executive secretary- treasurer of the Oregon AFL- CIO. The 1967 convention of the state labor federation made the president the organization’s executive officer, and Whelan was elected to the top post. In that capacity he helped lobby the 1969 Legislature to create TriMet, and he later served on its Board of Commis- sioners. Whelan also held stints on the Governor’s Economic Develop- ment Council, the Portland Dock Commission, and later the Port of Portland Commission. In January 1973, Republican Gov. Tom McCall lured Whelan from the labor movement, per- suading him to accept an ap- pointment as the first executive director of the Oregon Depart- ment of Economic Develop- ment. When McCall completed his second term in office, Whe- lan took a job as an economic development executive for Port- land General Electric (PGE). There, he also handled the util- ity’s governmental affairs as- signment. He retired from PGE in 1988. He and his wife Phyllis moved to Newport, Oregon, where they operated a real estate business, a car wash, and an auto detailing shop. He also served on the city’s Port Com- mission. They moved to the King City retirement community near Tigard in 1999. Phyllis died in March of that year, just shy of their 54th wedding anniversary. Whelan re-married in 2000 to Jeanne (Hanna). She died last November. Whelan also was preceded in death by sons, Tom and Steve. Tom was a Fire Fighter Union official and Ore- gon legislator. He died in 2013. Steve died in 1997. Whelan is survived by a daughter, Susan; and grand- daughter, Julia. At Whelan’s request, there will not be a memorial service. Donations in his name can be made to Serenity Hospice.
