News From USWA: OSHA Needs Union Input, Not Political Manipulation, Say Steelworkers; OSHA and Steel Industry Trade Associations Exclude the Union from a New Safety Program.PITTSBURGH -- United Steelworkers United Steelworkers (USW) historic labour union representing workers in steel, aluminum, and other metallurgical industries for much of the 20th century. In the U.S. of America President Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. W. Gerard today expressed astonishment that OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. and several steel industry trade associations had formed an "alliance" on safety without any union involvement. "OSHA and the industry both need help," Gerard said, "but they're not going to find it from each other. The trade associations have opposed every OSHA standard that applies to the steel industry. So far as we know, they have no full-time professional safety staff. And OSHA's only recent activity in the industry was to propose a weakening of the Coke Oven Standard." "Meanwhile, many steel companies have made deep cuts in their own safety and health staff," Gerard said. "At this point, most large steel plants have more full-time union safety representatives than management safety personnel. And the union has a bigger headquarters safety and health staff than most or all steel companies." "If they were really interested in safety, they would have turned to the men and women who make these plants run," Gerard said. "Apparently, OSHA's political bosses and the industry trade associations are more anti-union than they are pro-safety." "I want to make it clear that our criticism applies to the political appointees running OSHA," Gerard said. "The dedicated career inspectors in the field had no part in this charade. They know who their allies are." "If our members needed any additional reason to vote this Administration out of office this November," he said, "OSHA has given them one." The new Alliance was announced yesterday. It involves OSHA, the American Iron and Steel Institute The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) is an association of North American steel producers. With its predecessor organizations, is one of the oldest trade associations in the United States, dating back to 1855. It assumed its present form in 1908, with Judge Elbert H. , the Steel Manufacturers Association and the Specialty Steel Industry of North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . The USWA USWA United Steelworkers of America USWA United States Wrestling Association USWA United States Windsurfing Association USWA United States Wristwrestling Association represents 1.2 million active and retired members in North America, including the majority of active workers and retirees in the U.S. and Canadian steel industry. |
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