A Message From Your International Union

Dear Brothers & Sisters:
Workers' health and safety are vitally important: to themselves, their families and friends and to other TWU members. All workers have a right to a safe and healthy workplace, a right for which we have long struggled and which we will defend. Rights alone are not enough to assure that TWU members can work without fear of injury or disease. It requires education, discussion and action. But since every workplace is different, the procedures to identify and solve these problems may take different forms.

Education, training and collective efforts will give us the additional ammunition our local unions need to clean up the workplace. Successful local unions will keep their leaders and members informed of developments on the job and frequently upgrade their knowledge.

To help local unions carry out an effective safety program, the International Union has produced this manual. It is designed to help TWU staff members train their members on workplace hazards, workers' legal rights and effective methods to secure those rights.

It is also designed to help local unions work with employers to prevent job-related injuries and illnesses. In doing so, we can also improve the quality and productivity of our work and gain stable jobs in an increasingly global economy. Together, we can build stronger local unions, safer jobs and more secure futures for ourselves, our families and communities.

Manual Table of Contents (click here)

How to Use This Manual

Workers have various ideas and concerns about their jobs. In many locations, workers are troubled by health and safety conditions they consider inadequate. In others, people make suggestions to correct problems but are frustrated by management's lack of response. In such situations, the ability to clearly identify hazards and recommend useful solutions can help the local union improve the quality of the work environment.

This manual can help you do that. To make best use of it, try following these steps:

• Review it yourself. Use the questions in each section to help you understand the subjects covered.
• Use the manual to pass on health and safety information to other TWU members in your department or local union.
• Copy individual pages for leaflets, posters, and teaching materials.
• Use it as a reference guide for identifying and taking action on health and safety problems, filing OSHA complaints, dealing with workers' compensation claims, and during collective bargaining.
• Share it with employers to promote joint efforts on health and safety problems.

If you have questions about technical information in this manual, contact your TWU Health and Safety Department, 1700 Broadway, 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10019, 212-259-4932.