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GEO* ^PARKER. Pr.o. A.L.MT VOTTERO. Pif* Vie.-Pr.*id*n ROBERT W. NEWELL S*cond Vit,.Pri HAROLD GIBBONS. Third Vie.pr.id*t RUFUS K. RITCHIE. Sct..rrT>..ww IVAN T. UNCAPHER, Av.UI S*<t,try HARRY H. COOK. ?r.'d*+ Emartiut INTERNATIONAL headquarters IA40 SOUTH BYRNE RD.*, TOLEDO, OHIO 43614 August 29, 1969 Mr. George M. Parker, President American Flint Glass Workers' Union 1440 South Byrne Road Toledo, Ohio 43614 Re: Contract Review Meeting, Local 1019 and Pittsburgh Corning Corporation, Port Allegany, Pennsylvania August 21, 1969 Dear Sir and Brother: Present for the Company. James Bierer, President, Pittsburgh Corning Corporation; Eugene Holman, Vice President; Ted Burgson, Works Engineer; Jack Neville, Manager Shipping and Warehouse; Harold Weaver, Production Manager, Plants 2 and 3; Chester Dolaway, Production Superintendent, Plant 8; Harold Smith, Production Superintendent, Plant 6; Gerald J. Miller, Tank Superintendent; Glenn V. Turner, Production Manager, Plant 1; Robert Stohr, Quality Control Manager; Gordon Botera, Manager Labor Relations; William J. Binder, Works Manager; Carlton L. Kelley, Assistant to Vice President Manufacturing and Nicholas Unkovic, Counsel. Present for the Union were Albert Vottero, International First Vice President; Charles Croop, Local Union President; Edward V. Nolcher, Local Union Vice President; Frank Young, Corresponding Secretary; Gerald Boorum, Financial Secretary-Treasurer; William B. Blouvelt, Committeeman; James Lathrop, Committeeman; Fred Cochran, Committeeman; Frank Ostrander, Committeeman; and Gail Causer, Committeeman. Topics discussed in the review meeting. 1. Newly established Works Utility Department. 2. Article XIX, Section 2 - Seniority. 3. Hours of Work (Scheduling). 4. Article X, Section 3. 7"BB* 000055* ------------------- 3. Article X, Section 2. 6. Duties of Crew Leaders. 7. Article VII - Grievance Procedure. 8. Insurance. 9. Article XIX - Seniority - Transfers to positions outside the . bargaining unit. 10 Suspension of Ed Elliott 01 35SS fir. George M Parker -2- August 29, 1909 11. Temporary assignments to the carpenter's position. 12. Dust conditions in the Unobestos Department. 13. Clarification on determining seniority status of employees. In January of 1969 the company notified the local union in writing that a new department known as the Works Utility Department would be established. The purpose of the new department will be to stabilize employment in Plant 1, increase plant efficiencies and avoid wherever possible overtime assignments. There has been some confusion regarding assignment of Works Utility*men in various departments. Filial understanding reached is that overtime assignments will be offered to incumbent employees within their departments before Works Utility TZTJZg? to "ertto`- H"ev`r- ^WE^WSTOCUWeiTf OtD Article XIX, Section 2. The ^ LES Manager of Labor Relations on procedure used to fill vacancies. His explanation indicates that no serious difference of opinion exists and the local union and company agree this section is being properly administered. Article XIX - Seniority - Transfers to positions outside the bargaining unit. It had been reported to the local union committee that certain forem n had informed employees under their jurisdiction that hourly rated employees are compelled to accept temporary positions as foremen or supervisors outside the bargaining unit. Mr. Kelley, speaking for the company, replied that accepting positions outside the bargaining unit be hourly rated employees has never been and not now compulsory. Hours of Work. This issue involves certain labors and maintenance men, especially during winter months when schedules are reassigned for convenience f company personnel. It was agreed that the department head will work out the details of any schedule reassignment with the shop committee. Article X, Section 5. The union had requested from the company their interpretation of the words "as possible" in the second line of Section 5. Management stated they will review their practice of division of time and keep the local union committee informed of their findings. Article X, Section 2, Holiday Pay. The union suggested that an employee scheduled to work on a holiday but unable to work due to illness certified by a doctor be awarded holiday pay, even though this is not provided for in th existing agreement. The company agreed to consider such cases on their individual merits without any definite commitment. Duties of Crew Leaders. The activities of crew leaders in the Shipping and Warehouse Department was reviewed. Some of the employees in this department object to taking orders from crew leaders who are hourly rated employees. Mr. Neville, speaking for the company, indicated crew leaders did not originate orders, but merely relayed information to other hourly employees. He further stated that he would review this situation with other employees directly involved. Grievance Procedure. The local union president complained of what he considered unnecessary delay in processing grievances, particularly at Step 4 of the Grievance Procedure. Following considerable discussion it was mutually agreed that all efforts would be put forth to expedite the processing of all grievances. 01j BB 0000558 | Mr. George M. Parker 3- August 29, 1969 Insurance Premium. During th contract negotiations in 1968 insurance improvements were agreed to by the union on the premise and assurance by the company that no insurance premium increases existed in the foreseeable future, however immediately following those negotiations an increase of approximately $4.00 per month was put into effect. This created considerable dissension among the employees. In view of the assurance given the union by the company that there were no rate increases foreseen, the union requested that the company assume full payment of the increased premiums. Following considerable discussion it was mutually agreed that the review meeting would be continued for one day within the next several weeks period to give further consideration to the union's request. No commitment made by the company. Suspension of Ed Elliott. Mr. Elliott was indefinitely suspended for threatening his foreman and the gate watchman with bodily harm. Up to this point the union had not been officially notified of the company's action. In r ply Mr. Botera, speaking for the company, indicated that no final determination had been reached as to the length of suspension. Such determination was to bo made on August 22nd. At that time informed of Ed Elliott's future sta.____ Temporary Assignments to Carpenter's employee filling the position of carpenter suffered a stroke and had been unable to work as of August 21, 1969. This opening has not been filled on a regular basis. The union committee suggested the position be posted on a temp rary basis pending the return of the regular carpenter. The company produced pay roll records indicating there is not a sufficient amount of work to keep an employee fully occupied, however when other employees who normally work at lower rated jobs are assigned to do carpenter's work they receive the carpenter rate. Payroll records indicated that in the payroll period of June 1, 1969 to June 14, 1969 there were 13 hours of carpenter work. The period of June 15, 1969 to June 28, 1969 none. From June 29, 1969 to July 12, 1969 none. From July 13, 1969 to July 27, 1969 29 hours. From July 28, 1969 to August.9, 1969 9 hours. Under the circumstances it would be rather difficult to insist that an employee b assigned full time to carpenter work, however we requested that the company keep the local union fully informed as to the amount of work available and the employees assigned to such work. Dust conditions in the Unobestos Department. The union has registered complaints about the dust condition in the Unobestos Department for more than two years. The company has consistently promised to install dust collecting equipment to alleviate the condition. The union was informed that bids have been let out to several dust collecting installation companies and that this work to be pushed rapidly as circumstances permit. Clarification of seniority status. The union asked Gordon Botera, Manager of Labor Relations, how he arrived at seniority status for employees. Did he count actual days worked or only normally scheduled days? Mr. Botera replied that actual days worked are counted to establish seniority status. Example: If an employee is normally scheduled five days per week and he works an extra day he is given credit for six days. However, he is not given credit for hours worked as a continuation of his normal scheduled day. This, explanation appeared satisfactory to the committee. ---------- ---------------1 BB 0000559 J Mr. Bierer, Presid nt of the Company, in a brief utline of what to expect in the futur indicated that sever 1 steps are being taken by the 01 35j0 Mr. GeorgeM. Parker -4- August 29, 1969 company to develop new products to be produced in the Port Allegany plant. He cited as an example a development of fiber glass nodules which have many industrial uses. Other products are in the process of development which if successful promises a brighter future for the company and its employees. Very truly yours. AV/mk Albert Vottero, First Vice President NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT DID NOT COME FROM PPG FILES l BB 0000560 | 01 3591 There is new legislative machinery available to protect workers from dangerous chemicals and ther hazardous i b conditi ns. But there are forces jamming the gears and, meanwhile, the American wage earner is caught in the middle. Will everyone please try to keep up the cheerleading for the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 197a After all... It was, in April of 1971 when it be* came effective, bailed as the first law passed for the benefit of working people since the Wagner Act of the New Deal era. And . It was, said a union man at the time, "the toughest piece of environmental action ever passed in this country." Only today . , . It is. but small comfort ... pre ciously small comfort to the workers of America who need protection from an enormous variety of chemical emis sions and job conditions that can en danger their health. Many of those who held such high hopes for the new legislation are now making gloomy pronouncements about the law ever achieving its pur poses. Not enough money available, not enough inspectors, not enough standards established, they say. All of which, it is said, is just enough soft ness to allow some laxity in industry, some inertia in Congress, and some bureaucratic confusion in government. The victims, of course, are the 60 mil lion wage earners covered by the Act, who seem little better safeguarded than before the law passed. Examine, for example, the money and manpower situation. Can you doubt that the Department of Labor's Occupaiional Safety and Health Ad ministration (OSHA) is underfinanced when the Department of Labor spent 41 cents per worker to enforce safety and health standards in fiscal 1972while the Bureau of Mines averaged $909 per person? And can you ques tion the shortage of manpower after you learn that only 9.300 of nearly four million American workplaces were in spected during the first six months of the new law? The figures, reported by Senator Harrison Williams (D,, N.J.), co-sponsor of the bill, indicate that only 20% of the places inspected were violation-free. And as Sen. Williams adds, one OSHA official recently told him, "Some violations take years to get corrected." Getting quick action from any source appears difficult. Assistant La bor Secretary George C. Guenther doesn't scum to ho able to act fast enough. And neither do some mem bers of Congress. The congressional attitude toward the controversial sub ject is, especially in this election year, rather sour. There are no bills before Congress to improve the Act, but there are an estimated 60 bills in the hopper to weaken il. As for organized labor's hierarchy, the AFL-CIO is full of crit icism regarding the Act's administra tion, but Ralph Nader counseled Today's Health, "Never mind the rhet oric. The measure of organized labor's interest is that not one union has a physician, or engineer, or scientist, or lawyer working full time in Washing ton on the problem of safety and health." The key to successful enforcement of OSHA't program is an adequate number of aggressive compliance offi cers (safety inspectors) and industrial hygienists. The latter are especially important because 60 percent of work ers' complaints are ab ut health ards. It la not the rickety baniste the deadly vapor that worries w rking roan most. Yet. at the end of fiscal 1972, C had only "about" 400 compliance cers and "about" SO hygienists l field (OSHA officials admitted didn't know for sure how many had) to inspect the more than fou lion business and industrial < lishments in America. Efforts to increase the insp force were blocked by Assistant tary Guenther. Congress authoriz additional $5 million for 200 ne spectors, but he refused to spend lower-grade technicians. Asked . this, he blamed the White Hous said President Nixon's "employ ceiling" had tied his hands. Not t really mattered, said Guenther, was a "fiscal impossibility" to enough inspectors. Testifying before Congress a time the Act was being written, ft officials acknowledged that would need one industrial hyg for every 35.000 workers if they to inspect industry properly, present number of hygienists i there is one for every 1.2 m workers. Moreoever. there has been gre evenness in the effectiveness of O', inspections. Some unions r prompt, efficient action. On the hand, compliance officers wb spected the M bil Oil Corpo plant in Paulsboro, New Jersey year disregarded what worker: about propane leakage. Even i the company had roped ff the gerous area to prevent the leakix from being ignited by a spark, had been two fires. Then, a months later, there was an exp NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT DIO NOT COME FROM PPG FILES WHAT'S BEHIND THE FAILURE TD PROTECT ________ | BB 0000561 1 THE HEALTH OF AMERICA'S WORKERS ByR bertSherrill TODAY'S HEALTH/AUGU 01 1338 Mr a : 1 i l in .*fi i$ >* i. A. f' ;i! ;li ? I I * 4 that resulted in one man's death. Mobil Oil Corporation says the fa tality did not involve propane usage and storage but "the ignition of hydro carbon liquids which had spilled as a result of an operating error." It also defended OSHA compliance officials, characterizing the inspection of the Paulsboro refinery, conducted over a two-month period, as "one of the most searching and thorough conducted to date by OSHA in the petroleum indus try and perhaps all industry." Recently there was an explosion at the Kenrich Petrochemical plant in New Jersey; one man was killed and one severely burned. The union wired Alfred Barden, OSHA's regional ad ministrator, asking for a plant in spection. Barden responded that he saw no reason for an inspection; later, after considerable urging he did send a man to look things over. OSHA hasn't been idle. To the con trary, during the first nine months of fiscal 1972, inspectors toured 20.688 plants and found 77 percent of them not in compliance with job safety and health standards. However, Guenther issued a press release in which, his critics nute, he viewed these results backwards. Ig noring the 77 percent who were vio lators, he cited instead the 23 percent who were in compliance. **We find this a most heartening indication of how well our efforts toward voluntary compliance are working," he said. In deed, the fact that even one out of four employers obeyed the law was, he said, "a respectable indication" that management was well-intentioned. When critics upbraided him for the trifling fines levied against some of the worst violators. Guenther said: "Initial penalties are low. We're not in the fund-raising business." In fact, the new job safety legisla tion does provide for stiff penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation plus, in some cases, imprisonment. Senator Williams points out. how ever. that in reality these stringent maximum penalties "are a far cry from the actual fines that have been im posed against companies found to be in violation." He reports that a plant in Hazelton, Pa., which was violating ac ceptable maximum levels for deadly beryllium dust, was fined a total of $328 for 28 "non-aerious" violations. "Included," he says, "was a $8 fine for permitting employees to eat and store food in an area where toxic materials were present." The senator also notes that noise level readings in four separate areas of up to 126 decibels, substantially in ex cess of the permissable level of 90 decibels, led to a fine of only $75, "Af ter the first 5,000 inspections con ducted under the law, the average pen alty has been just $18 for more than 19,000 violations that were found," he explained. Nobody knows exactly how many hazardous chemicals are being used in industry, but everyone agrees there are Senator Harrison Williams: "We are centuries away from catching up with one of rr the major problems the law was intended to correct." at least 15,000. And according to the American Industrial Hygiene Associ ation, a new toxic agent it introduced into the w rkplace every 20 minutes. OSHA has standards covering be tween 400 and S00 f these chemicals (OSHA says 500, some labor officials say 400). The 400-500 exposure stan dards now in force. Incidentally, were adopted from criteria established ver the past half century by the American National Standards Institute and the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). It's lucky OSHA had these to fall back on. outdated though some of Nobody know* exactly how . ^Qrauny hazardous chemicals \ jODi^re being used in industry. but everyone agrees that there are at least 15,000. NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT DIDis TODAY'SH8A4.TH/AUGUST18 NOT COME FkviV] PPG FILES w.\ them are (the "safe" level for carbon For some reason, when the Labor . monoxide in a working establishment, Department adopted the 400-500 stan for example, is exactly the level at dards as the core for OSHA's enforce a- i which the Environmental Protection ment program, it left beta-naphthylaAgency can declare an emergency for mine off the list. Sheldon Samuels, i an entire community.) Nobody is gov director of Health, Safety and Envi ernment seems to be able to come up ronmental Affairs for the Industrial quickly with the professional talent to Union Department of the AFL-CIO, . T set standards for the other 14.500 or says he has been demanding that more hazardous substances. OSHA set a standard for beta-napb* 4 The agency doing the research from thylamine since June 18. 197L "And which OSHA set health standards is there is still no standard for beta," he the National Institute of Safety and says. Health. Everyone acknowledged that Beta-naphthylamine is used in the Yi NIOSH is doing a courageous, con synthesis of dyes for synthetic fibers scientious job. even though it is in the textile industry. It is so toxic the A starved for money. ACGIH ruled the only safe level of ex NIOSH is now part of the Depart posure was zero. The chemical, which ment of Health. Education and Wel causes cancer of the bladder, was out fare. but the White House talks about lawed long ago in New Jersey and in transferring the agency into the De Pennsylvania. partment of Commerce. Until the Southern states were not so squea White House makes up its mind, it mish. The chemical has been manufac &*: t doesn't seem likely that HEW is going tured by Synalloy Corporation in to spend much on its stepchild. Georgia and in South Carolina since The results are predictable. One of the early 1850s. When the Occupa NIOSH's important duties is to make tional Safety and Health Act was im health hazard evaluations upon plemented in the summer of 1971, a . * request If a worker in Chicago is OSHA could have immediately forced ;.j afraid that the chemicals he is working Synalloy Corporation to stop manu with may be destroying his hair, he facturing beta-naphthylamine. but it can request an evaluation from did nothing. It didn't even include the NIOSH and be sure of getting a solid, chemical on its toxic list. B ibjective one. The only trouble is, as NIOSH, which is admirably inde ;'^^of last June NIOSH had only 10 pendent of OSHA. refused to go along poopie in the whole country who with beta, and on January 18 it an could respond to those requests. An nounced that it was beginning an in other problem is that most workers vestigation. With the threat of publi don't know that such evaluations are city hanging over its operation. available. Synalloy said it no longer would pro T "1 A Edward Baier. deputy director of cess the chemical. Throughout this pe NIOSH, says his agency's average pay riod, OSHA was silent J. is low. "It's almost impossible to hire Perhaps the best way to measure the an engineer, a toxicologist, a physi failures of OSHA is to go into the files A 'A cian. an epidemiologist or an analy and.observe its responses to problems tical chemist who knows what he's with such industrial hazards as as 1t doing. And then, on top of that, you bestos, mercury vapors and lead. .-i get a guy all lined up and the White House puts a freeze on hiring." According to a study recently pub lished by the Industrial Union Depart Whatever the reason. NIOSH's ment (IUD) of AFL-CIO, five million record for turning out new standards American workers must at some time is dismaL "With the personnel and lab in their duties come in contact with resources we have." says Baier, "we're that newly recognized killer, asbestos. getting five standards out this fiscal None are more aware of the risk to life year. We hope to heve 15 next fiscal year, and maybe we can crank out be tween 30 and 30 each fiscal year there after." and health than workers employed by Johns-Manville, New Jersey, the larg est asbestos processing plant in the world. At this rate, says Senator Williams. For years the men and women in the *e are centuries away fr m catching plant have foil that something foul and with ne of the major problems the harmful was in the air. They suspected law was intended to correct." theprodu ............. TH! TODAYS HEMLTH/AUGUST1972 FROMi not gome rl^t cording to IUD's Sheldon Samuels, the company refused to let them look at the records of the dust level in the planL Two years ago, to gain access to the records and for other environmental reasons, they went on strike. This in it self indicates the feeling of aisiaUnion officials say that ordinarily it is impossible to drum up a strike for health reasons. (A spokesman for Johns-Manville, M. Robert Chalora. manager of Doan- cial/stockholder relations, denies that the strike was called because f em ployee-health problems and maintains it occurred before asbestos became a health issue at the plant The com pany has a long-established policy f making employee medical records available to personal physicians," he says, noting that "our environmental control has been singled out as beat in the industry.") The workers' suspicions received strong support when Dr. Irving J. Selikoff. a professor at Mt Sinai Hospital School of Medicine in New York and head of the school's Environmental Medicine Department, recently com pleted a study of the oldest workers at Johns-Manville and found that they died of lung cancer with a frequency eight times higher than the national average and of stomach cancer at a rate four times higher. Some union officials estimate that at Johns-Manville today there are 50 cases of mesothelioma--the cancer pe culiar to asbestos workers--and per haps as many as 500 cases of lung can-, cer. AFL-CIO's national headquarters has called it "the largest recorded epi demic of occupational cancer." (Taking issue with these figures, Chalom maintains that the study showed lung cancer among JohnsManville employees to be four times higher than the national average [not eight times, as reported] and that the incidence of stomach cancer at the plant was actually shown to be nearly three times higher than the national average--end not four times, as're ported. "It is just absurd to say there are 500 cases of lung cancer," he says. "That would be one case for every nine employees.") Despite the existence of over whelming evidence pointing to the cancer-producing qualities of aa- (continued on page 64) . I BB 0000563^2 01 for include painful, hot and swollen ' j ints. a rash, profuse sw ating. rapid heart beat and a loss of appetite. But often the symptoms are less obvious: fatigue, restlessness and irritability. Many times it follows other infections such as that of the middle ear. scarlet fever or a severe strep throat. Imme diate medical attention at the first sus pected sign is the best preventive. dogs, chocolate bars and TV snacks. Doctors disagree n whether oil youngsters should be switched to such s diet, but all agree that no child should be allowed to become over weight. The National Heart and Lung Institute has commented thst "habits of activity and eating acquired in childhood set the pattern for later life." tf a child is encouraged to count the heart, so these factors too must 1 considered. But no 'parent sh u make a decision about a child's acti\ ties with ut medical consultati n. Barbara and Frank Rene did ju that after Brian had recuperated home from his open-heart surgex Within a few short weeks he was pe mitted to do almost everything. No he can do everything--run, jump, eve Blood tests and throat cultures help in calories when young, it will probably ride his bicycle. And his checks are a diagnosis. Once the disease is identi become part of his life-style as tn ways,filled with color. fied, treatment must begin at once and adult. If. in addition, a parent encour Dr. Ellison, who will be leaving Bo continue on a long-range basis. Until a ages regular exercise and discourages ton Children's Hospital to take char; definitive cure is found, antibiotics, smoking, particularly by his own ex of Pediatric Cardiology at Georgetow bed rest and attentive medical care ample. that parent has done all that University Hospital at about the tirr can help reduce the possibility of can be done in the light of present Brian starts school, says of Brian. "H rheumatic heart disease. knowledge to reduce the risk of an heart sounds are completely norma Unlike adults, children's chest pains early heart attack. He has only a very soft murmur whic are rarely of cardiac origin. They are Many causes of heart disease in should not bother him in any way. i more likely to result from neuritis, a childhood still remain a mystery. he follows the course of other y un; respiratory ailment or from the strains Aside from seeing to it that every girl sters with similar cardiac problem: and sprains that often accompany has rubella before pregnancy, and ev we don't expect that he'll have an; bard play. Sudden death from heart ery mother-to-be avoids unnecessary limitations on his activities." attacks in the young can usually be drugs and excessive x-ray radiation That's just fine with Brian, who i traced to severe unrecognized or un during pregnancy, there is little one happy about everything except th treated congenital problems involving can do in the way of prevention. But fact that he'll be starting first grade the heart valves (pulmonic and aortic there are danger signals that parents As for his brother. Frankie Jr- whei stenosis). But the telltale murmur that can alert themselves to- These include: Brian became well again, big brothe identifies these conditions is present in family history of heart disease, diffi began to do much better in school. Bu curly childhood und is utmost uiwuys cult pregnancy, breathing problems in that'* nut how Urian sues iL picked up at that time. In the rare situ- the newborn baby, rheumatic fever, "I guess he's just getting smarter," h< ati ns when it is misted or dis recurrent respiratory infections, rapid says. |g regarded. the heart may be pushed heartbeat while resting, shortness of beyond its capacity and suddenly give breath in normal play, light-hcad- l BB 0000564~T uL The one possible link between child edness, abnormal growth and devel opment and extreme overweight. Workers' neaun hood and adult heart disease may be Continued research offer* the best (Continued from page 19) premature atherosclerosis. Patty hope for future prevention and treat bestos, OSHA took more than a year streaks begin to accumulate along ar ment, and new information is being before setting an emergency exposure terial walls in infancy, and it is sus pected that there is a slow, progressive build-up in the arteries that produces no symptoms in children, but leads to produced almost daily. In New York City, for example, researchers at ML Sinai Medical Center are investigating a simple technique using ultra-sonic level--a level that management said was acceptable but that labor said was 2% times too high, and therefore un safe. premature heart attacks in young waves to detect minute changes in the Both NIOSH and an advisory com adults. arterial walls, and New York Hospital- mittee of scientists app inted by the Most cardiologists believe that pre Cornell Medical Center is studying .Labor Department recently recom vention must begin in childhood, espe families with histories of congenital mended that workers should not be cially among "high-risk" children. heart disease to identify children who allowed to breathe more than a max These are youngsters whose parents or are genetically disposed tp it. imum of five fibers per cubic centime other close relatives have experienced The cardiac child may or may not ter and that this should be cut t two early coronary disease, suffer from have to limit his activities. It depends fibers per cubic centimeter by 1974. In high blood pressure or have high lev on his particular condition, its severity stead, even while ackn wledging that els of cholesterol and triglycerides and how active he tends to be. Some "lives of employees are at stake." (fatty substances) in their blood. They youngsters play too hard, especially in OSHA ruled in June of this year that recommend that such children be put competition. Others have an easier industry would not have t meet the n low-fat and polyunsaturated-fat style that doesn't make as great a de lowered standard until 1976. diets. This means low-fat milk, only mand on their damaged hearts. So a In a prepared statement. ]ohns-Man- occasional eggs, lean meat, more fish great deal depends on how--and how ville responded: "The asbestos dust and poultry, polyunsaturated marga long--they play the game. levels which gave rise to the serious rine instead of butter, lots of fresh High altitudes and extreme tempera and fatal diseasa described in the NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT mfruit and green vegetables, and few hot ture* also impose extra demands on Mount Sinai study were those of year* TOOATS HEALTH/AUGUST1972 NOT COME FROM Pf>G FUJI past, -when conditions were much worse than they are now. `They in no way reflect the modern scientific dust control techniques we have in operation at the Manville plant today.. . "Whenever we learned of health hazards from authoritative people, we engineered and installed dust control equipment as rapidly as it was techni cally and economically feasible.,. "And we are getting results. A dust survey of the Manville plant was com pleted last month by industrial hygien ists f the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Depart ment of Labor. Of the 250 samples taken in the survey, only five samples were said to be above the five-fiber standard. These have since been cor rected." Nonetheless, critics continue to la ment Ihul testing uod enforcement may mean little when measured against the fact that workers must tol erate a dangerous standard four more years. Dr. Irving Seiikoff says that per mitting the five-fiber standard until 1876 means "letting workers inhale 20 or 30 million fibers a day. I don't call it the five fiber standard. 1 call it the 20 million-fiber standard." He adds that, Secause of the shortage of inspectors, ven this regulation may not be en forced. The doctor said a survey of 9,400 asbestos workers showed that only one dust count was made for each 20,000 man days worked during 1970-71. Joseph Mandrone, president of Local 600, United Papermakers and Paperworkers, AFL-CIO, at Manville says; "The Job can be done. ]ohns-Manville here has already done a tremendous Job. Eighty-five percent of its plant or better is already under the two-fiber count. But its competitors. I know, haven't done this. With the Labor De partment ruling, they needn't hurry." For 18 years the Pittsburgh Corning plant in Tyler. Texas, had been pro cessing asbestos. Working conditions were so foul that the personnel turn over was unusually high; although at peak empl yment the company hired only 62 men. over the years 1,500 men had worked there and, as public health inspectors had reported years ago, they had been getting asbestos feat in their lungs. The danger was Rso spread tu the community, for Pittsburgh Coming dumped asbestos NOTE: < DOCUMENT DID1 PPG FILES woman in many hatardous occupations daily laca added ns*s that could Os OyOSHA. waste in nearby fields (three feet deep in places) and some children played in the dust. . As far back as 1963, Pittsburgh Coming had been notified that it was endangering lives. The warnings re sulted in few improvements. Tyler is a cheap-labor section of east Texas; if the workers didn't like to eat asbestos dust with their lunch, if they didn't want to breathe asbestos dust all day, and if they thought the company was too stingy with its medical facilities-- which, according, to a federal in spector's report, consisted of two firstaid cabinets, one with a broken glass door--then of course they were free to look elsewhere for work. Actually, the warnings given by in spectors prior to 1971 were given se cretly. The Labor Department's old Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health (BOSH) had done health stud ies at Tylur ami oilier asbestos plums. But the government refused to tell the employees involved what they had found--that the workers were being subjected to a deadly level of asbestos dust. Then came the Act of 1970; BOSH was replaced by NIOSH, and with the new initials came a new crop f bu reaucrats. They looked through the files of their predecessors and were outraged. Before long they began passing in formation to outsiders, especially to the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Work ers Union, which had jurisdiction at the Pittsburgh Corning plant Steve Wodka, health and safety di rector for the union, says, "We're pretty sure that half or more of the workers at Tyler will die because of the levels of asbestos they were ex posed to." NIOSH found that of 136 air sam ples taken in the plant. 117 exceeded thu muximutn "safe" limits. Seven of 16 workers with more than a decade of TOQAVS HCALTH/AUQUST1972 1 BB 0000565 | H t ** :^ i\ **' ? >`4 } >* 7 *%* * -t I ' , < ** >* \ - . -m! i ; ** : New help for swimmers. The cause of swimmer's eer infection When you're in the wster a great deal, your ear wax may become overly soft and moist. This "soft wax" condition provides a favorable place for bacteria and lungi to grow. Too olten an infected ear canal is the result This infection is called "External Otitis." better known as swimmer's ear infection. It you develop swimmer's ear, consult your physician immedi ately. Otherwise you might suffer permanent damage to your hearing. Of course, as in all matters of safety, prevent/on is the best cure. That's why we make Swim-EAR*. fOUTMt PREVENTION o^*wMMeR*se** How to prsvsnt swimmer's car infection Swimmer's ear infection may often be prevented by using Swim-EAR* regularly after swimming, bathing or snowering. Swim-EAR** helps evapo rate moisture that is trapped m your outer ear canal. Swim-EAR* also has a dual antiseptic action, plus an acid pH to offset the alkalinity usually encountered in swimming pools. Swim-EAR* Orys out water-plugged ears. Helps prevent swimmer's ear infection. Swim-EAR* comes in a plastic squeeze bottle you can take with you anywhere. Ask for SwimEAR* at your drug store, sporting goods store or pool supply store. And. while you're there, ask your retailer about his special Swim-EAR* . offer on Ampex stereo tapes and cassettes. ^SAVAGE LABORATORIES. INC.. S222 ELM ST..HOUSTON. TEXAS 77036 empl yraent at the plant showed dear signs of a*hostosis (a n n-malignant lung disease brought on after in halation f excessive concentrations of asbestos dust ver many years). To punish Pittsburgh Corning for polluting its workers and the commu nity for 10 years. OSHA at first levied e fine of only $210. but the union com* plained so vigorously that OSHA was forced to take another look. A new in* spection in January, 1972, resulted in more citations and a fine of $6,990. Two weeks later, claiming hardship on the basis of the fine, Pittsburgh Coming dosed down its Tyler per* etion. Questioned about this, an exec* utive noted that the company has ceased asbestos production because, he said, despite "efforts and in* vestments to reduce the dust levels... it became increasingly impossible to meet the increasingly rigid dust level standards established by the federal government." The first citation issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 was against one of Allied Chemical's plants in Moundsville, West Virginia, for excessive mercury vapors. For six years conditions at this plant had been the cause of bitter complaints from the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union. Now it was protesting again. If this union is more militant than most, it may be because, as Wodka points out: "Our members don't get black lung like the miners or brown lung like the textile workers. Our members get rainbow lung, they are exposed to so many toxic chem icals.*' The union filed an "imminent dan ger" complaint with the Labor Depart ment on April 28. 1971, and, adds Wodka angrily. "It took them tw weeks to get into the goddamn plant" The federal inspectors took urine samples from 12 workers and found that seven were above the "threshold limits value"--the safety limit-sif 250 micrograms of mercury per liter. Three of the samples were above 800 micro grams. According to the citation, they found "visibla pools and droplets of mercury" throughout the working area, creating such hazards as are "likely to cause death or serious physi cal harm to employees." The citation noted that Allied Chemical had been 128b9on`<ou*tf on page 68; M TODAY'S HCALTH/AUCUST1972 I B8 0000566 J m iQ/iQ (continued tram page $6) ard in primitive fashion, it period acti n and pay fines. previously told of the hazards by fed- ically tested its workers and when "This is a conscious effort on the -1 ' eral inspectors. For all this the com their systems were found to be over part of big industry to screw up the pany was gently slapped with a 51,000 loaded with lead, they were simply Act. and what happened in Omaha is a i fine and ordered to dean up by No shifted to a "safer" section of the good example. You can't change the i vember. Workers report that condi plant--until their lead levels dropped. attitudes of employers like American * * tions are better. But, according to the OSHA's compliance officers fined Smelting, so the only solution is t add !'- union, as of June 1 federal inspectors American Smelting 5600. But to avoid enough judges to the Review Commis :' had not returned to the plant to see if potential fines of 51.000 a day. the sion." their deanup order was obeyed. company was told to build a much The Review Commission may not When asked to respond. Allied better ventilation system. It claims this agree with Samuels' character judg Chemical chose not to comment on the would cost 520 million. ASARCO has ment. but it apparently goes along federal inspectors' charge of mercury appealed OSHA's 5600 fine to the Re with his' estimation of the bottleneck. spillage in working areas. However, view Commission. Until the Commis The Commission started off with one Warren Ferguson, director of occupa sion hands down its decision, the judge; at the end of fiscal 72 it had 45 tional health and safety, insists there workers at ASARCO will have legally judges--and a backlog of more than were inspections subsequent to the ci progressed exactly one step beyond 800 cases. tation and that when employees were the point they were more than a year Even if OSHA finally gets an effeo "reevaluated for their health status ago. five program operating for unions in during the months of February and If the company loses at the Review the big industries, the Occupational March 1972 by the Public Health Ser Commission level and wishes to take Safety and Health Act of 1970 will vice . .. there was no evidence that its case to court, it can do so. This likely remain a sham for 80 percent of anybody's health was being im would probably mean that everything the work force covered by the Act-- paired." will be up in the air--including the that is, the non-union workers and the Ferguson also notes that the stan lead vapors--for a couple more years. millions of small businessmen of dard of 250 micrograms of mercury per For its part, American Smelting says America. liter is "Allied Chemical's voluntarily it is spending 5410,000 on improve `The Labor Department has made imposed control point for removing ments to the ventilation system which, only a token effort to inform non workers from exposure," which "is when completed by the end of this union workers of their rights under the four times more stringent than the year, will bring the company "into act." notes joseph A. Page, associate Massachusetts standard that is unoffi compliance with the OSHA standards professor at Georgetown Law Center, cially followed by the federal people." to 60 to 90 percent." The remaining 10 "and it has done almost nothing to On another front, the Public Health to 20 percent compliance will be educate small businessmen in the new Service financed a community survey achieved by "administrative means"-- law. Moreover, officials of OSHA ad of how much lead the people of respirators, good housekeeping, etc. mit these shortcomings." Omaha, Nebraska, were carrying in Compliance by strictly engineering Without concentrated help from their bodies. Not surprisingly, the sur means, it says, would mean a new OSHA, the small businessman is out of vey pinpointed those men who worked plant and could coat as much as 520 luck. OSHA's health and safety stan at the American Smelting and Refining million. dards fill 248 pages of the Federal Reg Company (ASARCO)--where lead William K. Murray, director of ad ister--a publication that the proprietor plays a key commercial role. vertising and public relations for of a small business never heard of. With that sampling in hand, the American Smelting, maintains that in Even if he did have a copy of these United Steelworkers of America, the pest five years the company has standards, it is unlikely that he would f> ;* which has union jurisdiction at only had to rotate one person to a "sa understand them. Many officials in ASARCO. asked the Occupational fer" section and that biological moni OSHA admit they don't understand Safety and Health Administration to toring is done routinely. them either. send safety inspectors and hygienists "In all our industrial hygiene history But OSHA has neither supplied the to do a study. at the Omaha plant, there has never small businessmen with these stan They strapped portable air sampling been anyone who has shown symp dards nor sent out explanatory mate devices on seven employees working toms of lead poisoning." said Murray. rial in the most suspect plant area. Five of Nonetheless, labor suspects that ap As a result, millions f small busi the seven samples showed that the pealing to the Review Commission is nessmen are frightened. They havr lead vapors were above the "threshold part of management's scheme to de heard dire reports--totally false--about limit value" of .2 milligrams of lead stroy the Act. Speaking for the AFL- safety inspectors driving businesses per cubic meter of air. based on a CIO, Sheldon Samuels says. `The Re into bankruptcy. Opponents of the Act weighted night-hour day. Three sam view Commission is becoming a are making good use f the confusi r ples were dramatically in excess of the bottle-neck because the large trade as as it spreads among farmers anc safe limits. One was 2.70 milligrams, sociations are training their medium ranchers. another 2.85 and another .75. sized and large employers to appeal. The irony is that few small busi Although ASARCO had long been ' Even when they have no reason to ap nesses have even been inspected aware of the dangers from lead poi peal. they do it to put off the time much less burdened with fines. Am soning. the company had met the haz when thi NOTE: THI no fartjUQOr ^a^ip^have been in- NOT COM! TODAY'S HEALTH/AUGUST 197: * spaoted. Another irony brought about a by. this failure to pass on informati n i* that* as Joseph Page points out. "Many small businessmen are simply unaware of the fact that loans are "The degree of the individual's alienation from his work depends on bis philosophy f life." Or. Warren points out. "The time-server simply turns off his mind while he's on the available under the Act to help them job. The over-qualified skilled worker, comply." or executive cannot do the same." Joseph Page is concerned, too. about What can such a worker do? "He the "hysteria" generated by "blatant can do what he can to enrich himself attempts to cripple the bill." He is crit within the setting of the job." ical f union complacency, and says, The answer in many cases of job en "Unions must be more aggressive in nui may be to drop out "Sometimes the meeting criticisms against the Act that loss of income, of fringe benefits, the are not backed by facts." insecurity about finding another job, If OSHA. by failing to educate the even a possible readjustment of one's public, permits opponents of the Act way of life to a lower economic scale, to exempt small firms and farms from are worth it if they lead to job satisfac the Act--there arc dozens of bills in tion," says the psychologist Again it Congress right now to do just that--it depends on the individual's philoso will be a tragic step backward. For the phy. If he is unhappy at his work and protection of the Act is needed in he is making his family unhappy, then thoso pliicns more than anywhere dsn. finding a c-irenr which will make him In plums that employ fewer lhau SOU fuel that what he is doing is worth persons the injury and illness rate is while will restore human values not two and a half times that of larger in only to himself but also to his family. dustries. Farm workers have the third- If a person sees his job each day as highest injury rate and the highest just another day's drudgery, he finds it death rate in industry. increasingly difficult to face his family When the failure of OSHA's educa each morning. "Workers in general tion program was put to Don Perry-- want to avoid jobs that are monoto tho public information officer assigned nous, repetitive, over-controlled and by Assistant Secretary Guenther to an- isolated from interaction with others." *er Today's Health's questions--he ' comments Michael Maccoby of Har Replied is a way to indicate he thought vard's Institute of Policy Studies. that anyone who knows anything about the bureaucracy should under stand. "These are things we're still working on.** he said. "Jesus, we're only a year old." Cl As Manhattan psychologist Or. Har old Greenwald suggests about many union grievances--typically a long re cital of niggling complaints--they rep resent, he says "a cry for recognition that the complainer is a man and not a machine." B red m on the job feonanuad tram page 45) Too often, worker gripes are mis directed because the individuals them selves do not understand the root of Here the fault probably lies with their discontent. compsny policy. Also, not only this corporate executive, but many types of empi yees suffer from the loss of the sense of accomplishment. An auto assembly-line worker queried about the scandalous list of new-car defects that have caused every major com pany to recall hundreds of thousands Lee A. Parent, director of personnel and office services of the American Medical Association, agrees with Dr. Greenwald. "Often personnel knows before the employee's supervisor that the individual is bored on the job. We will receive complaints that there is too much noise in the office. Or a sec of autos, replies: "Sure, we read how the working man today haa no pride in bis work, and it's true. But what you don't read is how the company has broken down the work into smaller retary will come in and say she doesn't like her typewriter and needs a new one of this or that kind. Or sometimes an employee will say `My supervisor doesn't like me.' 0d smeller units so that no man can "These complaints are indications lei pride in what ha's doing. If they'd that the employee is complately un just let me build a car occasionally. challenged in the positi n. Tho solu ,u"~' NOTE: THlSWCOIJMJIfftion. CQME FRQM ppG F|LES "Of course, individuals differ. Many employees arc passive and only want t do what they are told to d . Others are ambiti us and will tend to do their jobs in their own way. It is imp rtant to take the difference between the pas sive and aggressive type of empi yee into account when evaluating and working to alleviate job boredom." The individual and his supervisor are encouraged to sit down and dis cuss his job: The employee is asked to consider-and decide what is the most critical area of his work in terms of getting top results. The supervisor, in his turn, tells the employee what he hopes to accomplish. "This is called management by ob jectives," says Mr. Parent "Under such a program of job enrichment a task is never assigned to an employee until hn ami thu Hiiporvumr sit down and discuss this job. The supervisor listens to the employee's ideas of how the objective can best be accom plished. When I'm the supervisor, the employee may end up doing it my way, but 1 will have considered his way. It takes longer but it results in a better quality of work." Another means of alleviating job boredom. Mr. Parent points out. is to modify jobs by allotting special re sponsibility outside of the regularly assigned responsibilities. This gives the employee a change of pace. Employees' attitudes toward workeven the same kind of work--are as variable as the surplus of dull jobs now available. A clerk with a Bronx drug distribution company reacted to a newspaper article about job bore dom with immediate recollection of a former employer. One of his clerk's duties was to sweep the center aisle of the company warehouse. The first time his boss glanced at tht dean floor, he exclaimed, "Hey! Nice job you did there." "That's all. nothing else, hut every day or every time I swept the floor he would say something nice about it," the clerk remembered. Once, the boas alaborated. "If it weren't f r you sweeping the floor, it w uld be a lot tougher working here." The sweeper's reaction: "Simple words like these can make a person feel that he or she has achieved some thing. Somebody cares about what you are doing and that what you are doing is important. So, every time you BB 0000569 1 w