Document Qj1XjbK1B64g4pqovobBLJEL

i tsscsrwa ] John Ucrlinis SATURDAY, JULY 20,' 1974 Pro LeeLing W orkers And Their Jobs - uw Like God's angry man, Peter'Bom* marilo, president of the Rubber Work ers Union, stormed at lenders in the chemical and plasties industries for re* sisting stronger safeguards against cancer-producing vinyl chloride, a sub stance used in the manufacture of a wide variety of products. "There are millions of workers-- frightened men. and women -- who don't want to die for their jobs," said Bommarito, who is chairman of the oc cupational safety and lu..Ith commit tee of the AFLCIO Industrial Union Department which rcpcscnls 6.000.000 workers in 60 unions. "They want to be told that industry management and un ion and the government, federal and .a| state, can assure them of a job and their lives. They certainly want both." he continued. "But if this is not pos sible then they choose life." :l/r. Ilrrlinj: tcrites frequently on labor topics for these pages. i\...management's tactics of delay and poor-mouthing of its financial ability lv to cover the costs of protection. [' What it amounts to, he said, is that the "nation is being blackmailed" by managements resisting the application of new effective health standards. They raise the specter of "an end to 1.6 mil lion jobs and national disaster." Bommarito's voice grew sharper: "f/e made it clear he had no intention of , bargaining with the health f f Bommarito spoke to an occupational and safety of union men safely conference on vinyl chloride. The hushed audience in the Labor De and women" partment aud 'orium included repre sentatives of management, aovernmc.it and unions. 11:- made it clear he had no intention o: bargaining with the "This country survived for nearly 200 } ~ health and safety of union men and years without polyvinyl chloride fPVC) '* " women--although this has sometimes and we can survive in the future with- lJ' ' happened in the past. Often, when stricter standards are advanced for the protection of the health and safety of workers in plants and/or mines, two things take place. First, the prospect of greater protec tion for workers scares the industry because of the expenses of ::* element ing safety slrndards. Second, manage ment warns that the cost of such im provements will be so prorvritive that plants will be closed and workers thrown out of their jobs. out it. If PVC cannot be made or used safely, then the proposed standard must be replaced by an orderly proce dure to phase out vinyl chloride pro : duclion and find substitutes for its products, or to phase out the products themselves. This is not an easy posi tion to take. But there is no alterna tive." The battle over vinyl chloride is the latest confrontation between labor and industry on the subject of protection fur workers against cancer-producing chemicals. Battles over asbestos anft What it-comes down to is that work carcinogens continue to be fought in ers' are confronted with a dread choice: "Your wages or your life." Congress and in the courts. Labor, said Bommarito. has listened to experts , Based on experience, employers are 1 confident that unions and their lead; crs. threatened with : .icmpioyr-.eul, `will make some face-savin" coinum- tnises. These arc often filtered ilmiimh `a screen of confusing .-talisii< s. to reas sure workers that at least for the time 'being they have no medieal cause lur alarm. from all over lite world and "we have coin luded that the proposed government standard of `no detectable level' fur vinyl chloride is both necessary and feasible." nominaldn fnm-lucIrdyTho issue bofore us is really not I he control of vi- iiv! chloride. The issue is whether life lias a higher value than dollars, whether we will permit corporate . J' ' ** Bov I'.i'inmarito was having mine of structure?- to run Die country without ( that. Like the nil. (.`hcmeial and At- eonirul. The language and the intent ' nmic Worker*, his union has been one of the Occupational and Safely and of the pioneers in insisting that man-. --'J.:*iHh Act mean lhal workers' lives no ' ageinenl must noL ilutk lesponsiln!ity lotmer can ho `acnticcd for financial maintaining sale work places limnnuirito say* lie has had a bellyful of gain. The vital organs of our bodies are not for sab ". y RSV .t, 0007080