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FILE NAME Painters and Allied Trades PAINT DATE 1984 Aug DOC PAINT031 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Conference Proceedings - International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades THE ARTIN P. CATHERWOOD LIBRARY OF THE W YORK STATE SCHOOL OF DUSTRIAL AND LABORLABOR RELATIONSRELATIONS 4, QE sero conor crc cubeererpereecoe PROCEEDINGS e ' , OF THE Twenty General Convention OF THE oe _, International Brotherhood of | Painters and Allied Trades August 1984 4 ' Washington D.C. o> FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION and neir ive this jodYou ask nto AL ant you rores majority It says the Convention went on to adopt the committee rules by a unanimous voice vote Again that is not correct The three places where that says unanimous that will be corrected to majority Now below in the last paragraph on the right side of the page under the heading up above that says GP Duval on the sixth line down in that last paragraph it says DC 2 encompasses District Council 51 et cetera DC " will be changed to the Second District Now are there any other corrections to that that you can make note of here ito BROTHER CARLSEN Brother get Chairman I have a request to make As long as you have come out with these phony minutes here- che Chorus of boos las -I want to go on record- an Chorus of boos Jur -I want to go on record- ed A VOICE Name itil ns BROTHER CARLSEN Dick Carl- ed sen Local 386 Minneapolis in- I voted for the secret ballot I want Ie my name in the minutes or- Chorus of boos Who the hell is going to get these things Let's all stand up and be counted if you want to be counted on the thing You come out with some- thing Our membership gets a hold of this No way I want it entered in the minutes that I voted for the secret ballot ; Cries of Sit down GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL All right you've just had it noted in the INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 155 minutes Applause Let's not get in big argument today the same as we did yesterday We had yesterday a standing vote That was counted and nobody was counted by name and that's the way the vote was taken A VOICE Can't hear you GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL I said nobody was counted by name yesterday It was a standing majority vote exactly like I just explained to you Applause A BROTHER He wants a secret ballot Now he wants the people to know how they voted - Laughter editorialize on the actions I think the term overwhelming should be struck from the minutes and not used in the future Boos and applause GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Well you know I'm sorry if some of the delegates might disagree with the minutes but the minutes are what happened here and it was it was an over- whelming vote and that's the way it's going to be Applause A VOICE That was an overwhelm- ing applause Laughter . : GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Thank you =. 4 BROTHER MULLER Brother President Brother President GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL I sure wish I could find a fellow who runs south with my gavel here BROTHER MULLER Brother President GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Yes do you have a question regarding this synopsis Brother BROTHER MULLER Yes I object to the use of the term overwhelm-Brother James- GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Wait a minute Wait a minute Identify yourself something Okay We have and I think it's very important this morning and I think you're going to enjoy it This Convention marks the end of our first decade of job safety and health and this morning we will review our many accomplishments and discuss what the second decade of job safety and health holds for IBPAT and its members I believe I can honestly report that what our Union has done for health and safety of working men and women is second to none for any organization in the world The programs of our locals supplemented by our International's ef- forts have created a broadbased network for worker health protection BROTHER MULLER My name is Jim Muller I am a delegate with Local 4 in San Francisco and I object to the use of such terms as overwhelming in the minutes One person's term of overwhelming is not necessarily the same as someone else's think the minutes should simply show what happened and not This is something our members have asked for and something our members need So it is something we can be proud to have done At the International special thanks for the success of our program must go to the IBPAT staff Working completely from grant funds won in com- petition against other organizations they have developed training materials rd 156 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION T and are conducting research that will help end the threat to health faced by our members These persons deserve mention in our Convention record IBPAT Project Director Marilyn Larson if you will Marilyn if you're back there will you stand up so portunity to present to you some of the activities of our Health and Safety Department and the IBPAT Pro- ject in conjunction with activities that have been going on at our local unions and district councils It is a complete effort by all of us that makes the Health everyone can see you there and Safety program work This means Applause from the member to the local union and at the international ter _ The Assistant Director and research writer Maria Darby With regard to the IBPAT Project I would just mention that the IB- Applause Secretary Greg Little Applause PAT Project funded completely by federal funds has been run completely sucessfully by people like Marilyn Larson Maria Darby Greg Little one And Clerk Steve Leber ; Applause In addition at the International level here in our audience today Les Crandell who is running the video camera who has helped extensively with much of the production of the material are the Director of Health and Safety Rod Wolford who I'll introduce in a moment and Health and Safety Department Secretary Norma Brinn Applause Now these persons have helped to make our health and safety program what it is Now this next man who will be com- ing up to the podium here is a very brilliant young man We're very proud that he works for this Brotherhood and he is the one responsible for all of these video programs that you've seen up here during the last couple of days This takes much much time much much effort and an awful lot of expertise and here today again is an example of some of his functions in addition to those which he will be outlining for you this The production of these materials behind us of course were also sup- plemented and augmented by Les work In addition I think it is fair to say that without myself and Marilyn and Maria and Les and a bunch of other peo- working these things would not oc- cur because much like the Health and Safety efforts none of these things could be done by any one individual They take the activities ofeveryone involved from everywhere and this is also important to our Health and Safety program Today you will see some of the highlights of our Health and Safety program and hear from some of the people who have been instrumental in bringing the program about In keeping with that I would like to morning Rod Wolford please move right away to the first speaker and I would like to introduce Dr. Edwin Holstein of the Mt. Sinai School of Applause DIRECTOR WOLFORD Good morn- ing delegates It's a pleasure to be here for my first time at a convention like - _ t,his and I'm very haptop havye the op- Medicine He's a strong friend of labor and a time participant in IBPAT's decade of job safety and health Dr. Holstein's involvement with IBPAT began in 1977. Many of you may i INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAIN remember him as the physician behind the Ask the Doctor an award- winning column which appeared in our journal between 1978 and 1981. Some of you may have had the very good for- tune to work with Dr. Holstein through our own health and safety programs or through your own local or district coun- cil levels Others may be familiar with his very kind personal assistance on behalf of members made sick or ill by paint trade substances for. Dr. Holstein currently serves as Chairman of IBPAT's Institutional Review Board established for our 1 million N.C.I. research grant He is a member of IBPAT's National Joint Safety and Health Committee and has recently opened up his own occupational health clinic in the New Jersey area He also appears at OSHA hearings on our behalf and currently is working with our local unions in New Mexico to get know coverage under the state OSHA plan for our members As you can see this is a man who is very active in our interests and in the interest of all working men and women What more would it be possible to say about this man So may on tl stag that to be say 1 two vent A Yc histc failt to r mad seen happ safel may U1 erro tion repe : dise | that and its 1 don mad He is rare and wonderful person and occupational physician who speaks with and for working men and women every day of his life . Dr. Edwin Holstein please may I in- troduce you now Applause DR HOLSTEIN Thank you very much Rod As he introduced me I was looking around behind me to see who it was he was talking about because I didn't know exactly who it was But thank you very much for a very flattering introduction and I want to thank President Duval for inviting me here today If if the Wor to grea It coul his e inju lega mad wor 01 in th wor it wi allo -FII ENERAL CONVENTION portunity to present to you some of the activities of our Health and Safety Department and the IBPAT Project in conjunction with activities that have been going on at our local unions and district councils It is a complete ef- fort by all of us that makes the Health and Safety program work This means from the member to the local union and at the international With regard to the IBPAT Project I would just mention that the IBOSH Project funded completely by federal funds has been run completely sucessfully by people like Marilyn Larson Maria Darby Greg Little one here in our audience today Les Crandell who is running the video camera who has helped extensively with much of the production of the material The production of these materials behind us of course were also sup- plemented and augmented by Les work In addition I think is fair to say that without myself and Marilyn and Maria and Les and a bunch of other peo- ple working these things would not oc- e-~ because much like the Health and ty efforts none of these things could be done by any one individual They take the activities ofeveryone in. volved from everywhere and this is also 1 important to our Health and Safety program : Today you will see some of the highlights of our Health and Safety pro- 1 gram and hear from some of the peo- ple who have been instrumental in e bringing the program about S In keeping with that I would like to move right away to the first speaker and I would like to introduce Dr. Edwin Holstein of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine He's a strong friend of labor and a time participant in IBPAT's 1- decade of job safety and health Dr. Holstein's involvement with IBPAT began in 1977. Many of you may INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 157 remember him as the physician behind the Ask the Doctor an awardwinning column which appeared in our journal between 1978 and 1981. Some of you may have had the very good fortune to work with Dr. Holstein through our own health and safety programs or through your own local or district council levels Others may be familiar with his very kind personal assistance on behalf of members made sick or ill by paint trade substances Dr. Holstein currently serves as Chairman of IBPAT's Institutional Review Board established for our $ million N.C.I. research grant He is a member of IBPAT's National Joint Safety and Health Committee and has recently opened up his own occupational health clinic in the New Jersey area He also appears at OSHA hearings on our behalf and currentliysworking with our local unions in New Mexico to get know coverage under the state OSHA plan our members As you can see this is a man who is very active in our interests and in the interest of all working men and women What more would it be possible to say about this man He is a rare and wonderful person and occupational physician who speaks with and for working men and women every day of his life Dr. Edwin Holstein please may I in- troduce you now Applause DR HOLSTEIN Thank you very much Rod As he introduced me I was looking around behind me to see who it was he was talking about because I didn't know exactly who it was But thank you very much for a very flattering introduction and I want to thank President Duval for inviting me here today Some of you when you first came in may have noticed two younger children on the podium with me They're back stage right now but I just want to say that it's not only a great honor for me to be here but I'll always be proud to say that the first Convention that my two children ever attended was a Con- vention of Trade Unionists Applause You know it has often been said that history repeats itself and that those who fail to learn from history will be obliged to repeat the errors that have been made in the past and it sometimes seems to me that as I regard what is happening in the field of health and safety today in the work place that this may be what is happening today Unfortunately when one repeats the errors of the past in the field of Occupational Safety and Health what one is repeating unfortunately is a history of disease and death and this is history that we cannot afford to see repeated and I believe that the Trade Union Movement is going to have to redouble its very great efforts to see that we don't repeat errors that have been ~ made If we looked at early in the century if a workman became injured or ill on the job before the passage of the Worker's Compensation laws the bar to economic recovery was almost too great to be overcome It was true that in theory a worker could take his employer to court and sue his employer to recover damages for his injury but there were at least three legal doctrines that in actual practice made it almost impossible for that worker ever to succeed in his suit One of the doctrines was that the fault in the accident really lay with the fellow worker It wasn't the employer's fault it was the fault of the fellow worker who allowed some water to slip on the floor ~" 1 a 158 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION and that that's what the fellow slipped 1 on and broke his leg rupt that we would be noncompetitive with other countries in the world Another of the doctrines that posed - great obstacle to recovery was called Contributory Negligence and that doctrine held once again it wasn't the employer's fault that the man fell off the scaffold It was his fault He didn't build it right He contributed his own negligence to the to the event that occurred and therefore you can't hold the employer liable And finally there was the doctrine known as the assumption of risk and to me that was the most insidious of all The doctrine of assumption of risk said that when you took this job you knew _ it was dangerous so if you got hurt what have you got to beef about You knew it was dangerous when you took the job And that to me was the most insidious of all because it meant that no matter how carefully the man did his job no matter how careful he was that his work fellow workers should also do their job in a safe manner no matter if he followed every safe rule book that was ever written nevertheless he still couldn't collect because he assumed the risk when he took the job Well around the turn of the century and the years thereafter as a result of a history that you people probably know better than I do of great trade union efforts in state after state workers compensation laws were passed and they held of course that these doctrines I just referred to would not hold that a worker could receive compensation for his injury despite the kinds of factors that I just mentioned Of course at the time that those bat- tles were being fought we heard many complaints We heard that such legislation would be too expensive that it would cause our industries to go bank- We even heard that the industries would be bankrupted by malingerers who would fake injuries and not want to work and would take a free ride on the compensation system And to me the most absurd of all we even heard it said in those days that people would deliberately injure themselves so as to collect the compensation which was deemed fought for Well this is history The point of this history is that very important laws were passed as a result of the sweat and the work and the dues and the personal commitment of thousands of working people around the country and the ef- forts of the labor unions And this took commitment This took time This took effort This took heartache and it also took money It took money out of the pockets of workers in order to fight these battles so that if a worker would be injured or killed or the job in subse- quent years he could at least have the assurance that his wife and that his- children would not starve to deathbecause of his inability to work Now of course when we look back on that great victory we realize that it was only a partial victory We realize that it did part of the job but it didn't do the whole job It was good in that it gave the worker and his family some economic security and it was also good in that it gave the employer some economic incentive to try and improve the workplace so that injuries and illnesses would not occur and yet it did not mandate by law that the workplace should be safe It did not force by law the work employer to clean up the workplace It left that to the to the possible economic incentive of the workers compensation insurance premiums ; INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF P. And of course we all know from our yo experience every day today that many in employers have found it less expensive I'v to pay workers compensation premi- wl ums than to clean up the workplace and whereas we have won something in the way of economic security for decades ta we had a long long way to go in preven- th ting the illnesses and injuries that had an been the previous subject of controver- te sy in legislation th CO And then of course I don't have to tell you about the greater Union effort that resulted in the passage of the OSHA Act in 1970. Now for the first time it was the employer who had to yo assume the risk If he was going to run a business he had to assume the risk of making it safe it He had to assume the risk of making it a place where men and women could a work lifetime without the danger that they would become ill or dismembered or maimed or sick from that work Under Dr. Eula Bingham who sits on the platform behind me during the Carter administration the OSHA Act showed signs of achieving its full poten- . tial for the first time with vigorous en- forcement imaginative making and progress on a whole boat load of dangerous substances including lead cotton dust benzene carcinogenic substances and many others Also under the Carter administra- tion tion with Dr. Eula Bingham's leader- ship in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration we had a new . and invigorated New Directions Pro- gram which made funds available to organizations such as this one for car- rying out health and safety training and other competency building programs And under the leadership here in this Union of Frank Burkhart the leader- ship of Rod Wolford Marilyn Larson and of course all the other all the other people who committed so much work FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION d rupt that we would be noncompetitive with other countries in the world d industries We even heard that the would be bankrupted by malingerers who would fake injuries and not want to work and would take a free ride on d the compensation system to me the most absurd of all we even heard it said in those days that people would deliberately injure them- selves so as to collect the compensation 728 which was deemed fought for Well this is history The point of this history is that very important laws were passed as a result of the sweat and the work and the dues and the personal . commitment of thousands of working- people around the country and people the of the labor unions And this took commitment This took time took This effort This took heartache and it also worker k money It took money out of the . ckets of workers in order to fight these battles so that if a would be injured or killed on the job in subse- the quent years he could at least have assurance that his wife and that his children would not starve to death because of his inability to work back Now of course when we look on that great victory we realize that it was realize only a partial victory We that it did part of the job but didn't the . whole job the worker It was good in that it gave and his family some economic security and it was also good in that it gave the . employer some economic incentive to that try and improve the workplace so injuries and illnesses would not occur and yet it did not mandate by law that the workplace should be safe It did not force by law the work employer to clean up the workplace economic left that to the to the possible it incentive of the workers compensation insurance premiums INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 159 And of course we all know from our experience every day today that many employers have found it less expensive to pay workers compensation premi- ums than to clean up the workplace and whereas we have won something in the way of economic security for decades we had a long long way to go in preven- ting the illnesses and injuries that had been the previous subject of controversy in legislation And then of course I don't have to tell you about the greater Union effort that resulted in the passage of the OSHA Act in 1970. Now for the first time it was the employer who had to you built here one of the best in Occupational Safety and Heparlotghrtahmast I've had the pleasure to observe where any- administration Now you did all of this with the uncer- taintly and with the ups and downs and the waxing and waning of federal funds and we all know and we've learned bit- . terly under the present that federal funds are like tides they come in and they go out . your IBPAT And yet despite this your IBPAT Project has continued to be a leader in its field and I salute you for that assume the risk If he was going to run a business he had to assume risk also bring to you again the message making it safe ; that if we don't learn from the mistakes of history we are bound to repeat them He had to assume the risk of making it And I believe that the matter of federal . place where men and women could a lifeltifietmimee without the danger that bfuynydourysoutrodfainygiesrnaaimlasttwehrenof hanging on they would become ill or maimed for it comes to sick dismembered something useful or maimed or sick from that work I protectingtheIlives Under Dr. Eula Bingham who sits on the platform behind me during the Carter administration the OSHA Act showed signs of achieving its full poten- tial for the first time with vigorous en- forcement imaginative making and progress on a whole boat load of substances dangerous including lead cotton dust benzene carcinogenic substances and many others & Also under the Carter administra- tion with Dr. Eula Bingham's leader- here under building ship in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Administration Administration we had a new and invigorated New Directions Pro- . gram which made funds available to organizations such as this one for car- rying out health and safety training and other competency programs And under the leadership here in this Union of Frank Burkhart the leader- ship of Rod Wolford Marilyn Larson and of course all the other all the other people who committed so much work of workers , see no guarantee as look at the horizon that such funds will con- tinue to be available And believe that you gentlemen and ladies here and your membership back home have to be prepared to look very carefully at the many constructive things that are be- ing done by your union and you have to be prepared to ask yourselves the question If President Reagan pulls the rug out are we ready to reach into our pockets to continue what has been started and what has been continued the leadership that I men- Now today with the history I men- tioned to you behind us it seems to me that workers are once again being ask- ed to assume the risk We don't know what's in that barrel that Monsanto Company sent to us but you spray it on anyway You assume the risk We don't know if there's asbestos in that floor covering that old floor cover- ing that you have got to rip up but rip it up anyway You assume the you risk FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION r idea The OSHA standard for right . know is a weakling We might even call 1 it the know 1 . For instance only manufacturing fet workers are covered And I guess that means in this Convention here I sup- pose the paintmakers here would be covered - But how about the glaziers How , about the general and industrial painters How about the floor coverers How about all the other trades that are represented here Don't they have a right to know what they are working with Another weakness of the federal law is that the employer will decide which y chemicals are hazardous and the emtployer tployer will make that decision And it's those chemicals on which you will r be allowed to have information as to the identity and the hazards In other words for all the other stances you assume the risk And finally which of the chemical components are going to be considered trade secrets will also be determined by the employer Well you could take the acting chemical substance the most dangerous chemical substance if you were the employer and you could conclude and decide on your behalf that that's a trade secret Nobody should know what's in that particular compound because it would endanger your busi- ness and therefore you declare it a trade secret you don't have to disclose it and once again the worker will assume the risk I believe that strong know legislation is in the best tradition of democracy and it is in the best Union . tradition of help because I believe : that if you look at the obstacles that now exist in making the workplace safer one of the greatest obstacles is ignorance INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OFPAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 161 Today health and safety in the workplace is pursued by only a small band of people You have a small band of Unionists who are knowledgeable and have the time and the backing to com- mit their efforts to that area . You have a small group of government officials who have made that their career but whose activities are govern- ed by the political winds that blow left . Know Act would open the process of health and safety up to the entire work force and to the entire professional bodies that would potentially contribute and it's my belief that legislation of this sort would be as important a landmark in this area as would the workers com- pensation acts and the OSHA Act because I believe that what we would then see would be an avalanche of ac- and blow right and blow east and blow west tivity spead out throughout the land This would be the democratization of And you have a small group of health professionals physicians industrial hygienists safety people but it's a small group believe me who are active in this health and safety by making activity in this area available to every working person So now what we are about to see is vate, area Now if you had a strong right know act in which suddenly every worker in the land could find out for himself what's in the substances he is working with you would open up this process and the process of health and a great prolonged and protracted legal battle in which the judges will decide- the judges and the attorneys decide which should take precedence the state laws many of which_are stronger or the federal law which is a weak sister safety would no longer be in the hands of a few small groups of people trying to do their best but with over 200 milion people in the United States to look out for you would open this up to every worker you would open this up to every local you would open this up to every business agent you would open it up in fact to every physician How many of you have had the frustrating experience of taking a health and safety problem to a local physician and the physician throws his hands up and says Gee I don't know what to do I don't know what's in this substance I just want to conclude by reading to a you letter that I received a few years ago by one of your members I think that this letter expresses the problem more eloquently than I can This letter was written in 1979 Dear Sir First I must start with say- ing I have been a painter for almost 17 years I have always been very proud of my profession I loved my work and I took pride in it I was working every day I felt like a million dollars Life was great I was doing what I loved doing had a great boss whom I had worked for for five years If he could at least find out what's in it he could go to the library for you he could look it up he could write to NIOSH to Dr. Bingham he couldwrite . to me he could make a telephone call But he doesn't even know how to start the process because he doesn't know what's in Barrel 213 " blew away in a tornado in 1970. I got out of the hospital and I was back working within three weeks Then we were doing a bank job here in Texas We had to strip all the old paint off the cabinet and the doors and the trim I was doing the stripping This was a Friday I worked Friday Saturday Sunday stripping So I believe that a strong Right Well I went back to work Monday 162 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION and I was stripping again About 3:00 o'clock I told my foreman I was getting numb around my mouth and my hands I felt funny but I thought it was like lac- quer I have had my mouth that way before but it always went away when I got some fresh air " went on working until October 7 that evening I was very sick when I left the job I thought I would be okay if I went home and rested and got some fresh air DIRECTOR WOLFORD The story that Dr. Holstein speaks of today you will see part of an interview with that painter and another painter here You will see what happened It's a tremendously sad story One thing I may have been remiss in in coming up here is that I forgot to thank the General Executive Board and everyone else here today including my father Jim Wolford for giving me the opportunity to make an effort to serve It didn't happen that way though I laid down on the couch and I have never been so crazy in my life I went to the bathroom and started throwing up Soon there was blood My tongue ", felt like it had swollen until I could hard- ly talk My brain felt like it was floating away all of you in the capacity as Health and Safety Director for this International This story of the woman Kate Osborne is really telling you it's something You are not going to believe it when you see it Right now I would like to introduce On the morning of the third day I awakened to a different world I thought I was dying or losing my mind The only person whose name I could remember was my boss a short program called IBPAT Health and Safety Highlights This brief presentation describes some of the activities of our local unions and district councils and the International over the past five years It describes the decade They put me - hospital Everything went haywire You see I I know will never be the same I'm still numb around the mouth And yes I feel of job safety and the things that were accomplished and tells how far this In- ternational has gone how far its local unions have come and how great of a like there is something crawling under my skin all the time job that we are really doing I think that you will be impressed with things And the letter goes on in this fashion I'm not going to read the whole letter your own efforts when you see it and if you thought you couldn't do to you The letter says _ before when you see what some of your other local unions are doing I know that Physically I guess I'll probably go on living in misery Mentally I died you are going to be impressed and will- ing to perservere and move forward February 28th 1979 " guess what I'm trying to say is please get someone to get the companies to tell painters on the label what their product can do to people Spray deodarant has better information on it than what the painter makes his life working in every day Thank you very much The presentation was produced by the IBPAT Project directed and pro- duced by Marilyn Larson who did the editing and I think that you will believe that this really captures it Marilyn asked me to mention if anyone is excluded from an activity they were involved in up here it's possible that some people were missed That is Applause just a matter of trying to keep the thing down to the proper length of time If we INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF P. - were to put in all the activities that at beevehreyroenefohrassidxone here why we would st years so we might as well take a look at what -- we have done in the last five years and see if we can cover the highlights in the next five and sa a half minutes by co: This is IBPAT health and safe- to ty highlights video presentation for you no coming up right now I hope you enjoy re what you see str I can tell you that the local unions and ha everyone enjoyed doing it evi something tes Hold one second I think has failed to be done here to to- GENERAL VICE PRESIDENT LE- wit BER I have to make the following for announcement fed The Appeals Committee is to come down to the Independence Room for a meeting at 10:00 o'clock It is now 10:00 o'clock So will the Appeals Committee please go to the Independence Room for a meeting tio the I IBI kno Coi DIRECTOR WOLFORD Okay we will now begin the presentation and see what has been accomplished Videotape presentation as follows NARRATOR Testimony on OSHA standards state and federal health and safety legislation health hazards in the news NCI trade related medical screening funded research plus training new videos hazard index technical assistance and health hazard evalua- tions This IBPAT Health and Safety Highlights S twc vap sou wat | M a st pair and the was agai The Decade of Job Safety and Health was a little more than five years old in June 1980 when the Health and Safety Department opened for business The department went right to work adding new services to those provided by the federally funded OSH Project The department testified on major OSHA and ANSI standards asbestos respir- spac follo tion men fede certi regu In FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION 0 DIRECTOR WOLFORD The story g that Dr. Holstein speaks of today you will see part of an interview with that painter and another painter here You > will see what happened It's a tremen- dously sad story One thing may have been remiss in in coming up here is that I forgot to thank the General Executive Board and including everyone else here today my father Jim Wolford for giving me the opportunity to make an effort to serve all of you in the capacity as Health and Safety Director for this International ' This story of the woman Kate ' Osborne is really telling you it's ' something You are not going to believe it when you see it Right now I would like to introduce a short program called IBPAT I Health and Safety Highlights This brief presentation describes some of the ac- id tivities of our local unions and district ild councils and the International over the past five years It describes the decade * job safety and the things that were al complished and tells how far this In- , ternational has gone how far its local till unions have come and how great of a eel job that we are really doing ler I think that you will be impressed with and your own efforts when you see it on if you thought you couldn't do things ter before when you see what some of your that other local unions are doing know go you are going to be impressed and will- ied ing perservere and move forward The presentation was produced by the 7 is om- hat ray IBPAT Project directed and produced by Marilyn Larson who did the editing and I think that you will believe that this really captures it an it life Marilyn asked me to mention if anyone is excluded from activity they were involved in up here it's possible that some people were missed That down just ^matter of trying to keep the thing to the proper length of time If we e ' INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 163 were to put in all the activities that everyone has done here why we would be here for six years so we might as well take a look at what we have done in the last five years and see if we can cover the highlights in the next five and a half minutes This is IBPAT health and safe- ty highlights video presentation for you , coming up right now I hope you enjoy what you see I can tell you that the local unions and everyone enjoyed doing it Hold one second I think something has failed to be done here GENERAL VICE PRESIDENT LE- BER I have to make the following announcement The Appeals Committee is to come down to the Independence Room fora . meeting at 10:00 o'clock It is now 10:00 o'clock So will the Appeals Committee please go to the Independence Room for a meeting ator protection abrasive blasting con- struction hazard control and medical access IBPAT's testimony on medical access saved the day for construction workers by persuading OSHA not to exempt construction from the standard Thanks to IBPAT construction workers are now guaranteed access to medical records under employer control Construction was less fortunate in the hazard communication standard However the AFL has used IBPAT's testimony to sue OSHA in federal court to broaden the standardscope's Rightknow legislation is big in the 80s with workers and consumers lobbying for passage in many states When a federal labeling standard for construction stalled IBPAT worked hard to get the state know laws passed In Illinois the Governor recognized IBPAT's role by signing the right know law at the Painters State Conference . DIRECTOR WOLFORD Okay we will now begin the presentation and see what has been accomplished presentation as follows Suffolk County Long Island When two painters died overcome by solvent vapors inside a water tower Local 1486 sought county regulations governing water tower painting NARRATOR Testimony on OSHA standards state and federal health and safety legislation health hazards in the news trade related medical screening NCI funded research plus training new videos hazard index technical assistance and health hazard evalua- tions This IBPAT Health and Safety Highlights ; The Decade of Job Safety and Health a was little more than five years old in June 1980 when the Health and Safety Department opened for business The department went right to work adding new services to those provided by the federally funded OSH Project The department testified on major OSHA and ANSI standards asbestos respir- Missouri District Council 2 fought for a state bill regulating confined space painting in Class I counties The Health and Safety Department testified and the bill was introduced in session but was defeated The Painters will try . again A licensing regulation for confined spaces was passed in Massachusetts following efforts by local and International representatives Now the Health and Safety Department is working with the state to get federal funds to develop the testing and certification procedures to make the regulation work ; In 1981 IBPAT helped the New 164 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION York Times with a front page Sunday construction workers painters and in- story on neuro hazards of paints sulators face harmful elements every It played in major dailies across the day United States and Canada BROTHER PACE how it will hurt Then in April the Cable News Net- the reproductive organs how it will give work's Freeman Reports devoted one hour to the hazards of painting This . them cancer affeet their nervous systems And we are hoping by this that publicity generated new interest among we will indeed allow them to have five manufacturers in improving product _ label to ten or fifteen years more of the good life . CNN REPORTER SANDY FREE- MAN When you say the words cost effective I understand it's going to be a very expensive thing to go through this labeling but when you thing of the - people who are possibly putting themselves in situations where they can become toxic from the chemicals that they are using cost effective doesn't _ seem to stand up on the same par with * one's health Can you understand how people feel that way MICHAEL WARD This is Michael Ward Action 7 News NARRATOR KABC Los Angeles NEWS REPORTER OLNEY Solvents Jerry are extremely common in industry as you will see but the fact that they can cause terrible health problems is not well understood Here in Los Angeles the Painters Union trains its members in self- protection It tries to get contractors to provide the necessary equipment NARRATOR IBPAT has kept its health and safety issues before the public in newspapers magazines and on TV WCM Memphis A VOICE More research into what paint does to painters has been called for but until more is known the best advice is paint where there's ventilation and wear a respirator Roger Cooper Action News NARRATOR KWSO Lawton Oklahoma KWSO ANCHORPERSON seminar to increase public awareness Action 7's Michael Ward has the details APPRENTICESHIP COORDI- NATOR ZAGAJESKI They are very dangerous and we always ask the apprentice to keep in mind where they are working what they are doing and to make sure that they just talking to the employer about protection and precautions that they may need for that job and to talk to their instructors in school if they feel there's a problem NEWS REPORTER OLNEY How important do you think it is to wear these masks e IBPAT MEMBER Well I guess if you want to live a long life you should wear it MICHAEL WARD More than 90 million Americans spend their days on the job Yet until the recent past no provisions existed for their protection against workplace safety and health hazards i NEWS REPORTER OLNEY Tomorrow we'll take a look at some tests that show what solvents do to the mind and the nerves NARRATOR ABC Network News Mr. John Pace Business Representative for Painters Local 650 says that ABC NARRATOR Benzene was once the bane of professional painters INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PA Now it's banned Since as many as 1,500 chemical compounds are used in paint products alone Painters Unions have to be vigilant in identifying hazardous ; materials . This year they thought they would take a step forward with an assist from OSHA but instead they took two steps backwards Early in 1981 the Reagan administration shelved a strict labeling regulation for all paints and chemicals One of the first challengers to invoke the New York know law and to win some points was Leon Silver Business Manager of Paperhangers Local 1727 Although his battle rages on he won a skirmish by getting formaldehyde removed from paperhanging paste BROTHER SILVER However we recently discovered that as a substitute may have used mercury The first time they used it there was an immediate reaction : One out of every four paperhangers received some sort of irritation on the skin I contacted Bordon's on these and got no response I went to my Interna- tional office They got no response They recommended that I follow it through with the Department of Labor We got the Suffolk and Nassau County Commissioners of Labor involved Their letters to Borden's got the response that we wanted And if we can force the manufacturer to conclude in his label a list of ingredients we will at least have reached the point where we know what we are dealing with Right now we don't .. NARRATOR Examination of members health was another 24th Convention goal and many affiliates acted on this resolve to provide related health screening Local 4 in San Fran- cis Lo Lo Ho Yc ] fro an Ik a M. m be th ba ec Xx Xx tk a ha dN I k f t { ~~ FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 165 y construction workers painters and insulators face harmful elements every day : .e BROTHER PACE how it will hurt the reproductive organs how it will give them cancer affect their nervous . systems And we are hoping by this that we will indeed allow them to have five to ten or fifteen years more of the good life MICHAEL WARD This is Michael Ward Action 7 News NARRATOR KABC Los Angeles NEWS REPORTER OLNEY Solvents Jerry are extremely common in industry as you will see but the fact that they can cause terrible health problems is not well understood Here in Los Angeles the Painters Union trains its members in self-- protection It tries to get contractors to provide the necessary equipment APPRENTICESHIP COORDI- ATOR ZAGAJESKI They are very igerous and we always ask the ap- prentice to keep in mind where they are . working what they are doing and to make sure that they are just talking to the employer about protection and precautions that they may need for that job and to talk to their instructors in school if they feel there's a problem NEWS REPORTER OLNEY How important do you think it is to wear these masks IBPAT MEMBER Well I guess if you want to live a long life you should wear it 10 NEWS REPORTER OLNEY To- on morrow we'll take a look at some tests 10 that show what solvents do to the mind n and the nerves NARRATOR ABC Network News ABC NARRATOR Benzene was at once the bane of professional painters Now it's banned Since as many as 1,500 chemical compounds are used in paint products alone Painters Unions have to be vigilant in identifying hazardous materials cisco District Council 35 in Boston Local 386 in Minneapolis Local 1486 in Long Island New York Local 130 in Houston Local 150 In Rochester New York This year they thought they would take a step forward with an assist from OSHA but instead they took two steps backwards Early in 1981 the Reagan administration shelved a strict labeling regulation for all paints and chemicals BROTHER KING Well just judging from the reception from the members and the turnout at the physical exam I believe the members feel this exam is a great thing for their benefit NARRATOR And in Springfield Massachusetts Local 257 One of the first challengers to invoke the New York know law and to win some points was Leon Silver Business Manager of Paperhangers Local 1727 ~- Although his battle rages on he won BROTHER DART It has brought members back into a more active role because I think they understand and see the value of this program It's again basically because of the IBPAT educational program A a skirmish by getting formaldehyde re- " moved from paperhanging paste ~ BROTHER SILVER However we recently discovered that as a substitute may have used mercury The first time they used it there was an immediate reaction ry One out of every four paperhangers received some sort of irritation on the skin I contacted Bordon's on these and got no response I went to my Interna- tional office They got no response They recommended that I follow it through with the Department of Labor .. Without that first educational ex- posure it would be very difficult for me to make them realize that this is some- thing that's worthwhile THE NARRATOR One of IBPAT's most impactful achievements is winning a prestigious research grant from the National Cancer Institute 22 univer- sities and 8 unions competed for NCI funds IBPAT's three study was rated number one Affiliates were in- vited to participate and two were selected from among 102 that applied Local 318 in Fort Worth Texas and Local 49 in Memphis Tennessee We got the Suffolk and Nassau County Commissioners of Labor involved Their letters to Borden's got us the response that we wanted And if we can force the manufacturer to conclude in his label a list of ingredients we will at least have reached the point where we know what we are dealing with Right now we don't - NARRATOR Examination of members health was another 24th Convention goal and many affiliates acted on this resolve to provide related health screening Local 4 in San Fran- July 6 Fort Worth Texas 131 mem- bers received funded medical ex- aminations Blood tests pulmonary function tests interviews of work history personal habits and family background and neurobehavioral tests on microcomputers These computer tests detect changes in the nervous system due to solvent exposure The local press was there and gave good coverage BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE . DON YORK The next step will be a better awareness that they do need to pro- a tho i 166 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION tect themselves There has been an at- titude all along that This is my job It the has certain risks with it but that comes with territory and there's nothing that we can do about it Well I think it's time that we take the IBPATOSH library since 1979 are Reproductive Hazards Solvent Neuro- toxicity Electrical Hazards Ventilating the Temporary Work Site Swing Stage Safety and Respirator Selection for Painters attitude that something can be done about it THE NARRATOR August 1st in Memphis the second group of members received examinations Examinations are performed under some subcontract subcontract by Harvard University Year after year IBPAT submit- ted the proposals to win the federal funds to continue health and safety activities This is a computerized exposure preduction for use by members or signatory contractors After one year all members will return for a second examination BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE MIKE GUESS I became real sincere in par- the fact I would like to see our local . ticipate in it because I do know the value of gathering all the data and facts so consequently I think it is a wonderful thing that the NCI can come up with some kind of a preventive measure to increase the life span of these members Using application rates percentage of solvent in the product and the physical properties of solvents it calculates workplace exposure levels and displays ventilation and respirator requirements This Hazard Index was designed by IBPAT with federal funds The software is available to local unions district councils and commit- tees that have computers to run it FIELD STUDY LIAISON DOUG PFUND It will be interesting to see what the results are from you know the physicals and the NCI grant file THE NARRATOR One rank and member in each city was named as full- time field study liaison paid by the grant The liaison monitors painters at job sites and questionnaires collects weekly IBPAT's study will evaluate im- provements of the trades and effects of the IBPAT training IBPAT training has been going strong since 1978. At present over 25,000 members in 117 locations across the United States and Canada have used IBPAT's 48 video modules and page textbooks which are now a permanent part of apprenticeship curricula New video modules added to the Technical assistance helps members solve health and safety problems Over 6,000 staff hours since the 24th Conven- tion have been devoted to research and referrals in response to phone calls and letters from affiliates members their physicians attorneys and others Some members have acted on their own behalf . NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluations can correct workplace problems and provide practical research into paint and allied hazards without involving OSHA citations This approach is appreciated by the concerned union contractor who really wants a problem resolved In the last five years 13 NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluations have been obtained by nine IBPAT affiliates in cooperation with IBPAT Local 1192 Jackson Mississippi Local 41 Wilkes Pennsylvania Local 156 Evansville Indiana District Council 22 Detroit Michigan Local 490 New York INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF I - City District Council 55 Portland F District Council 54 Seattle Local 781 Boston and Local 1159 Philadelphia Members usually ask for IBPAT's inA volvement in health and safety con- et cerns Sometimes though members et almost must be nudged forward But ed always members appreciate IBPAT'S intervention GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL own e Our activities in this area are many Training our members doing our research providing related medical screening commenting in depth on a every OSHA standard that affects our members working with industry groups to improve product labels and to upgrade personal protective equipment in our trades lobbying across this land for laws and regulations designed specifically to protect our members These coordinated interlocking activities have achieved solid improvements in our industry But what we have done so far is nothing compared with what we must do in the future We have a long way to go We cannot rest . until every member of this Union enjoys the same chance of a safe healthy and productive life as every other American and Canadian citizen End of video presentation DIRECTOR WOLFORD Well I ' think it really shows you that local unions district councils and all of us together can really accomplish something As I said it's only a small part of what has been done and only a small part of what we have yet to do but I really believe that the possibilities are there to make tremendous accomplishments large strides and I hope that right now I have do have the honor of introducing another person another speaker who I think will explain perhaps in greater detail some of the challenges that still await us Delegates Brothers and Sisters FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION at- IBPAT library since 1979 are It Reproductive Hazards Solvent Neuro- es toxicity Electrical Hazards Ventilating ng the Temporary Work Site Swing Stage Safety and Respirator Selection for Painters ne ---- Year after year IBPAT submit- ted the proposals to win the federal in funds to continue health and safety activities S This is a computerized exposure pre- ct duction model for use by members or signatory contractors il ill Using application rates percentage of solvent in the product and the physical properties of solvents it calculates E workplace exposure levels and displays ventilation and respirator requirements r- This Hazard Index was designed by IBPAT with federal funds The software is available to local h unions district councils and commit- tees that have computers to run it 5 Technical assistance helps members - G. G. ve health and safety problems Over 60 staff hours since the 24th Conven- tion have been devoted to research and referrals in response to phone calls and e letters from affiliates members their eo physicians attorneys and others Some e _ members have acted on their own t behalf y NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluations can correct workplace problems and provide practical research into paint and allied f hazards without involving OSHA citations This approach is appreciated by the concerned union contractor who 5 really wants a problem resolved ve In the last five years 13 NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluations have been mew obtained by nine IBPAT affiliates in cooperation with IBPAT Local ~~ 1192 Jackson Mississippi Local 41 Wilkes Pennsylvania Local 156 Evansville Indiana District Council 22 Detroit Michigan Local 490 New York INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 167 City District Council 55 Portland District Council 54 Seattle Local 781 Boston and Local 1159 Philadelphia guests everyone gathered here it is my pleasure to introduce our next speaker a person long familiar to many of us in Members usually ask for IBPAT's involvement in health and safety concerns Sometimes though members must be nudged forward But almost always members appreciate IBPAT's the Brotherhood She has been a friend of our union since March 1977 when she was appointed Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health intervention During her years at OSHA Dr. Eula GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Our activities in this area are many Training our members doing our own research providing related medical screening commenting in depth on every OSHA standard that affects our members working with industry groups to improve product labels and to Bingham vigorously enforced our nation's laws regulating job safety and health She expanded the agency's pro- grams and she instituted an effective educational grants program which has been the source of over 1 million for our Brotherhood's own health and safe- ty programs upgrade personal protective equipment in our trades lobbying across this land for laws and regulations designed specifically to protect our members These coordinated interlocking activities have achieved solid improvements in our industry But what we have done so far is nothing compared with what we must do in the future We have a long way to go We cannot rest until every member of this Union enjoys the same chance of a safe healthy and productive life as every other American and Canadian citizen End of video presentation DIRECTOR WOLFORD Well I think it really shows you that local Dr. Bingham currently is Vice President and University Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at the Universitoyf Cincinnatti She is also president of the American College of Toxicology She continues to champion the wellbeing of our nation's workforce It's fair to say that the related health of all of us here as well as of countless others has been enhanced by her unstinting efforts So it it with a sense of appreciation and pride that I introduce you to Dr. Eula Bingham Dr. Bingham Applause unions district councils and all of us together can really accomplish some- As thing I said it's only a small part of what has been done and only a small part of what we have yet to do but I really believe that the possibilities are there to make tremendous accomplishments large strides and I hope that right now I have do have the honor of introducing another person another speaker who I think will explain perhaps in greater detail some of the chal- lenges that still await us Delegates Brothers and Sisters DR BINGHAM Good morning President Duval my good friend Frank Burkhardt Dr. Selikoff Brothers and Sisters my name is Eula Bingham I was Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health in an administration that believed in workers rights We believed in a worker's right to live I was Assistant Secretary in an ad- ministration when the federal government issued standards for toxic chemi- cals and when the Occupational Safety and Health Act was enforced e 168 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY ~ ENERALCONVENTION When I spoke with you four years ago I made predictions but Reagan and Auchter have surpassed my worst fears really don't need to exaggerate today The facts are more deadly than I would have imagined Let's begin by naming a few standards that we issued Dibromochloro- propane cotton dust lead access to medical and monitoring records multipiece wheel rims revised fire code pared by the AFL from OSHA in- spection tapes Serious violations down 50 percent Do you believe that there are no more serious violations out there that they have fallen by 50 percent Willful violations down 80 percent Repeat violations down 65 percent Failure to abate violations down 79 percent standards revised electrical standards hearing conservation Well what have they done with three months four months left in the administration They issued ethylene oxide after a court a federal court told Let me tell you what that means in numbers During the first eight months of 1980 there were 739,000 quarters of a million to abate citations issued by OSHA when I was Assistant Secretary in 1980 them to do so or be held in contempt Ethylene oxide is a chemical used in hospitals to sterilize instruments The During Auchter's term in 1982 the first eight months there were 155,000 , issued most exposure is likely to occur when you open the vessel containing the instruments the sterilizer for a few minutes Do you really believe that employers are meeting the letter of the law I'll tell you what I believe They don't go out and make any reinspections and follow And guess what the agency did- Meh failed issue a short exposure Isn't that whay you would expect from a standard that this administration would issue They've issued one other standard that Dr. Holstein told you about aright- know or a labeling standard That is so watered down that almost all the up to see whether or not abatement has taken place That's the real reason they're down there All these indicators are down dramatically But the new OSHA brags about better targeting procedures Well if you're targeting better why can't you find the violations unless you're targeting on safe industries cities and the states that have passed their own have a better standard I know that some of you out there joined with me in lobbying states and cities to pass local know ordinances and standards Certainly it is important that workers have information Now let's look at the facts about in- Most of you out there caught on very early that the new OSHA under President Reagan ws not going to pay any attention to you as a worker Workers stopped filing complaints And during that same period comparing 1980 and 1982 complaints filed by workers in 1980 were 17,000 in 1982 it was 9,000 I guess you lost faith spections and compare the first eight months of 1980 which was our term with the first eight months of 1982 once t;hey had really gotten into the agency Well let me give you the facts pre- Discrimination complaints in 1980 there were 1,724 filed by you In 1982 there were 674 filed Once again you lost faith So stan- dard setting has gone down the tube INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF T enforcement has gone down the tube and by and large money for training has gone down the tube in terms of Occupational Safety and Health Someone always asks me what's the ^ most important thing I did while I was at the Department of Labor I really ! don't hesitate when I say the New mm ! Directions Training Program Maybe that's what you would expect for somebody who has spent most of her life at a university but I really believe in training The New Directions Program when 6 I left had 13.5 million in it Today it has somewhere around million _ We had some success stories with that training program For example the In- ternational Chemical Workers Union never had an employee that dealt with health and safety that was trained They ] never had a program They got a New 1 Directions grant and within four years they had on board health and safety professionals and began to contribute their union dues to health and safety pro- AL, grams in their own union They have .. gone on to a National Cancer Institute grant such as you have { training But there can't be many new .1 E programs when you only have 6 million to spend What does that all mean I It means that there are few incentives I for employers There's little public pressure There's little pressure from the federal government on employers to obey the Occupational Safety and T I Health Act I We have an administration that's less likely to issue standards less likely to inspect less likely to cite less likely to enforce the violations less likely to follow up The laggards are getting by The killers and the cripplers are out there They have been given the ahead Cyanide silica and solvents can't even live ; FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION pared by the AFL from OSHA in- ~ spection tapes Serious violations down 50 percent Do you believe that there are no more serious violations out there that they have fallen by 50 percent Willful violations down 80 percent Repeat violations down 65 percent Failure to abate violations down 79 percent Let me tell you what that means in numbers During the first eight months of 1980 there were 739,000 quarters of a million to abate citations issued by OSHA when I was Assistant Secretariyn 1980 During Auchter's term in 1982 the first eight months there were 155,000 ! issued . 1 Do you really believe that employers are meeting the letter of the law I'll tell r - - what I believe They don't go out make any reinspections and follow up to see whether or not abatement has 1 taken place That's the real reason wier they're down there All these indicators are down dramatically But the new OSHA brags about bet- 1 ter targeting procedures Well if you're targeting better why can't you find the violations unless you're targeting on S safe industries Fae Most of you out caught on very early that the new OSHA under Presi- dent Reagan ws not going to pay any PARE attention to you as a worker Workers stopped filing complaints And during PARE - that same period 1982 complaints comparing 1980 and filed by workers in 1980 were 17,000 in 1982 it was 9,000 I guess you lost faith complaints it Discrimination in 1980 there were 1,724 filed by you In 1982 there were 674 filed .. , Once again you lost faith So stan- dard setting has gone down the tube ! 4 INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 169 enforcement has gone down the tube and by and large money for training has WhenI look out at you I know that you are the lucky ones You are the gone down the tube in terms of Occupational Safety and Health Someone always asks me what's the most important thing I did while I was at the Department of Labor I really don't hesitate when I say the New Directions Training Program Maybe that's what you would expect for somebody who has spent most of her life at a university but I really believe in lucky ones among the workers Why do I say that You have a strong union I know you heard some arguing back and forth but that's what makes you a strong union You have a president and a past president who planned such a health and safety session as this one and who planned it at a prime time I know what prime time means on television and I can tell you I know The New Directions Program when I left had 13.5 million in it Today it has somewhere around 6 million what prime time means at a union convention because I go to those " This union is sending a signal to the membership that your lives count Yes We had some success stories with that you're you're one of the lucky training program For example the In- ones You have a strong union committernational Chemical Workers Union . ted leadership and health and safety never had an employee that dealt with training You have a long history of it health and safety that was trained They I saw the film I've known about health never had a program They got a New and safety training of this union for a Directions grant and within four years long time You've spent your governthey had on board health and safety pro- ment funds well You're able to fessionals and began to contribute their union dues to health and safety pro- compete grams in their own union They have ' What you may not know is that I was gone on to a National Cancer Institute on that committee that reviewed the grant such as you have But there can't be many new training programs when you only have 6 million to spend What does that all mean It means that there are few incentives for employers There's little public pressure There's little pressure from grants from universities and from unions And I must tell you I was pleas- ed when I read and reviewed the pro- posal from this union It made me proud for having supported you from the Department of Labor Applause the federal government on employers to Most of you because you are secure obey the Occupational Safety and Health Act will press for local legislation such as Know in your states and cities We have an administration that's less likely to issue standards less likely to And you're gointgo find some training money out there in the states inspect less likely to cite less likely to enforce the violations less likely to , Certainly I'm on the lookout for training money in Ohio follow up , The laggards are getting by The killers and the cripplers are out there . Anybody here from Ohio Cheers They have been given the ahead Cyanide silica and solvents can't even Let me suggest the scenario for you who are out there and comfortable and live secure for the second term We've seen ses 170 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION He on the first term The second term will have a new leader at OSHA He's 11 ~ already been identified Mr. Rowland He comes from the Review Commission where his opinions are anti- worker standard and inspec- tion and enforcement He will be the second term appointment neither are you and some of you are not too young to learn either Last month I was privileged privileg- ed to be a member of the Ohio Delega- tion to the Democratic Convention and it was an inspiration and an experience a learning experience people What are we going to do with a se- cond term and a few more Reagan appointments to the National Labor Rela- tions w-. Board A few more unfavorable " How many people are from Texas Cheers A lot of Texas Delegation decisions will almost put you out of business A few more appointments to the Supreme Court by President Reagan will put you out of business A few more broken stikes like the , PATCO keep your eyes on the Postal Workers A new Supreme Court can put you all out of business Think about it I'm sure that we're going to see taxes raised but we're also going to see the budgets cut .. The budget will be cut in Health and Human Services at the Cancer In- dry stitute and the training money will ; up . ; Did you ever hear of Jimmy Hightower Jimmy Hightower is Commissioner of Agriculture in Texas and he is a Texas philosopher You didn't see everything on television I think that was at the Conven- tion Most of you were not priviledged to see and hear Jimmy Hightower talk but he is a philosopher and I hope we see him in Washington some day And let me tell you what he told us He said that he had a great deal of respect for Harry Truman because Harry Truman said that anybody who is President of the United States needs to know about hogs Some of your survival techniques that we've used during this first term will be gone for example Now I want to ask each of you a per- sonal question What are you going to do to put a new team in the White House Well most of you are going to say " contribute some money through my union and that's important I know it And you know what those ads cost on television and some people have plenty of money to put them on But have you volunteered I'm talk- ing about registering voters You know what I'm doing the weekend after Labor Day I'm going to a voter registration conference in Columbus Ohio Now I've never registered a voter in my life but I'm not too old to learn and Now I'm from Ohio and some of you are from Iowa and we've got lots of corn and soybeans and we know about hogs but Jim Hightower said that he didn't believe the President that we've got now knows about hogs He wouldn't know a hog from a hand grenade Laughter And do you know what I thought maybe he was kidding me when he said that at the Convention but then I read yesterday's newspaper and I read that our President said jokingly that he had signed legislation that outlawed Russia forever and we begin bombing in five minutes Brothers and Sisters our country is no Grade B movie We're real people and we can't survive a nuclear war INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF One thing I saw at the Democratic 1 Convention that no issue runs so deep to the heart of families as the issue of nuclear weapons We can't make jokes 1 about dropping bombs and we cannot i afford a President who makes jokes about dropping bombs : Applause This is serious business We do want a strong defense because Democrats are the foot soldiers It's your children and you who will be the ones tog Working people go to war working people such as yourselves The unemployed and the unskilled go to war those people that we have abandoned out there without job training . We need an administration that will concern itself with finding federal of- ficials who will not take offs and t meet secretly and cut deals with pol- luters We need an administration who will not squander taxpayers money on on useless defense items and cost overruns I We need an administration who will not substitute paper inspections in the workplace for real ones El I Why can't we have the cancer stan- I dard that was on the books in 1980 implemented and enforced so we don't I have to worry about the asbestos pro- C ; blem any longer y I Why can't we have a generic standard requiring all workers receive training by t employers I can tell you how desperately we need that standard This summer a 17-- year boy in Cincinnati on top of a train don't know whether it was a Union shop or not but I can guarantee h he had no training and he fell to his r d death a summer job F Why can't we have an OSHA that gets tough over dead workers Many of you may not be aware but some states " are beginning to get tough over dead p FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION neither are you and some of you are not too young to learn either Last month I was privileged privileged to be a member of the Ohio Delega- tion to the Democratic Convention and it was an inspiration and an experience a learning experience people How many people are from Texas Cheers A lot of Texas Delegation Did you ever hear of Jimmy Hightower Jimmy Hightower is Commissioner of Agriculture in Texas and he is a Texas philosopher You didn't see everything on television I think that was at the Convention Most of you were not priviledged to see and hear Jimmy Hightower talk but he is a philosopher and I hope we see him in Washington some day And let me tell you what he told us He said that had a great deal of respect for Harry Truman because _ ry Truman said that anybody who resident of the United States needs to know about hogs Now I'm from Ohio and some of you are from Iowa and we've got lots of corn and soybeans and we know about hogs but Jim Hightower said that he " didn't believe the President that we've got now knows about hogs He wouldn't know a hog from a hand grenade I Laughter And do you know what I thought maybe he was kidding me when he said that at the Convention but then I read yesterday's newspaper and I read that our President said jokingly that he had signed legislation that outlawed Russia forever and we begin bombing in five minutes : Brothers and Sisters our country is no Grade B movie We're real people and we can't survive a nuclear war INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 171 One thing I saw at the Democratic Convention that no issue runs so deep to the heart of families as the issue of nuclear weapons We can't make jokes about dropping bombs and we cannot afford a President who makes jokes about dropping bombs workers The Attorney General in Illinois is bringing to trial or is making an effort to bring to trial the Chief Executive Of- ficers of two companies who have been responsible for killing workers Applause This is serious business We do want a strong defense because Democrats are the foot soldiers It's your children and you who will the ones to go Working people go to war working people such as yourselves The unemployed and the unskilled go to two ar those people that we have abandoned out there without job training We need an administration that will concern itself with finding federal of- ficials who will not take offs and meet secretly cut deals with polluters We need an administration who will not squander taxpayers money on useless defense items and cost overruns We need an administration who will not substitute paper inspections in the workplace for real ones Why can't we have the cancer stan- dard that was on the books in 1980 implemented and enforced so we don't have to worry about the asbestos pro- blem any longer Why can't we have a generic standard requiring all workers receive training by employers The Attorney General in Michigan is doing the same thing to We want OSHA get tough over dead workers Some of us will stay in the trenches no matter what happens in the next election Dr. Selikoff has been in the trenches for a long time I'm going to stay there I'm sure Dr. Holstein will be there Applause But Brothers and Sisters we don't need lawsuits over dead workers or to be down in the trenches We need pre- vention We need an Occupational Safety and Health Administration and NIOSH that can help us go out and provide pre- vention Prevention is the heart of the matter of Occupational Safety and Health Prevention means no wheezing no damaged lungs no damaged nerves no lead poisoning no skin disease I can give you many reasons for a new President in the White House but none of these reasons is more important to you as workers than a new prevention effort a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration which means that we have to have a new President I can tell you how desperately we need that standard This summer a 17-- year boy in Cincinnati on top of a train don't know whether it was a Union shop or not but I can guarantee he had no training and hefell to his .death a summer job Why can't we have an OSHA that gets tough over dead workers Many of you may not aware but some states are beginning to get tough over dead Thank you ar | Applause DIRECTOR WOLFORD Dr. Bingham certainly gives us some reason to reflect upon what our role in the future must be Generic training standards Holstein mentioned labeling There are plenty of battles out there for us to win and I think that of course we need do some of that winning in the work- place . a 172 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION Right now we'd like to give you one reason why and we're going to show you something that has just recently been uncovered When Dr. Selikoff con- ducted his studies we knew that there were problems in the paint trades but we never realized exactly how great the problems might be and the kinds of issues which we are faced with and one guy was coming around the side of me and I just didn't know what happened MS OSBORNE It's really something you can't explain to the doctors or your family You can't explain it to anybody DALE OSBORNE And they claim that membrane around her brain was We now going to look at a presenthing tation that details damage to the central nervous system that occurs due to term exposure to solvent In the dissolved and they didn't this is one presenthing they said they didn't know how long it would take for it to ever completely grow back or if it ever would opinion of us in the health and safety program in the International and in the OSH Project we believe this may be the most significant health hazard to the paint trade in years to come In addition to controlling other forms of neurotoxic symptoms of the nervous system dizziness and headedness before they turn into term effects we can be sure that in most cases workers will be overexposed to solvents while they are working If we can prevent the short effects of dizziness and other effects such as headedness that result from solvent exposure we will make significant strides in the workplace Why this is so important we can present now with a brief video tape entitle Neurotoxic Effects of Paint Trade Substances This video details cases of actual occurrences for painters in our Union who have experienced the devastating effects to their lives and their families resulting from exposure to solvents CHARLES MCNALLEY But just felt wheezy dizzy away from it JOHN SCHMIDT About 11:00 THE NARRATOR Over 100,000 chemicals are used in American in- dustry 575 are officially considered dangerous in large doses by the federal government but no class of chemicals is more subtle or treacherous in its effects than the neurotoxins which can damage the human nervous system even in small doses and cause a variety of behavioral and emotional symptoms A neurotoxin is anything that is toxic or poisonous to the nervous system The largest and most widely dispersed group of neurotoxins are organic solvents Solvents dissolve fat or greases so some speculate that solvents are somehow attracted to fatty tissue in the nervous system Solvents are used heavily in many industries notably electronics film processing plastics textiles and petroleum but one of the heaviest users of solvents is the painting industry Each year an estimated 450,000 union and nonunion painters apply 860 million gallons of paint composed of over 3,000 different chemicals and mineral substances o'clock in the morning I remember it hit me and I got dizzy and my heart started goinga little bit too fast and I didn't feel quite right THOMAS PASALAQUA I came out .. of the fog and there was four five ': cars behind me blowing their horns Solvents make up a substantial portion of this paint some 290 gallons Some of the leading researchers of solvent neurotoxicity are at Harvard University in Boston Dr. Edward Baker heads the Occupational Health Program at the Harvard School of Public Health INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PA DR BAKER And painters are one group that are particularly at risk because of the fact that they have often a great deal of difficulty in controlling the amount of ventilation that occurs at the work site since their work may be in one place one week and one place the next And this is a group where many studies in this country and abroad have identified significant evidence of toxicity to the brain THE NARRATOR It was in Sweden that researchers first identified a con- dition they labeled chronic painter's syndrome in which prolonged and repeated exposures to solvents among house painters was found to result in brainsize atrophy In other words the brains of the painters had actually decreased in volume as a result of their exposures to paint solvents . Those who work with solvents know that they can easily make a person high Incredibly some find it humorous as this Florida newspaper headline shows Painters are often seen as excessive imbibers of alcohol Indeed solvent intoxication and alcohol inebriation share many common characteristics and unfortunately some who use solvents find their effects exhilirating even pleasant perhaps without even realizing it DR BAKER They in a sense may even become physically addicted to the vapors themselves in much the same way that a person becomes addicted to alcohol and other drugs THE NARRATOR The nervous system gives strong and clear signals when it is getting too much of a neurotoxic substance A previously unexposed person who enters an atmosphere of solvent vapors may experience some strong initial reactions These might include eye and nose ir- rit the tin ha ] ] th ly ab ra re av pe V b . rn t I FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION e and one guy was coming around the side V of me and I just didn't know what happened y MS OSBORNE It's really something you can't explain to the doctors or your family You can't explain it to anybody 30 DALE OSBORNE And they claim that membrane around her brain was dissolved and they didn't this is one thing they said they didn't know how Oe long it would take for it to ever com- pletely grow back or if it ever would a THE NARRATOR Over 100,000 chemicals are used in American in- " dustry 575 are officially considered_ } the dangerous in large doses by federal government but no class of chemicals - is more subtle or treacherous its ef ee fects than the neurotoxins which can ; damage the human nervous system we - even in small doses and cause a variety of behavioral and emotional symptoms neurotoxin is anything that is toxic C. poisonous to the nervous system The largest and most widely dispersed group of neurotoxins are organic solvents Solvents dissolve fat or greases so some speculate that solvents are some- how attracted to fatty tissue in the ner- vous system Solvents are used heavily in many industries notably electronics film processing plastics textiles and petro- leum but one of the heaviest users of solvents is the painting industry Each year an estimated 450,000 union and nonunion painters apply 860 million gallons of paint composed of over 3,000 different chemicals and mineral substances Solvents make up a substantial por- tion of this paint some 290 gallons Some of the leading researchers of solvent neurotoxicity are at Harvard Uni- versity in Boston Dr. Edward Baker heads the Occupational Health Program at the Harvard School of Public Health INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD DR BAKER And painters are one group that are particularly at risk because of the fact that they have often a great deal of difficulty in controlling the amount of ventilation that occurs at the work site since their work may be in one place one week and one place the next .. And this is a group where many studies in this country and abroad have * identified significant evidence of toxicity to the brain THE NARRATOR It was in Sweden that researchers first identified a condition they labeled chronic painter's syn- drome in which prolonged and repeated exposures to solvents among house painters was found to result in brain- size atrophy - In other words the brains of the painters had actually decreased in volume as a result of their exposures to paint solvents OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 173 ritations headedness dizziness the sensation of floating or being high tingling in the hands and feet and per- haps headache It is important to note these signals DR BAKER It's very important that the person carefully watch for those early symptoms to occur and do something about reducing exposure at that time rather than simply continuing to be reexposed and having the symptoms go away which they certainly will after a period of time THE NARRATOR Tom Pasalaqua was a professional painter for 18 years a member of IBPAT Local 31 in Syracuse New York Tom was a prosperous middle family man who came home from work to play with his kids watch TV and have dinner with his wife Jacqueline Pasalaqua . Those who work with solvents know that they can easily make a person high Incredibly some find it humorous as this Florida newspaper headline shows One day just two years ago he came home sick after a day of roller painting expoxy paint in a contained space He hasn't been the same since Painters are often seen as excessive imbibers of alcohol Indeed solvent intoxication and alcohol inebriation share many common characteristics and unfortunately some who use solvents find their effects exhilirating even pleasant perhaps without even realizing it DR BAKER They in a sense may even become physically addicted to the vapors themselves in much the same way that a person becomes addicted to alcohol and other drugs THE NARRATOR The nervous system gives strong and clear signals when it is getting too much ofa neuro- toxic substance A previously unexpos- ed person who enters an atmosphere of solvent vapors may experience some strong initial reactions . . These might include eye and nose ir- MRS PASALAQUA Afterwards when I talked to him he explained to me how he felt and I could actually you know smell the fumes even though he had changed his clothes and everything MR PASALAQUA And I woke up about 4:00 o'clock in the morning and my head was really pounding really bad Really I thought is was the end I didn't know if I was dead or alive MRS PASALAQUA One of the big- gest problems was that he didn't know what was going on He just knew how bad he felt MR PASALAQUA I looked around here for six to eight months here in Syracuse and tried to locate doctors before I got hooked up with going to Boston : : 174 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION ' I mean you know there's no one who knows anything about it They thought I was crazy MRS PASALAQUA Before the exposure you know he would like come home from work and he'd maybe play with the kids or you know just relax and everything but afterwards he was very irritable fi onto complex information MRS PASALAQUA One day sent him to the store and the stores aren't that far and he came back and he didn't get what - think I asked him to buy some bread and milk and he came back without the bread and milk and he couldn't remember what I sent him for MR PASALAQUA I know I scream and holler a lot at my wife sometimes for no reason at all Really I mean I can see it sometimes but I don't know if it's just that I can't stop hollering MRS PASALAQUA It really got to the point where I thought it would be better if he wasn't even at home and I think that's when Tom called Mr. Ellsworth and explained to him the problems he was having . MR ELLSWORTH I contacted the International The International in turn contacted Tom Pasalaqua They in turn got him an appointment in Boston with doctors who are specialists DR BLUMEPTI The examination to Tom which was a rather lengthy one was pretty consistent with prior evalua- tions that he had in the Boston area and consistent with the types of data that we have gotten from patients who have had toxic syndromes MR PASALAQUA I don't know If just go out and I ride around two- three hours and I don't know where I've been sent really I seem to manage to find my way back home but I've been sent to do something specially to go do something and I'll forget it MR ELLSWORTH Tom went back for a while and he just couldn't make it He couldn't he couldn't climb a step ladder because he couldn't keep his balance DR BLUMEPTI My suspicion is that he'll never be able to go back and work as a painter because of you know all the restrictions that he has on him in terms of not being close to solvents or ether or anything like that Our hope is to get him involved in some type of vocational rehabilitation program keeping those restrictions in mind and getting him functioning in a different work capacity He presented with a decrease in MRS PASALAQUA As family we terms of visualmotor speed and coor- don't go out do things like we used to dination He problems with verbal you know even if it was just to go for conceptualizing abilities He had a very a ride in the car get an ice cream or definite state of anxiety exacerbated by something like that some depressive symptoms MR PASALAQUA They're hoping He was complaining of some head pain The neuropsychological evaluation did indicate some very significant falloff in cognitive ability that was dependent upon organic brain function Speci- that you know that this could all reverse itself within you know a cou- ple of years or so It's been two years now but they feel that maybe it could reverse itself - fically he was having some memory difficulty with both verbal and nonverbal memory difficulty with sequencing THE NARRATOR Neurotoxic symp- toms are common among painters There may even be a feeling among . skills changing set holding. some that these symptoms are a natural * INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF part of the work William A. Duval President of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Our members have known for years for decades that the materials they work with are harmful to their health There may have been a time when most were convinced that nothing could be done to change that that illness and - injury were part of their jobs but that time has passed Our members demand improvements in job health and safety protections and this Union is dedicated to seeing that those improvements are made What we . have done so far is nothing compared with what we must do in the future We've a long way to go We cannot rest until every member of this Union enjoys the same chance of a safe healthy and productive life as every other American and Canadian citizen THE NARRATOR The IBPAT neurotoxic symptoms questionnaire is based on the Swedish Questionnaire 16 The questionnaire is used to call the painter's attention to specific symptoms which at present may be related to sol- . vent exposure IBPAT efforts have also drawn the attention of the national press to the neurotoxic hazards of solvents and scores of articles on the dangers of paints and solvents have appeared in major papers nationwide One Rocky Mountain news story features IBPAT Local 79 member David Friel yet another victim of toxic organic brain syndrome after 16 years of spray painting This is Dave Friel as he appeared on a national Cable News Network broadcast in 1980 - MR FRIEL So basically we went through steps of they finally came down TY TH GENERAL CONVENTION onto complex information MRS PASALAQUA One day I sent him to the store and the stores aren't e that far and he came back and he didn't get what - think I asked him to buy some bread and milk and he S came back without the bread and milk and he couldn't remember what I sent him for 1 MR PASALAQUA I don't know If [ I just go out and I ride around for twothree hours and I don't know where y I've been sent really I seem to manage to find my way back home but I've been ) sent to do something specially to go do 1 something and I'll forget it MR ELLSWORTH Tom went back . :~ for a while and he just couldn't make it He couldn't he couldn't climb a step ladder because he couldn't keep his balance e DR BLUMEPTI My suspicion is that " " he'll never be able to go back and work as a painter because of you know all the restrictions that he has on him in 1 terms of not being close to solvents or ether or anything like that _ ir hope is to get him involved in Sune type of vocational rehabilitation t program keeping those restrictions in mind and getting him functioning in a different work capacity a MRS PASALAQUA As family we don't go out do things like we used to 1 you know even if it was just to go for a ride in the car get an ice cream or 7 something like that MR PASALAQUA They're hoping g 1 that you know that this could all reverse itself within you know a cou- ple of years or so It's been two years now but they feel that maybe it could reverse itself THE NARRATOR Neurotoxic symp- 1 toms are common among painters There may even be a feeling among 5 some that these symptoms are a natural INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 175 part of the work William A. Duval President of the International Brother- hood of Painters and Allied Trades and said it was like an organic brain syndrome THE NARRATOR Local broadcasts GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Our members have known for years for decades that the materials they work with are harmful to their health also covered the problem Here IBPAT member Rick Rimmer of Local 41 describes an episode of acute neurotoxic poisoning he experienced while spray There may have been a time when most were convinced that nothing could be done to change that that illness and injury were part of their jobs but that time has passed painting city vehicles in Memphis Tennessee MR RIMMER I was just numb and dead feeling It just felt like needles sticking in me all over I couldn't hear Our members demand improvements in job health and safety protections and this Union is dedicated to seeing that those improvements are made What we have done so far is nothing compared with what we must do in the future * good I couldn't speak I couldn't get up couldn't do anything THE NARRATOR Scientists say they do not completely understand how specific solvents affect the nervous system on a molecular level but that We've a long way to go We cannot rest until every member of this Union enjoys the same chance of a safe healthy and productive life as every other American and Canadian citizen THE NARRATOR The IBPAT neurotoxic symptoms questionnaire is based on the Swedish Questionnaire 16 The questionnaire is used to call the painter's attention to specific symptoms which at present may be related to sol- solvents routinely cause moderate to severe nervous system damage in those who use them is beyond dispute and even low doses of certain solvents can have a profound impact on the = individual DR BAKER One area of concern is that exposure to solvents may accelerate the actual aging process and may cause the brain and other parts of the body to age at a more rapid rate vent exposure THE NARRATOR Kate Osborne IBPAT efforts have also drawn the attention of the national press to the neurotoxic hazards of solvents and scores of articles on the dangers of paints and solvents have appeared in major papers nationwide had worked as a professional painter for 16 years and was a vigorous healthy and attractive year grandmother A member of Painters Local Union 54 she was well known by contractors in Amarillo Texas as a productive and conscientious employee Cable One Rocky Mountain news story features IBPAT Local 79 member All that changed one afternoon as she David Friel yet another victim of toxic stripped doors and woodwork in the * * organic brain syndrome after 16 years basement of this local bank using a pro- of spray painting duct composed of methylene chloride and toluene She worked three days This is Dave Friel as he appeared on with no respirator and only the a national News Network broad- building's office air system for , cast in 1980 ventilation MR FRIEL So basically we went through steps of they finally came down Mrs. Osborne her boss and her coworkers were under the impression that Sens 176 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION this type of ventilation was sufficient to remove solvent vapors from her work area Kate Osborne as she appears to- day transformed old before her time an apparent condition of senile dementia which she squarely attributes to her exposure to paint stripper that day MS OSBORNE You can't explain it to anybody It's just something that happens to you It just isn't real You just feel like you have died and woke up into a whole new world You're just a different person My own daughter didn't even recognize me after two months MS VENA OSBORNE People didn't recognize her We'd go places and people wouldn't realize it was my mom The same person they had seen five or six months earlier was not really the same person MS OSBORNE I was stripping doors and woodwork and so we could refinish and about the third day it was in the afternoon well my hands and mouth starting getting numb and I thought that you know it would go away Usually when you're in lacquer you go outside and it would go away but it didn't It kept getting worse and then that night when I came home I was lying on the couch and I was real sick MIKE MURPHY I received a call from one of the staff at the hospital emergency room and they asked me if I knew Kate Osborne and I told them yes that she was an employee of mine and they said well that she had check- ed herself into the emergency room and was that they couldn't get a whole lot out of her that she was just nearly incoherent and that they were able to get out of her that she worked for me DALE OSBORNE I never was so scared in my life She just acted like a crazy person you know She didn't know what she was doing and she didn't know where she was at MS VENA OSBORNE As the weeks went on I noticed that my mom was getting older She was getting more tired She was more irritable MIKE MURPHY I probably haven't seen her now for a year It's been the first time in probably a year that I've seen her but she definitely has aged quite considerably MS OSBORNE I knowI don't look too young but this happened rather overnight My hair turned white I started drawing up When I got the stuff before it was something I didn't explain One side of my face all drew up and I looked like some kind of a freak andI still feel like I'm wearing a mask DALE OSBORNE The chemist that checked this stuff and everything there's a lot of stuff that's in there that they ain't even got on the label They've got a substitute name for it and a lot of that and most of it just says Proper ventilation MS I OSBORNE figured I had ade- quate ventilation as large a room as it was MIKE MURPHY She was a cons- cientious worker She was just like each one of us that are in the trade We all try to protect ourselves as best we can and Kate was no exception DR BAKER We're now learning more about solvent toxicity as a result of recent research but if many individuals who are exposed to solvents chronically were to go and ask their personal physician What should I do as a result of being exposed to toluene every day I think many physician would pressed to know what kinds of signs or symptoms to look for or how to evaluate them medically given that knowledge So for that reason we feel it's par- INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ticularly important for individuals who are exposed to become familiar with some of the toxic manifestations of exposure to solvents MRS PASALAQUA Even if it only happens once in a while it might be a signal that there you know is something wrong that not all painters will get these symptoms just because of one exposure but they could build up over the years MR PASALAQUA You could taste it in your throat and like that and you might get a slight you know head feel light MR ELLSWORTH You might get a slight headache like you've been drinking heavy or something JOHN SCHMIDT Within a period of 15 minutes of driving on the way home I'd get tired and like want to fall asleep CHARLES MCNALLEY I notice when I work with solvent paints that I seem like I get more I get a headache DALE OSBORNE The first thing you know you're laying in the floor and you don't know nothing Someone dragged you outside MIKE MURPHY More of the high you lose some of your consciousness MS OSBORNE It can make you rather sick to your stomach You get this sick feeling THE NARRATOR Today's workers employers manufacturers and consumers face an increasing daily danger to health when overexposure to solvents occurs What each person decides to do about it how much importance is placed on the problem by all of us ultimate- twemasr decide the fate of people just like ly willthese End of Video . DIRECTOR WOLFORD Okay we FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION know what she was doing and she didn't know where she was at MS VENA OSBORNE As the weeks e went on I noticed that my mom was getting older She was getting more we tired She was more irritable Nt MIKE MURPHYI probably haven't seen her now for a year It's been the first time in probably a year that I've seen her but she definitely has aged t quite considerably MS OSBORNE I know I don't look too young but this happened rather > overnight My hair turned white I started drawing up When I got the stuff before it was something I didn't t" explain One side of my face all drew up e and I looked like some kind of a freak andI still feel like I'm wearing a mask DALE OSBORNE The chemist that checked this stuff and everything there's a lot of stuff that's in there that Suu y ain't even got on the label They've a substitute name for it and a lot of d that and most of it just says Proper ventilation 10 10 MS OSBORNE I figured I had ade- quate ventilation as large a room as it was it MIKE MURPHY She was a cons- n cientious worker She was just like each T- one of us that are in the trade We all C. try to protect ourselves as best we can ~# and Kate was no exception DR BAKER We're now learning more about solvent toxicity as a result . of recent research but if many individuals who are exposed to solvents chronically were to go and ask their personal physician What should I do as a result of being exposed to toluene . ~ every day I think many physician kinds 1 wouldwould be pressed to know what - of signs or symptoms to look for or how to evaluate them medically : given that knowledge _ So for that reason we feel it's par- 4 INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 177 ticularly important for individuals who are exposed to become familiar with some of the toxic manifestations of exposure to solvents know this is not just something for painters We have got silk screen workers And it isn't stuck to the U.S. or Canada It's a worldwide kind of MRS PASALAQUA Even if it only problem just because _ happens once in a while it might be a ' We have got drywall tapers using signal that there you know is solvents glycol ethers and some of the something wrong that not all painters other materials and some of the will get these symptoms of compounds one exposure but they could build up over the years You have got paintmakers You have MR PASALAQUA You could taste it in your throat and like that and you might get a slight you know head feel light floor coverers New techniques coming in floor covering spraying adhesives which require greater thinning This is a major problem for the paint trades and something that has to be address- MR ELLSWORTH You might get slight headache like you've been drink- ed and you heard some of the issues related to it ing heavy or something .. a JOHN SCHMIDT Within period of 15 minutes of driving on the way home I'd get tired and like want to fall asleep Well with such a problem and you have just seen examples of the biggest threat to our people in the 80s chronic painters syndrome caused by solvent iotverexposure so what can we do about CHARLES MCNALLEY I notice when I work with solvent paints that seem like I get more I get a headache DALE OSBORNE The first thing you know you're laying in the floor and you don't know nothing Someone dragged you outside MIKE MURPHY More of the high you lose some of your consciousness MS OSBORNE It can make you rather sick to your stomach You get this sick feeling THE NARRATOR Today's workers employers manufacturers and consumers face an increasing daily danger to health when overexposure to solvents help One thing is certain We need the of experts And the next speaker is certainly an expert Dr. Edward Baker of Harvard University is one of North America's leading researchers on the effects of solvents on the nervous system Cur- rently he is working with IBPAT on our $ million N.C.I. study performing " and comparing the medical results with solvent exposures hg Dr. Baker has assisted many of our members suffering from suspected painter's syndrome by reviewing their medical records and making referral for treatment to other physicians occurs What each person decides to do about it how much importance is placed on the problem by all of us ultimate- ly will these decide the fate of people just like He has conducted workplace evaluations for silk screen shops And I think we are very fortunate to have such an expert working with us 1 am very happy to have him here to- End of Video day to talk about IBPAT's and Hara en DIRECTOR WOLFORD Okay we vard's cooperative efforts to achieve the common goal of protecting the health 178 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION and safety of our members in the U.S. and Canada With that I introduce to you Dr. Baker of Harvard University . have not achieved a healthful working situation Nevertheless important strides have been made The educa- tional materials which your union's In- ternational Occupational and Health Applause and Safety staff developed in coopera- DR BAKER Thanks very much tion between Marilyn Larson and your Rod union's Occupational Health Depart- ment directed by Rod Wolford are ex- It is a pleasure for me to be able to ceptional in my view In fact we have address this group and'sshare with you invited Mr. Wolford and Ms. Larson to today some concerns I have regarding lecture at Harvard University for the : the health hazards of painters and other past two years to share these materials i IBPAT members who work with with our trained professionals in oc- solvents and other toxic materials in cupational safety and health their work part Furthermore as of our collabora- Painters as you may know have one tion with your union we have been in- i of the most hazardous jobs in this coun- volved in a number of health surveys in try today and today I wish to report to Springfield Massachusetts Denton you some of the experiences that we Maryland Boston Massachusetts Fort have had working with some of your Worth Texas and most recently in local unions and your excellent Interna- Memphis Tennessee tional Health and Safety staff who are conducting a study of health hazards in In all these locations it has been clear the paint trades to us that significant health problems As you may know your International recently received a large grant from the National Cancer Institute and competed very successfully with 22 university groups and seven other Unions in this process continue to exist as a result of daily exposure to toxic materials particularly solvents in the paint trades As Rod mentioned I'm particularly concerned about the effects of these materials on the nervous system We now know that there is a condition which has | It has been a pleasure to collaborate been referred to as chronic painters with your union in the past and we are syndrome or toxic committed to working with you in the which results from encephalopathy future to address the difficult problems prolonged excessive to that confront many of your members exposure organic solvents contained in paints and other a As result of our efforts it's quite clear materials used by painters This condition is and to me that there are significant health to diagnose very difficult it's often overlooked problems among painters Despite im- It's important that workers experienc- portant improvements that have occur- ing the early signs of this condition seek red over the recent past in workplaces prompt medical attention as a result of the Occupational Safety and Health Act there are many sections As you saw in the videotape which of the U.S. work force that really have your union has assembled some of the not reached the desired level of health early signs here are excessive memory and safety ; loss unexplained mood changes persis- In view of the wide variety of hazar- tent difficulties with concentration and hand coordination These early dous materials to which painters and : llied workers are exposed warning signs of possible term many disability should not be overlooked INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF In my view you as union leaders serve as the eyes and ears of your union to convey this message to your mem- bers and to have a role in preventing disease and disability of the type that we are seeing throughout this country Although we know this condition does Ce exist and that some members of your union have been severely disabled as a result of this we do not know the ex- I tent of the problem throughout your membership Therefore more research 2 is needed more research of the type in which we are now involved with your In- ternational staff . C4 2ALCO As was mentioned earlier often this condition and others related to work go C42ALO unrecognized by local physicians This a C4 2ALCO typically results from lack of training C4 2ALCO of physicians in the area of occupational medicine and a reluctance on the part of some physicians to become involved in dealing with related problems For this and other reasons I'm sure that many of you have had difficulty in identifying local resources in your com- A44B munities to assist you in related A44B problems For example we were in A44B Memphis Tennessee working with one A44B of your locals there and with your In- ry ternational staff in that large metropoli- ct tan area heavily industrialized one is with a major medical center and we a were unable to identify one physician who was specially trained and able to deal with occupational health problems 2 For these reasons and others we have been pleased to make ourselves avail- able to your union and to your Interna- a h tional to answer questions and evaluate medical information about individual members who appear to have .health problems from their work te Some of my associates and I will be here during this Convention at the IBPAT booth in the exhibit area along with your International's Health and Safety staff and we'll be happy to fi FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION have not achieved a healthful working situation Nevertheless important strides have been made The educa- tional materials which your union's In- ternational Occupational and Health and Safety staff developed in coopera" tion between Marilyn Larson and your union's Occupational Health Department directed by Rod Wolford are exceptional in my view In fact we have invited Mr. Wolford and Ms. Larson to lecture at Harvard University for the past two years to share these materials - with our trained professionals in oc- cupational safety and health Furthermore as part of our collaboration with your union we have been in- volved in a number of health surveys in Springfield Massachusetts Denton Maryland Boston Massachusetts Fort Worth Texas and most recently in Memphis Tennessee In all these locations it has been clear us that significant health problems ontinue to exist as a result of daily exposure to toxic materials particularly solvents in the paint trades As Rod mentioned I'm particularly concerned about the effects of these ma- terials on the nervous system We now know that there is a condition which has been referred to as chronic painters syndrome or toxic encephalopathy which results from prolonged excessive exposure to organic solvents contained in paints and other materials used by painters This condition is very difficult overlooked to diagnose and it's often It's important that workers experiencing the early signs of this condition seek prompt medical attention As you saw in the videotape which your union has assembled some of the early signs here are excessive memory loss unexplained mood changes persis- tent difficulties with concentration and 229 hand coordination These early 229 warning signs of possible long disability should not be overlooked INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 179 leaders In my view you as union discuss these matters with serve as the eyes and ears of your union if you wish youfurther * to convey this message to your mem- a bers and to have role in preventing We have also been pleased to work disease and disability of the type that - with your union to develop information- we are seeing throughout this country al materials which can be used by local . physicians and which will also be avail- Although we know this condition does exist and that some members of your union have been severely disabled as a result of this we do not know the ex- able in the health and safety booth In addition to disorders affecting the brain and nervous system we have seen tent of the problem throughout your membership Therefore more research is needed more research of the type in which we are now involved with your In- skin problems liver disorders cancer and lung conditions clearly occurring among your members as a result oftheir daily work exposures ternational staff All of the conditions which we have As was mentioned earlier often this observed can be prevented It is clear condition and others related to work go unrecognized by local physicians This that as a result of the efforts of researchers in this country and abroad we typically results from a lack of training of physicians in the area of occupational medicine and a reluctance on the part of some physicians to become involved now know much more than we did ten years ago It's essential that based on this knowledge intensive efforts must continue to educate workers and to in dealing with related problems develop a cooperative activity to elimi- For this and other reasons I'm sure nate excess related disease that many of you have had difficulty in identifying local resources in your com- I have been particularly impressed by your International Union's efforts to munities to assist you in related work cooperatively with paint contrac- problems For example we were in Memphis Tennessee working with one tors and paint manufacturers through the National Joint Safety and Health . of your locals there and with your In- ' Committee The fact that this Commit- ternational staff in that large metropolitan area heavily industrialized one with a major medical center and we were unable to identify one physician who was specially trained and able tee exists is a testimony to the far- sightedness of persons in your Union and in other groups within the painting industry toward achieving communication on health and safety issues This deal with occupational health problems For these reasons and others we have been pleased to make ourselves available to your union and to your Interna- tional to answer questions and evaluate medical information about individual dialogue must continue and we are pleased to be involved in this activity The past few years have been very difficult times for occupational safety and health in this country As Dr. Bing- ham pointed out earlier the short- members who appear to have health sighted cuts of the Reagan Administra- problems from their work tion have significantly jeopardized our Some of my associates and I will here during this Convention at the IBPAT booth in the exhibit area ! along with your International's Health and Safety staff and we'll be happy to efforts Valuable programs have been terminated and for example training of professionals in occupational safety and health has been jeopardized by the attempts of the Administration to cut funding for programs to train doctors 180 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERALCONVENTION nurses industrial hygienists and health professionals to deal with occupational health and safety problems We appreciate very much the assistance that your union and other unions have provided in lobbying Congress to have the funding for our programs restored We look forward to your help in the future in this important area of influencing the legis- lative process look forward to working with you in the difficult times ahead and I am parti- cularly impressed with the dedication and competence of the members of your International's occupational health and safety staff They continue to serve as an example to others in organized labor and to occupational health and safety professionals in the universities and the government who are striving toward the same end Clearly their efforts have been benefited many workers not only in the painting trades but also in other aspects of U.S. industry Another important example of this lies in the recent efforts of your Inter- national staff to improve the OSHA standard for control of asbestos in the construction industry In my view your excellent occupational safety and health program represents a unique resource which deserves continued support Finally I must leave you with some personal experiences that illustrate the difficulties of the task ahead In Mem- phis Tennessee two weeks ago I talked with a year old spray painter and his wife about his health I was surpris- ed to note his age because he seemed at least ten years older than he looked chemicals at work were causing the condition which now no longer improves when he's away from his job Another painter a year old woman from Boston asked me whether she should consider having children while continuing to work with paint solvents A third painter a year old man in Fort Worth was concerned about the hazards of his work and asked me whether he should continue to work in a job where he was exposed to these materials exposed Finally a year old retired painter in Memphis who is now suffering from profound memory loss requires constant care from his wife who asked me . if his condition could have been pre- pro- vented by the use of some of the tective measures now in place in the workforce to reduce exposure to lead solvents and other toxic materials These protective measures were not in effect during her husband's active work- ing life All of these workers and their spouses deserve answers to these difficultquestions The medical issues are complex and require much more study The health study in which we are now col- laborating with your International Union will only begin to answer some of these difficult issues My colleagues and I at Harvard are committed to working with you in the future and look forward to meeting and talking with you today at this Convention , Thank you very much He said that he was constantly fatigued unable to remember things ex- tremely irritable unable to concentrate and no longer enjoying the hobbies of fishing and outdoor activities which he pursued since his youth His wife was even more concerned than he and both were worried that Applause DIRECTOR WOLFORD As you can see major problemfs still confront us and many things can be done but we do have strong allies Before moving on to the last speaker for this morning Dr. Selikoff I would like to make- INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHO Dr. Baker a question . DIRECTOR WOLFORD I fine with you J : Surely DIRECTOR WOLFORD Microphone No. 2 BROTHER WRIGHT Camden New Jersey 7? { Two weeks ago I left work o Sunu Sunu day night and I got home early my morning and I had whiskey on my breath and lipstick on my collar and motel key in my pocket Do you think you could send my wife a letter telling her that when I told her I didn't know what was happening it was- Laughter and applause DIRECTOR WOLFORD Dr. Baker doesn't want to handle that one so he's leaving it to me Laughter And willing to answer it I think that it's very important it's easy to joke about the issue but at the same time I think that it's important to recognize that this is a very very extremely serious issue formed their When unions were first purpose was to improve the quality of life for working men and women and that challenge has been met in the past | : with wages and better working condi- tions and that's fine But what the hell do they mean if you don't have the health and being to do anything with them And that I think is basically the problem = Applause . FAW joke I believe sometimes that a or some reference in regard to this help to reduce some of the tension tha FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION chemicals at work were causing the condition which now no longer improves when he's away from his job Another painter a year old woman from Boston asked me whether she should consider having children while continuing to work with paint solvents : in A third painter a year old man Fort Worth was concerned about the hazards of his work and asked me whether he should continue to work in a job where he was exposed to these materials Finally a year old retired painter in Memphis who is now suffering from profound memory loss requires cons- " tant care from his wife who asked me if his condition could have been prevented by the use of some of the protective measures now in place in the workforce to reduce exposure to lead Events and other toxic materials nese protective measures were not in effect during her husband's active work- ing life } All of these workers and their spouses deserve answers to these difficult ques- tions The medical issues are complex and require much more study The health study in which we are now col- International laborating with your Union will only begin to answer some of these difficult issues H My colleagues and I at Harvard are committed to working with you in the fu- ture and look forward to meeting and talking with you today at this Convention Thank you very much _ Applause DIRECTOR WOLFORD As you can see major problems still confront and many things can be done but | do have strong alliesbe last speaker Before moving on to the for this morning Dr. Selikoff I would like to make- ; a INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 181 BROTHER WRIGHT Could I ask Dr. Baker a question DIRECTOR WOLFORD If this is fine with you GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL \. Surely underlies the seriousness of the problem with which we are faced This problem is so serious I can't explain to you how serious it is But I can tell you that it is significant and it means the future for every working man and woman in the paint trades on DIRECTOR WOLFORD We call Microphone No. 2 _ BROTHER WRIGHT Eddie Wright Camden New Jersey 1171 Two weeks ago I left work on a Fri- day night and I got home early Sunday morning and I had whiskey on my breath and lipstick on my collar and a motel key in my pocket Do you think you could send my wife a letter telling her that when I told her I didn't know what was happening it was- Laughter and applause DIRECTOR WOLFORD Dr. Baker doesn't want to handle that one so he's _ leaving it to me Laughter And I'm willing to answer it I think that it's very important it's easy to joke about the issue but at the same time I think that it's important to recognize that this is a very very extremely serious issue When unions were first formed their purpose was to improve the quality of life for working men and women and that challenge has been met in the past with wages and better working conditions and that's fine But what the hell ; do they mean if you don't have the health and being to do anything with them And that I think is basically the problem : Applause . It really is not a joking matter but I understand that many people will feel like joking simply because they cannot control the problems that they do not see the way of controlling the problem and in some ways that's the way of escaping it but I'm telling you we have got to face this problem and we need to And that I think is my answer in regard to the question because yes I bet we could you a letter if you needed but by the same token I think it's important that we also look at the other sides of the issue too and take some real concern in an issue that just now is being faced Applause ' We are ready to move forward now and we are going to go on to a speaker who in my opinion is probably the person who launched us in our effort along with S. Frank Raferty S. Frank Raferty began the decade of job safety and in it he introduced Dr. Irving Selikoff and Dr. Irving Selikoff performed the ground work the basis the bedrock that gave us a leg to stand on Without Dr. Selikoff we wouldn't a have had leg to stand on with regard to what we are doing Many of us may remember Dr. Selikoff as a person who examined 2,000 some Delegates during the 23rd General Convention in Los Angeles What Dr. Irving Selikoff found out about us ten years ago what he learned about the health hazards we are expos- SaS some believe sometimes that a joke or some reference in regard to this helps to reduce some of the tension that ed to in our trade let to the medical ground work which enabled us to design a health and safety program second to none in the Labor Movement 182 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION As Professor of Medicine and the in- ternationally known Director of the Environmental Sciences Laboratory at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York Dr. Selikoff is renowned for bridging the gap between medical science and the working | men and women in the Labor Movement In 1979 the AFL cited Dr. Selikoff with the Philip Murray William Green award the highest honor the American Labor Movement can bestow problem of cutting off budgets I was wondering about because I'm a member of the National Cancer Ad- visory Board of the National Cancer Institute and it's been of interest to me that in the last three years the budget the research budget of the National Cancer Institute of our country has been cut 25 percent 1974 May I have the first slide please And can we have the lights out Can we have all the lights out We were proud to have been the organization that nominated him for that award He has devoted his professional life to identifying and diagnosing the health hazards of the workplace and he has been responsible for the most signifi- cant contributions to health studies in This is the first case of asbestosis that was ever seen It was a man Dr. Mon- tague Murray in 1898 London He said he was very short of breath had been working for ten years in one of the new new industry new asbestos factories in London And the next year he died suffocated couldn't breathe our trade Dr. Selikoff's work at our 1974 Con- vention lives on You are seeing the results today He shared his wisdom with us once more in Chicago years ago and we have continued to follow his advice 2 aio His wise counsel continues to nourish our own health and safety program and is directly connected to the results you see We are honored to have him with us _ A mortem was done and that is a slide that one of my colleagues at the Charing Cross Hospital in London retrieved from their pathology files and it's typical of the asbestosis cases we see today the scarring all over the asbestos bodies in the center and so forth Several years later the British Parlia- ment was reviewing their workers compensation regulations and they asked Dr. Murray Should we add this new problem asbestos to the things that are worthy of compensation like lead and today Would you please welcome Dr. Irving Selikoff mercury and so forth And Dr. Murray said No. Standing ovation DR SELIKOFF Thank you very much I'm pleased to see so many old friends from as Rod says Los Angeles Chicago Mr. Duval Mr. Wolford Mr. Burkhardt Dr. Bingham and one very good friend who's not here Bud Raftery I'd like to admit to what Mr. Wolford said about the problems by reviewing what ., happens when they're not controlled Parenthetically you mentioned the Next slide please Dr. Murray said No. He said Now that we know that this can happen obviously it's not going to happen any more Since we know that inhaling this dust can kill you it's not going to be allowed The British Parliament took his advice and did not include asbestos as one of the things for which there would be workers compensation That was reasonable for 1906 because if it could 3 . + i INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD I OF kill you clearly it would be prevented Now in the years since we learned a great deal Here for example is one of the things looking at a postmortem you're looking down at the inside of a chest The lining of the chest sometimes became scarred the pleura Now why this happens we still don't know It's peculiar among It doesn't happen with silica it doesn't happen with coal it doesn't happen with aluminum For reasons we don't know as I say the lining of the chest frequently becomes scarred when there has been asbestos inhaled Next slide please Sometime that scar becomes so thick as in this case that the lung can't move anymore and the person literally dies unable to breathe Next slide please Now that pretty much what we knew until the early 1930s when we got our first bad surprise Kenneth Lynch a professor of pathology at the Medical University of South Carolina reported a very unusual case A man who had asbestosis scarring who also had lung cancer and he said You know it might well be an association between the two Next slide please In the following years ten years later another unusual case was reported by another doctor The pleura the lining of the chest in another worker exposed to asbestos had become malignant That's this white material here Next slide please + And then post mortem this was what owrmean was seen Again you're looking down at the post mortem table This white material is the cancer The lining of the chest in our lingo is the mesothelial lining a technical name Therefore when it becomes malignant we call it a mesothelioma Now in the past this was terribly rare How rare Well nobody really FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION oblem of cutting off budgets I was wondering about that because I'm a member of the National Cancer Ad- visory Board of the National Cancer Institute and it's been of interest to me that in the last three years the budget the research budget of the National Cancer Institute of our country has been cut 25 percent below 1974 May I have the first slide please And can we have the lights out Can we have all the lights out This is the first case of asbestosis that was ever seen It was a man Dr. Mon- tague Murray in 1898 London He said he was very short of breath had been working for ten years in one of the new new industry new asbestos factories in London And the next year he died suffocated couldn't breathe A mortem was done and that is a slide that one of my colleagues at the Charing Cross Hospital in London retrieved from their pathology files and it's typical of the asbestosis cases we see today the scarring all over the asbestos bodies in the center and so forth Parlia- Several years later the British it was reviewing their workers compensation regulations and they asked Dr. Murray Should we add this new problem asbestos to the things that are worthy of compensation like lead and _ mercury and so forth And Dr. Murray said No. Next slide please d Dr. Murray said No. He said Now that we know that this can hap_ pen obviously it's not going to happen any more Since we know that inhaling this dust can kill you it's not going to be allowed PR The British Parliament took his advice and did not include asbestos as one of the things for which there would be workers compensation That was reasonable for 1906 because if it could * INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 183 kill you clearly it would be prevented .. Now in the years since we learned knows because it was never categorized in the International classification of a great deal Here for example is one causes of death Somewhere around of the things looking at a postmortem you're looking down at the in- side of a chest The lining of the chest 110,000 deaths And all of a sudden in the year 40s and 50s the lining of the chest began to be found in workers who sometimes became scarred the pleura Now why this happens we still don't know It's peculiar among the dusts It were exposed to asbestos to become mesothelioma Next slide please doesn't happen with silica it doesn't happen with coal it doesn't happen with aluminum For reasons we don't know as I say the lining of the chest frequently becomes scarred when there has been asbestos inhaled This can also happen with the lining of the abdomen Here for example is a worker construction worker who has been exposed to asbestos and his whole abdomen is swollen slide please mesothelioma Next slide please Sometime that scar becomes so thick as in this case that the lung can't move please anymore and the person literally dies unable to breathe Next slide Now that was pretty much what we knew until the early 1930s when we got our first bad surprise Keat nneth a professor of pathology the Medical University of South Carolina reported a very unusual case A man who had asbestosis scarring who also had lung cancer and he said You know it might well be an association between the two Next slide please Now by the early 60s these cases kept being reported in many trades For example there wasn't a single study done of deaths among painters that didn't show an increase of cancer and nobody knew why But that was seen from the year 1950s on painters were dying more of cancer than were other people of the same age In order to see whether this was really the case a study was done of the pipecutters because we knew they were ' exposed to asbestos the insulators Here of course is pipe coverer Next slide please In the following years ten years later another unusual case was reported by another doctor The pleura the lining of the chest in another worker exposed to asbestos had become malignant That's this white material here Next slide please And then post mortem this was what was seen Again you're looking down at the post mortem table This white material is the cancer The lining of the chest in our lingo is the mesothelial lining a technical name Therefore when it becomes malignant we call it a mesothelioma Now in the past this was terribly rare How rare Well nobody really In the New York area on January 1 1963 there were 1,117 men in the two small locals in that area When they were examined half had abnormal X- rays more than 50 percent But it was interesting that of the 725 men with less than 20 years in the trade youngsters most had normal rays It was only after the year point that most of the rays became abnormal so- called year rule Nothing happens to youngsters They come in as apprentices when they're 17 18 20 and they live perfectly well until they're 45 50 55 and so forth Now with this knowledge of the year rule a list was made of every 11 184 PROCEEDINGOSF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION man who was in these locals on January 1 1943 1 Next slide please And they then saw what happen- ed to them over the next 20 years This is what happened 195 deaths were ex- pected 253 occurred Instead of 32 deaths of cancer there were 95. Instead of 6 deaths of lung cancer there were 42 Dr. Lynch had been right One out of lung every 5 of these men dies cancer And there were deaths in excess of mesothelioma cancer of the stomach the colon the rectum and so forth And so it became clear that people who were exposed to asbestos inhaling these little mineral fibers were dying in vast numberosf cancers Some of course died of scarred asbestosis this case 168 over those 10 years Next slide please So that the first case of asbestosis was seen in 1925. Large studies knew by 1931 that this could happen it could be fatal Lung cancer was known by 1935 pleural mesothelioma by 1943 peritoneal mesothelioma by 1954 and so forth Next slide please By 1982 two years ago of these original 632 men 532 were now dead instead of 358 who should have died Once more instead of 64 deaths of cancer there were 238. Instead of 16 deaths of lung cancer there were 105 Instead of no deaths of mesothelioma there were 50. And there were excess deaths of cancer of the esophagus the colon the rectum the stomach and so forth Next slide please When we looked at the entire membership of the pipe coverers in the United States on January 1 1967 there were on that day 17,800 men and we followed to see what happened over the next 10 years This is what happened Instead of 1,659 men dying 2,271 died Instead of 320 deaths of cancer there were 995. Instead of 106 deaths of lung cancer there were 486. Again one out of every five men dies of lung cancer Instead of no deaths of mesothelioma general that never occurs were 175. And again deaths of cancer of the esophagus the stomach the colon the rectum the kidney the larynx the mouth the tongue the sinuses and so forth Therefore we knew that in 1924 that inhaling these fibers could kill you Now we've done a lot of research since Many things have been found I've shown you some of them But really what we've been doing is simply describing how many different ways the fibers can kill you We knew this in 1924 Next slide please Now this is what we used to see This is a worker with asbestosis gasping for breath We put a tube in his throat so he'd have a little more air to breathe and it about . eight years to die Gradually less and less breath and so forth This doesn't happen much anymore Now the deaths occur much more rapidly slide because now the deaths are mostly of cancer Here's a construction worker shortly after being told he had mesothelioma Next slide please And this is eight months later We no longer have the eight years We now have the eight months Next slide please Now during this time we also learned something else We learned for example that smoking could give lung cancer The great American Cancer Society studies show that if you smoked you have much more lung cancer than if you did not smoke In fact the more INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF you smoked the more lung cancer you had Well what we have since found is that when asbestos is inhaled it makes this already very high catastrophe even worse Next slide please This for example is a construction worker mixing asbestos cement and he's inhaling the fibers through his cigarette Next slide please When we studied the asbestos workers in their union we also studied 73,000 men very much like them in the American Cancer Society study that was going on at the same time Next slide please This is what we found For men who were not exposed to asbestos and didn't smoke cigarettes their chance of dying of lung cancer was 11 per 100,000 per year If on the other hand they were exposed to asbestos it was five times as much 58 If they smoked but didn't work with asbestos it was 122 If they had both asbestos and smoking it was again five times as much but now five times an already very high level of cancer Next slide please Moreover we learned something else and it's a surprise to me that this information is not being more widely distributed If man has been exposed to asbestos and is smoking if he stops smoking within five years or so his chance of dying of cancer of the lung is about one- third or half compared to those of his buddies who continue to smoke We can reverse the next please some extent slide In this group we also learned something else This is when you die of asbestosis Nothing in the first 20 years FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION . And so it became clear that people who were exposed to asbestos inhaling these little mineral fibers were dying in vast numbers of cancers Some of course died of scarred asbestosis this case 168 over those 10 years Next slide please So that the first case of asbestosis was seen in 1925. Large studies knew by 1931 that this could happen it could be fatal Lung cancer was known by 1935 pleural mesothelioma by 1943 peritoneal mesothelioma by 1954 and so forth Therefore we knew that in 1924 that inhaling these fibers could kill you Now a we've done lot of research since Many youfl things have been found I've shown youfl some of them But really what we've been doing is simply describing how many different ways the fibers can kill~ you We knew this in 1924 ' Next slide please Now this is what used to see This is a worker with Estosis gasping for breath We put , a a tube in his throat so he'd have little * more air to breathe and it took about eight years to die Gradually less and less breath and so forth This doesn't happen much anymore Now the deaths occur much more rapidly slide co because now the deaths are - mostly of cancer Here's a construction worker shortly after being told he had mesothelioma Next slide please And this is eight months later We no 1 longer have the eight years We now have the eight months Next slide please Ig of Now during this time we also learn- BEZPE ed something else We learned for ex- ample that smoking could give lung BEZPE cancer The great American Cancer BEZPE Society studies show that if you smoked BEZPE you have much more lung cancer than if you did not smoke In fact the more INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 185 you smoked the more lung cancer you had Well what we have since found is that when asbestos is inhaled it makes this already very high catastrophe even worse Next slide please This for example is a construction worker mixing asbestos cement and he's inhaling the fibers through his cigarette Next slide please When we studied the asbestos workers in their union we also studied 73,000 men very much like them in the American Cancer Society study that was going on at the same time Next slide please This is what we found For men who were not exposed to asbestos and didn't smoke cigarettes their chance of dying of lung cancer was 11 per 100,000 per year If on the other hand they were ex- posed posetdo asbestos it was five times as much 58 If they smoked but didn't work with asbestos it was 122 If they had both asbestos and smoking it was again five times as much but now five times an already very high level of cancer Next slide please Moreover we learned something else and it's a surprise to me that this infor- mation is not being more widely distributed asbestos If a man has been exposed to and is smoking if he stops smoking within five years or so his chance of dying of cancer of the lung is about onethird or half compared to those of his buddies who continue to smoke We can reverse the next please some extent slide In this group we also learned something else This is when of asbestosis Nothing in the first 20 years and then it begins to go up Next slide please For lung cancer the same thing The difference between the number that oc- curred the number you would expect nothing for the first 15 or 20 years and then the remarkable increase that we see Next slide please The same thing is true for mesothelioma nothing the first 20 years and then it begins to climb Asbestos workers don't die when they're 20 25 30 they die when they're 50 55 60 Among the pipe coverers thirds are dead befor the age of 65. They don't know what to do with their pension funds Laughter Next slide please And the whole problem in this long period what we're seeing now the disease we're seeing now is due to our failures of the past and the exposure that are occurring now are going to result in the disease of the future Next slide please Here for example is one such case This is a man very nice man Mr. Weirst who had a mesothelioma That's this white material on your left over here I was asked to see him at the Bethesda Naval Hospital because he was a naval pilot and they were hoping that something might be done Next slide please An operation was done and as expected the fibers of asbestos were found in the lung Well where did the naval aviator get his asbestos to give him that cancer When you spoke to him you found yes he had the mesothelioma in 1977 he had retired from the Navy in 1966 next slide please had left the Navy after 30 years or so as a test pilot he had entered the Navy in 1939 when he graduated from Rutgers in New Jersey 186 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION and then he tells you that in '37 in order to make some money to go to school he had worked for six weeks in an asbestos factory and there he was 40 years later dying of mesothelioma and he has since passed away Next slide please The long incubation period the false sense of security The next lesson we learned is from this dirty old factory in Paterson New . Jersey In 1940 the Navy began to get materials for rebuilding our new Navy and they came to Paterson and asked them to send up a plan to make asbestos insulation Other plants were making electronic gear steel plate and so forth Next slide please From 1941 to 1945 this plant employed 933 men This is the E Award ceremony There's the Navy brass in the background Remember the E Awards in 1942 They did a good job These 933 men have been followed since and this is what happened Because of wartime conditions some men worked for only a month a week two months three months Some worked until the closedin '54 If they worked more than two years they had much more cancer than if they worked for a month or two But even less than one month of work provided you saw what happened over the next 30 years was more than enough to double the cancer risk Next slide please So you don't need much All you need is a brief exposure and then live long enough afterwards Next slide please We got our second piece of bad news in 1968. Dr. Harries a good doctor at the Royal Navy Dockyard in Davenport reported four cases five cases of mesothelioma Now what was interesting was that not one was an asbestos worker They were a welder a rigger a laborer an electrician a sheet metal worker NextNext slide please 1; this The import of was strikingstriking to all of us It must be of course to painters all over the country because it's meant that any work in shipyard and in the United States this was immensely im- portant because in World War II we employed four million men and women in our yards from 1941 to 1945 Four million men worked in our yards in all parts country with no protection with asbestos exposure Next slide please And one look at the inside It went by the way in 1943 to 1,750,000 men and women in November of '73 in our shipyards ' Next slide please And obviously everyone was inhaling the next one's dusts fumes vapors and so forth There was no way to escape this exposure Next slide please At the present time we are now see- ing almost a thousand mesotheliomas a year 800 to be exact from our failures in the shipyards in World War II We're now seeing roughly oh some 2 to 3,000 lung cancers as a result of that failure of not controlling that problem With this information we began to look all over the construction trades For example how many times have you people seen somebody mixing asbestos cement Nobody told the steamfitter nobody told the electrician He's wearing a mask he's on good behavior because I'm around otherwise he wouldn't be Next slide please Here's the spraying of the World Trade Center They found it was INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD O cheaper to actually spray the asbestos into the air on the seal as fireproofing Next slide please they And this as you can see very good job do a _ Next slide please Because much of it does get on the beams Laughter Next slide please This is what the ironworker got Next slide Next slide Next slide Next slide There are three million men in the construction trades at any one time in our country All other trades for example brake repairwork there are over a million men who have been doing brake repair and brake maintenance for the 150 million cars and trucks we have on the road and nobody told them the brake dust has about 50 percent asbestos and that the should vacuum it out instead of blowing it out Next slide please Or for example trades these new after World War II when we began to do drywall con- struction and left the plasterers to their own devices nobody told your men that spackling compound contained 12 to 15 percent asbestos I venture to say that there is no man in this hall who now doesn't have asbestos in his lungs Next slide please Or the marked use the growth of the use of asbestos cement products about thirds of all asbestos is used in asbestos cement Next slide please As a result from 1940 to 1980 we exposedin our country TY A GENERAL CONVENTION slide please : The import of this was to all striking 3 of us It must be of course to painters us all over the country because it's 3 meant the . that any work in a shipyard and in United States this was immensely im- 102 portant because in World War II we employed four million men and women in our yards from 1941 to A 1945 t Four million men worked d in our yards in all parts of the country with no protection with asbestos S exposure g Next slide please And one look at the inside It went by the way in 1943 to men d 1,750,000 and women in November of '73 in our le shipyards ls Next slide please _ And obviously everyone was inhaleding eding the next one's dusts fumes vapors H and so forth There was no way to FF1 escape this exposure FF1 Next slide please BEE at the present time we are now see- ing almost a thousand mesotheliomas a BEE year 800 to be exact from our failures BEE in the shipyards in World War II .W We're now seeing roughly oh some S 2 to 3,000 lung cancers as a result of ---- that failure of not controlling that problem ed With this information we began to ng look all over the construction trades se For example how many times have you NS people seen somebody mixing asbestos told at cement Nobody the steamfitter rt nobody told the electrician He's wear- of ing a mask he's on good behavior because I'm around otherwise he wouldn't be at Next slide please .ey World an Here's the spraying of the ext Trade Center They found it was fi INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 187 cheaper to actually spray the asbestos into the air on the seal as fireproofing Next slide please And this as you can see they do a very good job Next slide please Because much of it does get on the beams Laughter Next slide please This is what the ironworker got Next slide somewhere over 27 million workers to significant amounts of asbestos Of those some 20 million are now alive Next slide please In these trades in the construction trades shipbuilding insulation work powerhouses chemical plants refineries automobile mainte- nance steam locomotives et cetera we now have approximately 9,000 excess cancer each year and we'll have that at least until the year 2010. Somewhere around one death of cancer one excess death of cancer occurs every 58 minutes in our country and a problem that was know in 1924 Next slide Next slide Next slide Next slide please Here again is a mesothelioma That's this white cancer around the lungs You can see why death occurs The lung is shrunken There are three million men in construction trades at any : one time in our country All other trades for example brake repairwork there are over a million men who have been doing brake repair and brake maintenance for the 150 million cars and trucks we have on the road and nobody told them that the brake dust has about 50 percent asbestos and that the should vacuum it out instead of blowing it out Next slide please Or for example these new trades after World War II when we began to do drywall construction and left the plasterers to their own devices nobody told your men that spackling compound contained 12 to 15 percent asbestos I venture to say that there is no man in this hall who now doesn't have asbestos in his lungs Next slide please Or the marked use the growth of the use of asbestos cement products about thirds of all asbestos is used in asbestos cement Next slide please As a result from 1940 to 1980 we exposed in our country Next slide please With this informa- tion we had our third piece of bad news In 1960 Dr. Wagner a very capable pathologist in South Africa said reported that he had seen 47 cases mesothelioma Remember how rare this was At Mt. Sinai we saw one every ten years and this young whippersnapper came along and said I've seen 47 in five years We didn't believe him Dr. Stewart of the National Cancer Institute flew to South Africa to see the slides Dr. Wagner was right There was mesothelioma all over there He was also very clever He went and visited the surviving next of these men who had died and he found that in 47-45 out of the 47 there had been op- portunity 30 35 years before for some asbestos contact not very much Very often it was just 35 years before playing on the heaps outside of a mine et cetera very light contact telling us for the first time that you didn't need much asbestos to cause cancer You needed enough to start it at one point Then it grows on its own , o ooh ne Tate SARS. j i eramne 188 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION we Next slide please With this information Dr. Newhouse a very good epitheliologist at the London School of Hygiene looked at the 76 cases of to years she didn't want die She was old She had two children Her husband didn't want her to die He was angry mesothelioma the files at the London And she told us that when her dad Hospital Most were 60 65 She visited the residents children and of the 76 cases 31 had worked with asbestos That was no surprise Nine however had never worked with asbestos but came home from the shipyard in Quincy her mother would take his coveralls shake them out before putting them into the wash and the kids would be playing on the floor nearby Nobody thought twice about it and there she was 25 years later with her mesothelioma simply had lived in the household of an asbestos worker These were women wives who had washed their husbands Unfortunately we couldn't save her and she did die clothes when they came home from Next slide please We've been look- work the way your wives do Eleven had simply lived within a half mile of one of the plants in London again raising the question that you didn't need much asbestos to cause cancer ing at the wives and children of the workers in that factory in Paterson After 20 years one out one percent of all deaths have been due to mesothelioma The number of lung cancers among the wives and children have been about doubled please Next slide We've gone to con- struction workers houses taken the settled dust from the door jambs Next slide please And this is what you see in the construction worker's house- Next slide please you take the air sample itself oa Next slide please The whole problem of family contacts the problem is compounded with a new situation a situation in which you now find yourself and which construction workers all over the country all construction workers now find themselves Because in the period from 1900 to Next slide please is what's in brought the air of a construction worker in our country slide home on the clothes Here for example is one case Barbara Gurrie phonetic a very nice young woman This is a normal ray taken in 1974 Why Because her father died of lung cancer her mother died of mesothelioma They rayed the whole family She thank God had a normal ray Next slide please However three years later she also got mesothelioma That's the cancer the white material that you see here on your left 1980 we put 30 million tons ofasbestos in place in our buildings out ships our locomotives our chemical plants our refineries and 30 million tons is there and it's got to be maintained It's got to be repaired It's got to be renovated It's got to be demolished et cetera Next slide please The whole problem of maintenance and repair Next slide please That's all right This is a this is a policeman and he's sitting in the police station very angry because the asbestos in the ceiling dirties his desk each morning when he comes in And she came to Mt. Sinai because Next slide please We don't know what to do about that You see in virtually every basement asbestos paper fragmented con loose kids playing nearby Next slide please The whole tion for example of schools ' have according to the EPA la we now have 15 million child schools that have friable ay them They're sitting under ; et cetera os For example here is a _ months ago the GSA has annou that it was going to spend 57 million to remove the asbestos from the GSA building in San Francisco E _ Two weeks ago the Prudential In- surance Company announced that it was going to spend 30 million to remove the asbestos from their building in Boston Unfortunately the GSA and the Prudential have much more money than the rest of us Next slide please The first problem then that we had as we concurred was that we began to produce asbestos in factories and we saw disease there We then saw disease when people began to use it Now the problem is going to be what do we do with the asbestos in place What do construction workers do Because somebody is going to have to manage this Next slide please There are various ways of handling it Here's one At a court hearing not so long ago Dr. Har- mon who is a good physician the medical director for the largest shipyard in the world the Newport News Ship- yard Building Company I had written them several years before a couple years before saying that we were wor- ried about shipyards and they might really look into it ese onter He was then asked at trial Well FIFTH GENERAL CONVENTION 1 she didn't want to die She was 35 years old She had two children Her husband 1f didn't want her to die He was angry And she told us that when her dad came home from the shipyard in Quincy her mother would take his coveralls shake them out before putting them into the wash and the kids would be playing on the floor nearby Nobody thought twice about it and there she was 25 , years later with her mesothelioma Unfortunately we couldn't save her and she did die wee Next slide please We've been looking at the wives and children of the . workers in factory in Paterson f After 20 years one out one percent of all deaths have been due to 1 mesothelioma The number of lung cers among the wives and children ^been about doubled Next slide please The whole problem e of family contacts the problem is compounded with a new situation a situation in which you now find yourself and which construction workers all over the country all construction workers now find themselves e Because in the period from 1900 to 1980 we put 30 million tons of asbestos 1. in place in our buildings out ships our t locomotives our chemical plants our refineries and 30 million tons is there 2 and it's got to be maintained It's got to be repaired It's got to be renovated It's got to be demolished et cetera Next slide please The whole problem e of maintenance and repair 1 _ Next slide please That's all right This is a this is a policeman and he's B sitting in the police station very angry " because the asbestos in the ceiling dirties his desk each morning when he , comes in e Next slide please We don't know INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 189 what to do about that You see this is in virtually every basement This is asbestos paper fragmented coming loose kids playing nearby what did you do He said Well we rayed some men We found- Next slide please The whole question for example of schools We now have according to the EPA last week we now have 15 million children in our schools that have friable asbestos in them They're sitting under the ceilings ; et cetera . And what happened Well we found that they had asbestosis Well when you found that the shipyard workers at Newport News had asbestosis what did you do next For example here is a couple of months ago the GSA has announced that it was going to spend 57 million to remove the asbestos from the GSA ' We stopped raying them Laughter Well that's one thing to do building in Francisco Two weeks ago the Prudential In- surance Company announced that it Next slide please Now what is going ~ to happen You all know the terrible litigation problems that now exist Dr. was going to spend 30 million to MacEvoy who is Professor of remove the asbestos from their building Economics at Yale was asked by the in- in Boston surance industry to calculate how much Unfortunately the GSA and the Prudential have much more money than the rest of us it was going to cost the insurance industry He said " don't know Next slide please The first problem then that we had as we concurred was that we began to produce asbestos in After three months of study he said It's going to be somewhere between 40- and 80 billion factories and we saw disease there We then saw disease when people began to use it Now the problem is going to be what do we do with the asbestos in place What do construction workers do Because somebody is going to have to manage this Next slide please There are various ways of handling it Here's one At a court hearing not so long ago Dr. Har. Next slide please Dr. Johnson who is Professor of Economics at Syracuse said Well that's all well and good That's what it's going cost the insurance companies How much is it going to cost the rest of us the United States people in medicare medicaid Social Security and so forth And he's come up with the figure that it's going to cost us in the next 40 years over 300 billion for what mon who is a good physician the medical director for the largest shipyard in the world the Newport News Ship- yard Building Company I had written couple them several years before a years before saying that we were wor- ried about shipyards and they might really look into it wasn't done from 1924. And think of the those human suffering that represent ~ f ~ numbers Next slide please And I'd like to con- clude Well I want to include one state- ment Then I'll have an addendum | another broken promise ! . . He . was then asked at trial Well The first is that the statistics I've been showing you remind remind an : 190 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY GENERAL CONVENTION old saying in medicine that statistics are human with the wiped off vital tears And now if I have another couple of minutes Mr. Duval I would like to talk about another broken promise and that is the promise of workers compensation You know do any of you remember Gauley Bridge Does that name ring a bell with any of you In 1934-35 a disaster occurred in our country In Gauley Bridge a town in West Virginia the Union Carbide Comdecided to use a bend in the river _ : to build a tunnel through a mountain and use it to make electricity It took the pass through the tunnel that would give it the highest amount of silica because they could then use the silica to sell and it was almost pure silica They employed more than 3,000 men came from all over the country from the hills of West Virginia from New England from the south to work for 3.00 a day to dig this tunnel with no precautions no masks no ventilation We don't know what happened to these 3,000 men We know that at least 600 died of acute silicosis and this was an immense disaster In 1935-36 it led Frances Perkins under President Rooselvelt to begin to establish worker safety laws in our country and we were given a promise that there was going to be safety for the workers in our country That promise has not been kept Workers have gone to work as I've just shown you with these asbestos workers believing that somebody was taking care of things All they had heard about Assistant Secretaries of Labor and industrial hygienists and state Health Departments and the Public Health Service and inspectors and company departments and company physi- cians somebody was looking at things There was no somebody and you have seen for one material what happened in that regard But we had a second promise The second promise was If by chance you will be injured if you will be harmed if you will be hurt if you will become diseased we'll take care of things There will be workers compensation You won't be able to sue the employer so recourse only will be the workers compensation laws but at least you'll be getting something That was immediately challenged and it went to the Supreme Court because it said that workers were being made second citizens They would be the only group in our country who would not have the protection of the common law They could not go to court They . could they were insured could ~ not sue for redress They couldn't use the what our democracy had establish- ed for us in the common law over 500 .. years ago And the Supreme Court said Well it's not necessarily unconstitutional because there's a quid pro quo Yes they can't sue and they can't go to court and they don't have these rights but in exchange they have certainty of compensation at least adequacy of compensation and speed of compensation Well the quid has disappeared and the quo remains They don't have compensation Among the exposed workers only 5 percent have been given compensation They don't have speed They don't have certainty And they don't have adequacy The only thing they have is the inability to seek their rights This is now a national disgrace The workers compensation system in our country is in disarray Everybody ry INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF agrees Even the insurance industry agrees Even the employers agree to this as well Everyone agrees there is now need for change And so we have had broken promises We have had the broken promise that things would be safe And now we have the broken promise that if disease occurs that the worker or more often his widow his family will be taken care of It's my hope that with the leadership your Union now has with Mr. Duval with Mr. Wolford with Mr. Burkhardt with the highly competent people you are working with like Dr. Baker like Dr. Bingham that you are going to begin to reverse this trend Really again I would say that vital statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off Thank you Standing ovation GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Well you know this Brotherhood has spent millions of dollars on this program and a great deal of that because of the help our friends up here and believe me these people have spent their entire life on what they believe in and they are probably the finest friends that we have ever ever had in the history of our Brotherhood and I think again how about let's stand up and let them know what we really think about their efforts on our behalf Standing ovation Well you have seen what we have done and what we must continue to do I'm confident that our next decade of job safety will be even more productive than the one we have had We'll call on Brother Leber for announcements BROTHER OBERLEITNER Mr. . | Chairman Mike Oberleitner Local 781 We want to compliment these people Y oi GENERAL CONVENTION cians somebody was looking at things have There was no somebody and you seen for one material what happened in that regard But we had a second promise The second promise was If by chance you will be injured if you will be harmed if you will be hurt if you will become diseased we'll take care of things There will be workers compensation You won't be able to sue the employer so recourse only will be the workers compensation laws but at least you'll reee be getting something That was immediately challenged and it went to the Supreme Court because it said that workers were being made t second citizens They would be the t only group in our country who would . not have the protection of the common law They could not go to court could were insured could not sue for redress They couldn't use the what our democracy had established for us in the common law over 500 s ago And the Supreme Court said Well it's not necessarily unconstitutional because there's a quid pro quo Yes they can't sue and they can't go to court and they don't have these rights but in exchange they have certainty of compensation at least adequacy ofcompensation and speed of compensation Well the quid has disappeared and the quo remains They don't have compensation Among the asbestos workers only 5 percent have been given compensation They don't have speed They don't have certainty And they don't have adequacy The only thing they have is the inability to seek their rights This is now a national disgrace The workers compensation system in our country is in disarray Everybody INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES 191 agrees Even the insurance industry agrees Even the employers agree to this as well Everyone agrees there is now need for change And so we have had broken promises We have had the broken promise that things would be safe And now we have the broken promise that if disease occurs that the worker or more often his widow his family will be taken care of that gave this wonderful program this morning and set it up but there's just one little error that was in the film strip That listed Local 781 in Boston Massachusetts We have nothing against the City of Boston or the members and the Brothers from Boston Massachusetts but for your informa- tion Local 781 is in the great City of Milwaukee Wisconsin It's my hope that with the leadership Thank you very much your Union now has with Mr. Duval Laughter and applause with Mr. Wolford with Mr. Burkhardt with the highly competent people you GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL are working with like Dr. Baker like . Thank you Brother : Dr. Binghain that you are going to begin to reverse this trend GENERAL VICE PRESIDENT LEBER The Finance Committee will meet Really again I would say that vital statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off Thank you today after the afternoon session in the Adams Room on the Terrace Level That's the Finance Committee will meet today after the afternoon session in the Adams Room on the Terrace Level Standing ovation GENERAL PRESIDENT DUVAL Well you know this Brotherhood has spent millions of dollars on this program and a great deal of that because of the help our friends up here and believe me these people have spent their entire life on what they believe in and they are probably the finest friends that we have ever ever had in the history of our Brotherhood and I think again how about let's stand up and let them know what we really think about their efforts on our behalf Standing ovation Well you have seen what we have done and what we must continue to do I'm confident that our next decade of job safety will be even more productive than the one we have had . We'll call on Brother Leber for Jim Stinson Chairman of the General Treasurer's Report Committee asks that all members of that Committee report to the Hemisphere Room immediately upon this noon adjourn- ment That's the Committee for the General Treasurer's Report will meet in the Hemisphere Room immediately upon adjournment The Fourth and Sixth District Dinner Party will be held tonight Tuesday Buses will leave at 6:30 p.m. from the Terrace Level The Fourth and Sixth District Dinner Party will be held tonight and the buses will leave at 6:30 p.m. from the Terrace Level A reminder to the Fifth District delegates that the Fifth District Dinner will be held tonight 8:00 p.m. in the Jefferson Room on the Con- , course Level announcements BROTHER OBERLEITNER Mr. Chairman Mike Oberleitner Local 781 We want to compliment these people Those delegates that need a copy of Pamphlet No. 1 there are some at the end of the podium here so if you don't have that pamphlet No. 1 there are some available at the end of the podium