Explaining Health and Safety Rules
It is the employer’s responsibility to enforce their rules, including safety rules. The union can and should educate members about safety hazards. PEF has an entire Safety and Health Department to assist you in this area. Sometimes it’s helpful to explain agency health and safety rules to workers. But workers don’t need their stewards to be safety cops (‘Put on your ear plugs!’) or sound like the boss giving them warnings. When a worker doesn’t understand a rule, a steward can explain it in such a way that the employee feels supported and capable. “Did you know you can get in trouble for leaving early for lunch, Bill?” will get a better response from members than “One more time Bill, and you’re gonna get disciplined!”
When people violate rules, they’re endangering not only their own health and safety, but also the relationship of the union to the employer, so it’s in everyone’s best interests to follow the rules.
