Respirators Benefit Workers and Contractors
Chicago Local’s Program Protects Lungs, Eyes, and Pockets

Editor’s note: After hearing a presentation by Local 52 Illinois President Bill Meyers at a BAC PCC Labor-Management Craft Committee meeting, Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR) staff felt his Local’s initiative and story needed a wider audience. The following article ran in a recent issue of CPWR’s newsletter with the hope that other at-risk trades would learn from Local 52’s experience.

BAC Local 52 in Chicago has taken labor-management cooperation to a new level to protect the health of its pointing/cleaning/caulking members. A respirator program run by the Union but funded by employers helps meet OSHA requirements for worker protections, reducing exposures to silica. The program controls costs by avoiding unnecessary repeat fit-tests and medical evaluations. And, because workers are consistently wearing full-face masks, it’s also reducing eye injuries from flying masonry grit. An eye injury reportedly can cost up to $1,000 for medical care and time off.

“In the beginning, there was some resistance,” said Bill Meyers, business representative for the Local Union. “But [now] there’s a very positive reaction from workers. The employers are pleased they can get to work right away without taking a day off for fit testing and evaluation.”

Many of the Local Union’s 1,600 members work in masonry restoration, removing old mortar for repointing. They use electric saws, grinders (chop saws), and electric wrecking hammers to dry-cut, chip, or remove mortar or concrete. In the process, silica dust fills the air. Silica can damage the lungs, causing shortness of breath. In time, silicosis can kill. Silica exposures increase the chances of getting tuberculosis and lung cancer.

In 2000, after OSHA inspectors found five worksites in the Chicago area not complying with the requirements for a silica-protection program, the Tuckpointing Contractors Association in northeastern Illinois and the Union set up the Tuckpointing Industry Promotional Fund to provide a program with OSHA input.

OSHA holds employers responsible for a respiratory-protection program to protect against silica exposures and each contractor must have a written site plan. Before masonry restoration begins, there must be a written safety-and-health program, medical evaluation of new workers, a breathing test (in some cases), and proper fitting of a full-face double-cartridge respirator.

But, with contractor encouragement, Local 52 got OSHA approval to coordinate a program. A BAC member serves as part-time program coordinator, with help from an outside contractor. The program cost, about $180 per worker per year, is built into the negotiated wage.
During winter layoff, silica awareness, scaffold, and OSHA 10-hour training are given at the Local union hall. In March each member gets an annual respirator-fit test at the union hall. Every third year, a member is given a medical evaluation of fitness to use a respirator. (New members may get an evaluation and fit testing some evenings during the work season.) Each member is given a red card to show employers when the last fit test and medical evaluation were done. The member is paid for the two hours that program participation requires. Respirator parts and filters are provided free.

Any member who is found grinding masonry without wearing a respirator is disciplined with, first, a warning, then a day off without pay, then termination.

On Center, newsletter of The Center to Protect Workers’ Rights, is available free of charge: www.cpwr.com