CSEA President Say Employees Know Best, Ways to Combat Workplace Violence

from Civil Service Employees Association

“This rule will have a profound impact on the working lives of thousands of public employees and it will save lives,” CSEA President Danny Donohue told state Department of Labor officials today about a proposed DOL rule that would require public employers to put in place workplace violence prevention programs to protect their workers.

At a public hearing on the proposed rule before it takes effect, the union leader said the rule will build upon the Worksite Security Act of 2006, which CSEA spearheaded and which provides safer workplaces for New York’s public employees.

“New York now leads the nation in protecting its public employees from potential workplace violence. CSEA believes this rule will further reduce the threat of violence against our members,” Donohue said.

Donohue said the fact that the proposed rule will save lives should outweigh employer complaints that it may be burdensome to enforce.

“In light of the lives that will be saved, the argument that this will be too burdensome holds very little water with us,” the union leader said.

Donohue stressed that employers would benefit from worker input when developing their workplace violence prevention programs.

“Workers know what the problems are, they know where the problems are and, for the most part, they know how to fix them,” Donohue said. “Workers are the ones in the trenches when it comes to workplace violence. Who could be better suited or more motivated to help develop an effective and comprehensive workplace violence prevention program than the people whose necks are on the line?”

Always at the forefront in the fight for worker safety, CSEA played a leading role in enacting New York’s Public Employee Safety and Health Act in 1980. The union intensified its fight for safer work sites in 1992 after a disgruntled client murdered four CSEA members employed at the Schuyler County Department of Social Services at their workplace. CSEA’s leadership and persistence led to New York’s historic Worksite Security Act, which became law in 2006. The law requires all public employers to assess potential workplace violence risks and take appropriate measures to reduce those risks.

National statistics strongly support the need for protection against worksite violence. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reports the following: * Violence is a substantial contributor to death and injury on the job. NIOSH data indicates that homicide has become the second leading cause of occupational injury death, exceeded only by motor vehicle-related deaths. * Homicide is the third leading cause of death on the job for men and the leading cause of death for women in the workplace. * Government workers make up 18 percent of the U.S. work force, but 31 percent of the victims of workplace violence.