In bargaining this week, management’s team rejected our proposals to address workplace violence and other crucial safety issues, arguing that the status quo is good enough to keep employees safe.
Here are a couple problems with this argument:
- The status quo resulted in two of our own being violently attacked last year
- By management’s own admission, they have not been following the law
OSHA requires employers to involve employees and union representatives in developing workplace violence plans. Did Encino management reach out to us? Not a single time. Did they provide an explanation for why not? Also no.
The status quo is unsafe and unacceptable.
When we pressed management’s team on their infectious disease exposure policies, they reaffirmed their commitment to doing the bare minimum. They treat Hep B exposure, and they treat and vaccinate for TB, as required by law, but for every other type of exposure management wants Nurses to use Workman’s Comp – essentially the legal remedy of last resort for employees of negligent employers. This only-the-bare-minimum approach shows that Prime does not care about our health and safety at all.
