Business Spotlight

IUE was created at the CIO’s Eleventh Constitutional Convention in Cleveland in 1949. In 2001, they merged with the CWA (Communication Workers of America) as the Industrial Division of CWA. IUE-CWA represents approximately 50,000 manufacturing and industrial workers in a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, furniture, appliances, healthcare, and public sector workers. In addition, IUE-CWA represents contract workers covered by the Service Contracts Act (SCA), who service military fighter jets and other aircrafts, support satellite operations, provide ID badge services, and are employed in a range of other service occupations for federal contractors.

The IUE-CWA Occupational Safety and Health department is committed to ensuring that every member return home at the end of their workday with the same health and quality of life they had at the beginning of their day. To achieve this goal, they work with local officers and their businesses to develop safety committees. The committees work to reduce the risk of workplace injuries and illnesses and promote practices that minimize unsafe work conditions and target compliance with federal and state health and safety regulations.

Developing a safety culture for its members is extremely important for the IUE-CWA. Safety Specialist Debra Fisher says most companies don’t have a robust safety program and a lot of workers need the important education to stay safe on the job. She says OSHAcademy helps fill that gap, with the concept of worker involvement being an important component. “Educating them to know what safety rules are out there and helping employees prevent the accidents is important,” Fisher says. “We partner with their businesses to be successful.” Although Fisher feels it is necessary to have safety committees within an organization, that is not always feasible. However, she says it is important that companies have at least one person on a safety team to protect workers.

Most of the union members are working full-time and do not have time to take safety training. Finding those hours are sometimes tough. Fisher says OSHAcademy training gives the worker an opportunity to go back and continue their training on their own time, which is a huge benefit to them. One member recently told her after he took OSHAcademy training, he no longer just walks by a hazard. He now knows what to look for during his walk-throughs. “The reality is that every incident is created by a hazard. It is knowing and identifying the hazards that is important,” Fisher added.

Fisher puts completed OSHAcademy certificates into a folder for each student, so they are very proud of them. It is also a benefit that those certificates follow the worker from company to company. “I have had a lot of compliments from workers who feel empowered mentally,” she adds. “This also challenges other people in the company to take the training.”

OSHAcademy would like to recognize IUE-CWA for their continued efforts toward workplace safety and health.