“Can They DO That?”

In today's workplaces, workers are faced with ever-changing conditions – new materials, equipment, technologies and ways of restructuring work, resulting in speed-up and understaffing, with remaining workers working harder and longer. To add insult to injury, when workers get hurt – often related to these changed conditions - they are told it's their fault by a myriad of “blame-the-worker” policies, practices and programs. While some government health and safety regulations may provide recourse on certain issues, much of what is contributing to worker injury, illness, stress and death is not regulated by a government health and safety apparatus. Workers and their unions, frustrated with management decisions that are increasingly putting their health and lives at risk, ask, “Can they DO that?” This presentation will review some union rights under U.S. labor law to fight back against workplace change that is having (or can have) negative health and safety impacts; and explore some successful workplace strategies that can be used regardless of the legal framework in place.