Workplace Safety

I have been away all week at meetings and tonight was the first evening that I was able to put my kids to bed and catch up on a little bit of reading.  When I started reading Safety Culture, I was immediately struck by the You Tube video posted on the site.  It was a hilarious recording of a four year-old boy calling 911 for help with his math problems.  During the call you could hear his mother yelling at him in the background and the child's response being, "You said when I needed help ....to call somebody".  

As we celebrate the 38th Earth Day, we take this moment to remove our hats to environmentalists - the pioneers that kick-started change back in 1970, as well as the folk carrying on that good work today. As pioneers of a social movement of our own - health, safety and wellness at work - you could say we are "green" with envy at the success won by the eco-crowd.

I don't know about you, but I never thought of the subway operator or bus driver who helps me move around my city as a soldier of war - but I do now. They're being kicked, punched, spit on, screamed at and more - every single day on the job.

My hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is facing the imminent possiblity of a transit strike that would paralze this city of more than 2 million. Does the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) have the right to strike?... That's not my concern here; I'm honed in on the issue of respect for workers - and that's definitely on the negotiation table.

My first real job, at 16, was working as a sandblaster of large tanks in an oil refinery. The contractor that hired me gave me an orientation period of 10 minutes. The swing bridge that held me up 60 feet in the air was held in place by nylon rope. My work entailed holding onto a pressure hose of 200 lbs. psi - with only a pair of gloves and a wire mask! I quit on the second day.

The next day, the worker who replaced me cut off a part of his right hand.

Last night I was just catching up on a few blogs that I try to regularly read and I was shocked when I read a post from Seth Godin about his near- death experience in a bagel mixer.

It is amazing to me how many people have serious accidents at their jobs and yet how society's attitude towards workplace safety is apathetic at best.