APWU, USPS Sign VPP Safety Agreement

APWU Web News Article #1-04, July 13, 2004

The American Postal Workers Union and the U.S. Postal Service reached an agreement July 12 to jointly promote OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs in every postal facility that chooses to participate.

"The USPS and the APWU recognize the benefit of establishing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Programs at postal worksites," the agreement says. "The parties agree that jointly promoting OSHA VPP at worksites will enhance worker safety and health."

The agreement [PDF] endorses the VPP goals to improve safety and health practices at worksites in ways that demonstrably reduce the severity of and number of accidents and on-the-job injuries. USPS worksite managers, supervisors, APWU representatives, and all members of Local Joint Labor-Management Safety and Health Committees will receive training to ensure their comprehension of the OSHA VPP process.

The agreement provides for national-level joint efforts to:

• Provide guidance and support to all worksites considering participation in a VPP;
• Jointly develop and provide a national training program for area and site participants;
• Assist at the worksite level in opening dialogs about safety and health issues in order to best resolve them;
• Share innovative processes and OSHA-identified "best practices"; and
• Review and evaluate the progress of worksites participating in a VPP.

The agreement provides Joint Area support for sites participating in VPP that will include monitoring the process and assisting in the resolution of issues that are brought to light, and in reviewing and evaluating VPP site-specific reports. The evaluations will identify "best practices" that will be shared with other local sites.

Any APWU Local that wishes to be involved in VPP is encouraged to do so. To get started, notify Safety and Health Specialist Corey Thompson in the APWU Industrial Relations Department at 202-842-4273.

The Voluntary Protection Program is a long-standing program with a proven record of reducing injuries and illnesses - OSHA data show that the average VPP worksite has a lost-workday incidence rate more than 50 percent below the industry average.

"When a site takes part in a VPP, it strengthens Local Joint Labor-Management Safety and Health Committees as it improves conditions on the floor," APWU President William Burrus said. "We see this agreement as another positive step in assuring that members are provided a safe workplace."

Burrus noted that OSHA will provide national recognition to locals that successfully implement exceptional safety and health programs.

There currently are 14 USPS facilities in the VPP program: Pittsburgh AMC and Scranton P&DC in Pennsylvania; Albany VMC, Utica City (Albany) Customer Service, Glen Falls Post Office, Rochester P&DC, Western Nassau VMC, and Syracuse P&DC in New York; and the Baton Rouge P&DC, Northern HASP (Westborough, MA) facility, Omaha P&DC, Hickory (NC) P&DC, Reagan National (VA) AMC, and Montgomery (AL) P&DC.

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