Saturday, November 21, 2009

PUBLIC & PRIVATE: OSHA EXISTS FOR A REASON



Safety rules for the workplace are implemented for a good reason. They provide the optimal working conditions for private and municipal employees when followed correctly. Have there been incidents in the area you'd like to highlight?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike this is a fantastic video. Share it with DPW.

Anonymous said...

Mike, If you speak up in the City of Kingston you are labeled someone who doesn't want to work.

Anonymous said...

10:50 your right on the money. You're labled lazy or a trouble maker. Someday one of those sixteen may be a City of Kingston employee. Wrongful death suits costs millions. The new safety officer is condoning picking up trash from both sides of the street. Maybe where she lives there isn't a lot of traffic.

Anonymous said...

This is exactly why there is a manning clause in the firefighters contract. Without it, uniformed politicians (like Landi) would reduce the number firefighters to even more dangerous levels for short term political gain.

Anonymous said...

I am all for being safe, even though the DPW employees just recently saw the light on safety when it was convenient for them. But last week I saw trash collection being done on the Boulevard. Only collecting on one side of the street, which I agree is safe, but my dead grandmother could walk faster than these guys were walking. And when they brought the cans back to the curb you would have thought that they were handling fine china the way these guys were placing the cans on the ground.

And since we are only collecting on one side of the street what is the point of having two men on the back of the truck. These two weren't both holding a trash can at the same time. Is the city a "Two man Trade" I haven't heard that term since my construction union days.

These are just my observations during the LONG wait that I had behind them because I felt it wasn't "safe" to pass. Workers like this are not helping their cause any. I know many guys that would give their right arm to have a city DPW job right now and then they would work faster with that one arm.

Anonymous said...

There is NOTHING in the city contract for DPW that says how fast they have to work or at what pace, period. Each trash run picks up an average of 9 or 10 TON of trash per truck! That is alot of hauling for two guys. That is why there are two men not one on back of truck. The compensation cases would skyrocket with just one guy picking up ten ton of trash! Just so you know Mr. 1:11...

Anonymous said...

5:28 You are correct that there is nothing in the contract that says how hard you must work. But you have to work. I believe your numbers are a little low. Its between 12 and 14 tons a day.

Trash pick up canot be done without 2 laborers. Cardboard and paper on the other hand can be done with 1 laborer but would require another truck and driver.

Anonymous said...

Exactly, Mike. What I've seen is again DPW, sewer work on Broadway--someone holding a flag but not using it(??!!). Roadwork on Albany Avenue--same thing. Roadwork on Washington Avenue near Hurley Ave.--- same thing. Safety on such work involves traffic and workers--but without someone doing flagwork in some manner that approximates correctness both safety items are OUT the WINDOW. Others have apparently observed other safety issues in other venues and in some cases fault supervision. The reality is safety certainly is a big and valid issue, but some attention thereto has to be paid to it by someone.
Beyond the relatively superficial budget battles, safety of both public and worker remains at issue;moreover, no one has done any systematic study of issues in DPW and therefore really has no overall basis to make any conclusion beyond an observation so this is why nothing is ever improved in DPW. No elected leader seems to "wanna work." "Could that BE??"

Anonymous said...

9:05
just so you know it was not dpw doing the work on braodway or washington and hurly ave so dont be so quick to say it was them thats how they bad rep. by people saying stuff with out checking it out and to know who they are talking about

Anonymous said...

Mike Schupp admitted that ending STINT was not his idea but the Mayor's. Again he doesn't stick up for his men, just does what he's told.

Anonymous said...

I hope everyone understands that municipal workers are NOT tax exempted and pay taxes just like everyone else, plus pay for their benefits out of their pay checks.So in actuality they pay twice for their benefits!

Anonymous said...

Well then 3:31, if it wasn't DPW doing the work to which I referred, then since you "seem" to know, could you enlighten us all on this board on this subject, thus being useful instead of attacking a messenger??
I doubt it because I think you are wrong, period. But let's see what you have to say anyway in case you dare.

Anonymous said...

to 10:33
i was not attacking you at all just know who your talking about it was merrit construction from saugerties and on washington and hurley ave they are building cvs private contractors just because some one i working in the street you think it dpw come on now and again i would not think of attacking any one on here

Anonymous said...

What is up with all of this construction - be it on the City roads or elsewhere - being done by company's from outside the City of Kingston? Where does DPW work begin and end - and these other "contractual" (I assume?) issues come in? Do we have any major construction (speaking of road work in this instance) businesses in the City of Kingston? Maybe this [if such contracts are absolutely necessary] is the type of business [or one type of business] that Steve Finkle and co should look at bringing in? Just questions. Maybe dumb? But it seems like there is too much City of Kingston work (basic work; road work; construction work...) being contracted out.

NS