On the 10th anniversary of the tragedy at Standard Gravure, Louisville 619M called for government, management and labor to work together to prevent workplace violence.

Local 619M Pres. Richard Street said government and management representatives responded favorably to his call.

Kentucky Lt. Gov. Steve Henry, a physician who was working in the emergency room when the Standard Gravure victims were brought in, announced a government task force to study the problem of workplace violence.

At the press conference announcing the plan, Henry said workplace violence has been studied in recent years, but "there really hasn't been any tremendous effort to change conditions that cause it. It's certainly time to put that knowledge to effect and try to make some changes."

Also backing the task force is Kentucky state Rep. Joni Jenkins (D), whose father Jim Jenkins was president of Local 619M when the Standard Gravure tragedy occurred.

In addition, Street said, management representatives from Southern Graphics Systems and Ivy Hill Packaging – both GCIU employers – have committed to developing workplace programs to help prevent violence. Also in place are a team of experts who are conducting management seminars about workplace violence.

Street said the problem of workplace violence was brought home by the incident at Standard Gravure and elsewhere in the GCIU. At Standard Gravure, which has since closed, a disabled pressman shot and killed eight co-workers and wounded 12 before killing himself on Sept. 14, 1989.

Street told the Graphic Communicator that workplace violence "at first appeared to me to be too complex an issue to deal with. But after listening to the experts, it seems that with the training and commitment of both labor and management, it would not only make a safer workplace; it would change the entire social interaction in a working environment. This change happens because both sides must adhere to treating each other and their co-workers in a dignified, non-intimidating manner."

"There will never be a 100 percent solution," Street said, "but this program will go a long way toward solving the problem."

Brian Bobal, GCIU Safety and Health director, who attended the Louisville press conference with Street, Joni Jenkins and Jim Jenkins, said the International hopes joint programs like Local 619M's will grow around the nation.

"Neither government, management nor unions can solve this growing problem alone," Bobal said. "We must work together."