Working on the "nuts and bolts" of running safety training are, from left, GCIU Vice Pres. Edward J. Toff; Nashville 513S Pres. Dan Jernigan; and Rob Theisen, director of Philadelphia 14M's Andrew Gress Graphic Arts Institute.

From left are: Eugene Binda, Boston 3N; Chattanooga 197M Rec. Secy. Roger Crosswhite; and Lancaster 138B Secy.-Treas. Kathy Timmins.

Diagraming a logic tree to determine the cause and solution for a safety problem are from left: Jack Casio of Nassau County 406C; Atlanta 8M Pres. Dale Harrell; Denver 440M Pres. Paul Greene; and Sara Ramos of Des Moines 727S.

St. Louis 505M Health and Safety Director George Rogers, second from right, helps summarize the activity on repetitive stress led by, from left, San Francisco 4N Secy.-Treas. Anthony Sangervasi, Dave Trettin of Clinton 711S, and Midwest Newspaper 128N Vice Pres. Joe Kunkemoeller, far right.

GCIU project director Joe Anderson of The Labor Institute, makes training suggestions. Seated from left are Denver 440M Pres. Paul Greene and Atlanta 8M Pres. Dale Harrell.

The GCIU's third safety and health technical train-the-trainer session focused on a core group of trainers to help them sharpen the skills they need to expand the program at the grassroots level.

At the training session in Milwaukee, GCIU Vice Pres. Edward J. Toff said the International received the third year of funding for the Susan Harwood training grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. This grant, developed in conjunction with The Labor Institute, funds the GCIU's safety training program and the development of the training manual and other materials.

The original grant from the Clinton administration had been for five years, with the requirement that the GCIU must reapply for funding every year. The remaining years of funding became doubtful when the incoming Bush administration announced its intention to cancel the safety training grants.

Toff, who directs education activities for the International, said "we had to work very hard to get this third year and received a lot of help and support from our friends in the political arena, from local leaders and from some employers who have already seen the benefits of the safety training in their shops."

Joseph A. Anderson of The Labor Institute, which directs the GCIU project, said the group of 14 local leaders and activists at the Milwaukee train-the-trainer session were primarily members who had attended earlier sessions. "They are worker trainers who have selected themselves to continue training," he said. Also in the group were two new Spanish-speaking recruits – Ed Rosario of San Francisco 4N and Sara Ramos of Des Moines 727S.

Anderson reported that 688 people were trained during the first two years of the grant program in 26 training sessions. Every worker-trainer conducted training sessions over the first two-year period.

Workers trained included those at the Boston Globe and Herald; Pearl Pressman Liberty in Philadelphia; CPC in Cadmus, Pa.; Newsday on Long Island, N.Y.; and the entire workforce of Mead-Westvaco, which is under contract to Atlanta 527S. The Mead-Westvaco training was performed in cooperation with company management and the workers were trained on company time, Anderson noted. Training sessions also were held at local unions and GCIU conferences around the United States.

Anderson said other accomplishments include the completion of the training workbook by the GCIU curriculum team. In addition to Anderson, the team includes Ron Westmoreland, Labor Institute senior staff; Nashville 513S Pres. Dan Jernigan; and Rob Theisen, director of Philadelphia 14M's Andrew Gress Graphic Arts Institute.

Westmoreland outlined the four goals set for the advanced class for the week. These included exercises in systems of safety, which is the core of the GCIU's safety and health training program. Systems of safety help workers learn how to recognize safety problems in their shops and analyze them for possible solutions.

Topics covered in this area include lockout/tagout situations, hazardous chemical handling, electrical and fire hazards, confined space hazards, and other physical and chemical hazards. The core area also teaches members strategies for approaching management on safety problems.

Ron Westmoreland, Labor Institute senior staff, works on the "logic tree," that provides a structure to analyze the causes and solutions of safety problems.

The trainers also reviewed the small group activity method, which provides the adult learning structure for the courses. This method breaks a class down into small groups, who then work on problems together.

The other goals were learning to use the new GCIU workbook for safety and health training and developing strategies to organize safety and health training sessions when the trainers return to their local unions.

The flexibility of the training modules allows training to be adapted to available time periods, ranging from a few hours or a few days.

Local unions and GCIU contract companies that want to set up health and safety training sessions can contact Toff at GCIU headquarters: 1900 L St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 or 202-462-1400 or etoff@gciu.org. Another contact is Rob Theisen at GGAI: 215-533-8550 or rtheisen@ggai.com.

At left, working on an exercise, are from left: San Francisco 4N Vice Pres. Ed Rosario; Dan Huziak, Toronto 100M; and Leo Gatto, St. Louis 505M. At right, Atlanta 527S Chapel Chairman Eddie Williams and Rich Williams of Erie 73C lead activities on systems of safety.