Article 22: Safety and Health

Section 22.1: Intent

A. The Company shall make provisions for the safety and health of its employees at the plant during the hours of their employment and mutually agree to establish a joint Safety and Health Committee.

B. Safe work practices are all employees’ responsibility. It is the duty of all employees to fully abide by all the Company safety policies and rules regarding safe work procedures and the wearing of personal protective equipment. Any employee failing to abide by such policies shall be subject to appropriate discipline.

C. Staying current with required safety training requires that employees have an obligation to attend training. Employees will be provided with opportunities to receive required safety training, including the scheduling of approved overtime if necessary.

D. The Union and the Company will cooperate in encouraging employees to observe the safety rules and regulations and to work in a safe manner. The Union and the Company recognize that safety and health can be more effectively promoted through joint effort of the parties, and carelessness on the part of employees which could result in injury to themselves or fellow employees, willful breakage of safety equipment, failure to wear or use safety protective devices provided by the Company or to abide by Safety Rules will not be condoned.

E. One member of the Union Safety and Health Committee may accompany, without loss of pay during regular working hours, an inspection tour conducted by the Accident Prevention Division of the State of Oregon or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Section 22.2: Safety Equipment

A. As a condition of continued employment, all employees shall be required to wear special protective equipment and other devices necessary to properly protect the employee's safety and health and which shall be provided by the Company in accordance with good safety and health practices. Safety hats, safety glasses, goggles, gas masks, face shields, respirators, special purpose gloves, fire proof, water proof, and acid proof protective clothing and/or other such special needs necessary and required by the Safety Rules shall be provided by the Company without cost to properly protect employees while at work; except that the Company may make a fair charge to cover loss for willful or careless destruction thereof by the employee. The employee will turn in or account for any worn out or unsafe item before receiving a free replacement. When new safety requirements present themselves, the Health and Safety Committee shall implement them.

B. The Company will not require employees to exchange protective clothing, such as boots or wool suits, nor shall they require employees to exchange goggles, gas masks or respirators.

C. It shall be the responsibility of the Company to maintain in good order all protective devices, safety equipment and ventilating and heating systems. Employees shall be required to use needed safety equipment and shall exercise reasonable care of such safety devices and equipment.

D. The Safety and Health Committee shall make inspections as needed, but no less than every three months.

E. Safety toed shoes or boots shall be annually reimbursed up to One Hundred Twenty Five Dollars ($125.00) one time per year for all employees not in the lead program, with metatarsal boots required. For employees regularly working under the lead program, the boot allowance will me made available not less often than every six (6) months, with metatarsal boots required.

Section 22.3: Hazardous Conditions

A. An employee who believes that he is being required to work under hazardous conditions beyond the normal hazards inherent in the operation in question will consult with his supervisor concerning such work. He may request the presence of his departmental Safety Committeeman or shift safety representative within the department before returning to work. If no solution satisfactory to him is reached with the supervisor and the Safety Committeeman concerning the hazard involved and the employee still feels he is being required to work under hazardous conditions the employee may:

1. Request that the Company Safety Director and the Chairman of the Union Safety Committee or their designated representative confer immediately to ascertain whether the work in question is hazardous. If it is determined to be unsafe, the employee upon request shall be assigned to other work at no loss in pay. This clause shall not be used for purposes of concerted activity or to avoid unpleasant working -conditions.

Or, as an alternative action the employee may:

2. File a grievance on said condition at Step II of the Grievance Procedure. It is understood and agreed that if a grievance is filed on an alleged hazardous working condition, the employee will continue to work and management representatives shall give said grievance preferred handling, and shall expedite its movement through the grievance procedure.

B. Nothing in paragraph 1 above shall preclude the Company from assigning another employee to the job in question and no employee, other than communicating the facts relating to the safety of the job, shall take any steps to prevent the assigned employee from working on the job.

Section 22.4: Joint Committee

A. The Joint Safety and Health Committee composed of one (1) member from each department for the Union, appointed by the Union, and an equal number of representatives appointed by the Company shall meet monthly or more frequently as the Committee may determine to investigate conditions pertaining to safety and health, to consider existing practices and rules, to formulate proposed changes and to investigate all lost time accidents and to establish its own rules.

B. Time lost by Union members of the Committee for time in regular, joint monthly meetings and for regularly scheduled work time devoted to joint investigations by the Safety Committee, or other Safety Committee work under this Article shall be counted and paid as time worked.

C. A copy of the Plant Accident Report shall be furnished to the Chairman of the Union's Safety and Health Committee.

D. Minutes shall be kept of all committee meetings and copies of all such minutes shall be prepared by the Company and made available to all members of the Joint Safety and Health Committee, the plant manager or his representative, and the President of the Local Union.

E. It is agreed that the established joint Safety and Health Committee acts in an advisory capacity and that the International Union, Local Union, and its officials or agents shall not be liable for any work-connected -injuries, disabilities or diseases which may be incurred by employees.

Section 22.5: Injured Employee

A. Any employee who becomes unable to perform his regular duties because of a Compensable Injury incurred in the employ of the Company may be temporarily assigned to any regular production or maintenance vacancy (temporary or permanent) or to a new light duty job in the plant that he is capable of performing. When assigned a light duty job such employee shall receive his regular rate of pay until such time as the employee returns to regular production or maintenance work.

B. A vacancy in regular production or maintenance filled by an employee working with restrictions may have the bidding and awarding of a permanent vacancy postponed for a period not to exceed ninety (90) calendar days, after which time the job will be awarded in accordance with Article 8.

C. An employee working with restrictions shall be treated the same as an employee returning from a leave of absence for accident or illness, Section 16.5 of this Agreement, when the restricted employee receives an unrestricted work release from a physician.

D. The Company has the right, provided the Company complies with the mental or physical restrictions of a physician, to assign and schedule light duty employees according to operational requirements. In matters of assignment and scheduling, the location of work assigned or the nature of work performed shall not be the basis of a dispute or the filing of a grievance. The only basis for a grievance under this Section is whether the Company is complying with a physician's restrictions.

E. Nothing in this section is intended to conflict with the application of the seniority provisions provided for in this Agreement.

Section 22.6: No Loss of Pay on Day of Injury

An employee hurt in an industrial accident shall be paid for the time lost on the day he was injured at the rate of pay he would normally receive on that day provided his doctor forbids his return to work for the rest of the shift. The Company shall provide transportation for medical treatment as a result of an industrial accident on the day of injury. It is not the intent of the above provisions to make the Company responsible for the payment of such time and transportation that is compensated by Workmen's Compensation.