Rewards and unspoken practices hampering safety in the workplace

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America's Work Force Union Podcast Government Health, Welfare, and Safety AWF Government Affairs and Policy Community Involvement NCOSH

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Guest Name:

Peter Dooley

Guest Website:

https://nationalcosh.org/

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National Council for Operational Safety and Health Certified Industrial Hygienist and Safety Professional Peter Dooley visited with the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed workplace safety issues and the reporting of injuries.

For over 45 years, Dooley has been involved as a professional safety worker. He began his career with the United Auto Workers and spent nearly 25 years with the union. Currently, he works for NCOSH and specializes in worker education with an emphasis on adult education. Dooley explained how he uses interactive programs to educate and motivate workers to improve their health and safety within their workplaces.

The “Grand Bargain” between the employer and workers is a long-running unspoken agreement, he added. If workers do not report injuries on the job, employers are not held liable, and they reward workers with material objects like pizza parties. When workers do report a workplace injury, they are often denied and deemed fakers or liars about the injuries. Dooley said it is a race to the bottom as these agreements still exist, and there is no national protection for workers.

He said it is up to Congress to devise a solution to protect workers. Only when there are national laws will employers be forced to improve their workplace standards. According to the National Safety Counsel, the true cost of workplace injuries and deaths is around $167 billion per year. With no incentive for employers to put resources into safety, Dooley believes this endless cycle will continue.

To hear more from Dooley on what can be done for workers' safety, listen above.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

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Rewards and unspoken practices hampering safety in the workplace

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