[Peace-discuss] more on Flex N Gate for those who would like to know

[Ricky Baldwin]

FYI to folks who are following the Flex N Gate situation...

Apologies if you've already seen this, but some folks didn't.  This is a fairly recent update I received from UAW and thought it might be helpful, in case you haven't seen it...
Along with a small flyer I received for Tuesday's rally at the plant at 2pm.

Solidarity-
Ricky

Good morning -
 
I hope this finds you all well. You may have seen in the News-Gazette... that OSHA cited Flex-N-Gate for more safety violations, this time related to the explosive dust in the plant, as well as issues that could lead to workers getting crushed inside of certain machines while performing routine maintenance. The article (with comments) is at:
 
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts-police-and-fire/2012-10-31/osha-cites-flex-n-gate-serious-violations.html
 
Since news stories often don't paint the whole picture, I wanted to put this into context. The issue of explosive dust is one issue that affects every single worker in that plant. Almost everyone breathes that dust at some point, and--even more importantly--it risks triggering a fire that could send the whole plant up in flames. While OSHA fines are always minimal compared to the size of the problem, the remedies they propose sometimes are significant. That's definitely the case here. While $21,000 in fines for four serious offenses has little punitive impact, Flex-N-Gate will have to install an entire new air handling system in the plant to deal with the dust. That will require a major investment by the company in workers' safety, and will make lasting changes in the plant. In other words, it's the type of change that doesn't lead to screaming headlines, but has a real impact on worker safety. There's more information and copies of the actual citations at 

http://justiceatflexngate.org/news/flex-n-gate-slapped-with-second-set-of-fines-for-serious-safety-violations/.
 
OSHA continues to investigate other important safety issues, including the chemical accident that sent more than a dozen workers to the hospital in June, and a recent incident in which a heavy rack fell from an overhead conveyor system and nearly killed one of the key worker leaders in the plant, Jackie Campbell. Of course, collective bargaining is the best way to address these sorts of issues in the long run. On that front, the fight continues.
 
Please forward this to whomever you think is appropriate (including any of the progressive lists where readers are interested in what is happening with Flex-N-Gate). We've been a little preoccupied with the election, but we're getting back into action. I know Mike Gerhart or I have had the chance to re-connect with many of you recently, but for those we haven't we hope we'll have the opportunity soon.
 
As always, many thanks for the incredible support that the CU community has shown for Flex-N-Gate workers.

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