InTouch:
UNC Employee Forum News
Volume 5, Number 7 November 2004
From the Chair: Drawn Closer Together
Reinhardt of Environment, Health and Safety Speaks with Delagates
Facilities Services Director Alty Meets with Forum
Laptop Loan
Program
Delegate Rosters
From the
Chair, Tommy Griffin...
Drawn Closer Together
Hello friends. We have been tested this year by several storms during an active
hurricane season. Our nerves have been put on edge, and our anticipation of
where the storms will hit has made us worry about our families, friends and
neighbors. Even with all this worry, we have been drawn closer together. Dealing
with disasters is one of the many things that we do very well together because
we care about each other and all the folks in our state. We have storms, trials,
and tests, but we come through them together because we care. The last few years
have been tough on all state employees because of the lack of pay raises and
seeing our benefits fade away. But there is hope for all of us for the future,
and that hope is us: if we all work together we can make the positive changes
we need to make happen in our state for all state employees and our citizens.
It is going to take a lot of hard work, and it's up to us to join together and make it happen. We all need to take an active role in building for our future. The Employee Forum has been working very hard on these issues. We have already been working on getting support for pay raises this year, and there is a very active campaign to improve our health insurance, especially the cost of our dependent coverage. We also need to make sure that we get a living wage established in our state for everyone. But there are not enough Delagates in the Forum to get the job done, so we need your help. We need folks to volunteer to serve on University committees, and we need folks to take the time to run for office as Delagates and work with the Forum's six committees. We have just finished our delegate elections for this year, but it is not too early for you to plan to run for a Forum delegate next year. Please take the time to find out who your Forum Delagates are in your area and let them know how you feel about the issues on campus. If you are interested in serving, please contact the Forum Office at 962-3779.
Finally,
the Employee Forum, staff, students and the faculty are actively working on
a food drive for the folks who have been hit hard by the hurricanes. We are
also collecting for the Interfaith Council here in Chapel Hill. There will be
recycle barrels for donations in various buildings, so please help. These are
our families, friends, and neighbors who need our help. Thanks for all your
hard work. Your friend, Tommy.
Reinhardt of Environment, Health & Safety Speaks with Delagates
Pete Reinhardt, Director of the UNC-CH department of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), spoke briefly at the Forum at the 9/1 Forum meeting and then answered questions from the Delagates.
Before opening the floor to questions, Reinhardt mentioned that EHS, along with
Human Resources, plans to offer flu shots again this year. Plans were well underway
to provide free vaccines on campus for employees. Since then, of course, problems
with the national supply, as a result of problems with vaccines from one of
the two suppliers, have made supplies much shorter and have prevented UNC from
providing this service, certainly through no fault of EHS.
Reinhardt encouraged employees to have a look at the recently improved EHS website
at http://ehs.unc.edu/. He made particular
note of the "Staying Healthy" page (accessed by clicking a button
on the left side of any of the EHS pages). This has info on a variety of current
and recent topics and is intended to help employees stay healthy. Examples include
info on meningitis, flu shots, whooping cough, getting around UNC safely, and
help for quitting smoking.
There were questions on a variety of issues, including mold in buildings, exposure
to second hand tobacco smoke in state vehicles and outside buildings, exposure
to formaldehyde outside labs, problems with cleaning products, and dealing with
work-related carpal tunnel problems.
With regard to mold, Reinhart said this was always a problem in North Carolina
because of the humidity, but that EHS is really on top of these issues. When
they receive a report, they investigate, prepare a report, and work with Facilities
Services to correct the problem. If you see a problem, report it at 962-5507
or email them at dehs@unc.edu.
There was quite a bit of discussion of what to do about tobacco smoke in state
vehicles and outside buildings, but since Rheinhart said this was not within
the purview of his department, the discussion was largely moot. EHS provides
info on resources for stopping smoking on their "Staying Healthy"
page.
Reinhart said that if you suspect a problem with formaldehyde or any other chemical,
you should report it to EHS. They can investigate, make measurements in the
problem areas, prepare a lab safety plan, and make changes if needed.
While there have been problems reported in the past with housekeeping staff
having nosebleeds and headaches after using certain cleaning products, Reinhart
says these problems have been addressed by changing chemicals and informing
staff on how to use them properly. There are material safety data sheets hung
where the chemicals are used, and EHS provides training classes to be sure workers
understand. Reinhart said that EHS responds aggressively to complaints about
health situations. He said that he knows of no current problems, but that if
a housekeeper tells him there is one, they will happy to investigate further;
housekeepers have a difficulty job, and Reinhart wants them to be as safe as
possible.
Regarding carpel tunnel syndrome, Reinhart said that if it is a workplace injury
incurred while using your computer at work, you should see come to the Employee
occupational health clinic (966-9119), which is on the first floor of the Ambulatory
Care Center ACC) and one of the nurses or doctors there will talk with you.
These are specialists who routinely look at work related injuries. For carpal
tunnel problems, they may get the ergonomist involved, to minimize further injury.
Facilities
Services Director Alty Meets with Forum
Jim Alty, the new Director of Facilities Services, spoke to the Forum on 10/6.
He told the Delagates a bit about himself. That information is well covered
in the October 20 Gazette, and it won't be repeated here. Alty came across as
a strong leader with a genuine interest in learning what his 1000 employees
do, in hearing from their customers how well they are doing, and in making improvements.
He spoke of his intention to involve employees in the decisions that affect
them.
A sticky issue that Alty has had to deal with for starters is concerned with
Facilities Services workers who are required to come in during adverse weather
emergencies. Since the state rules in this area changed last year, changes were
needed to Facilities Services policies. Alty wants the policies to be consistent
within Facilities Services and fair to employees, while ensuring that the needed
work gets done. When asked why the committed looking into the new policy consisted
of supervisors only, Alty responded that he wanted the managers to work out
a proposal, and then he could get input on their proposal. He also did not realize
to start with that this was such an emotionally charged topic, but he is aware
of that now.
Alty's hands-on approach to learning the work of Facilities Services, as well
as his inclusive decision-making style, bode well for employees and the rest
of campus. The Forum appreciates his taking time to meet us.
On 9/27, Carolina began a laptop loan program, for UNC-CH employees who make less than $22,000 per year, working at a pay grade of 61 or lower, who need a computer for educational purposes. The loan program was initially recommended by the Chancellor's Task Force for a Better Workplace, and it was funded by the Chancellor, using $25,000 that was to be his salary bonus. The program was given a full write-up in the Daily Tar Heel. As of 10/26, there were eight laptops on loan to staff, including two on loan to housekeepers. Katherine Caudell-Graves, vice chairwoman of the Employee Forum and initiator of the project, said that the staff borrowing the computers are getting some help with training from the Campus Y and that they are getting a lot of help from Bruce Egan of ITS and his staff.