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UAW/Ford Motor Company/ACH-LLC
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN OSHA, UAW INTERNATIONAL UNION, AND THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY Identification of the Partners: The partners to this agreement include the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW); and the Ford Motor Company. Commitment: The leadership of OSHA, the UAW International Union, and the Ford Motor Company through a common vision are committed to providing Ford employees a healthful and safe work place and to demonstrate leadership, responsibility and accountability in furthering worker health and safety. Goals: To reduce injuries and illnesses year-over-year from baseline OSHA log summary data at each Ford location through the creation of a pro-active health and safety culture and a cooperative non-adversarial relationship that optimizes the resources of all parties. Where:
Objective: The partners agree to construct a partnership based on mutual respect and trust that leverages the resources of all the parties through the systematic anticipation, identification, evaluation and control of health and safety hazards at Ford locations thereby continuously reducing worker injury and illnesses. Safety and Health Program: The Ford Motor Company has had a formal safety and health program employing health and safety professionals at the Operations and Corporate levels for more than sixty years. The Ford Safety and Health Program includes all the elements detailed in “OSHA’s Safety and Health Management Guidelines” dated January 26, 1989. There have been formal commitment statements from management and the UAW leadership in every collective bargaining agreement (CBA) from the very first CBA to the present. Since 1973, health and safety has been a Joint process at Ford that has been enhanced in every CBA. Employee awareness and involvement are the cornerstones of health and safety at Ford. The UAW and Ford leadership recognize the need to continuously improve in health and safety efforts. Measurement System: The metrics to assess the progress of this agreement will include:
Stakeholder Involvement: This agreement has been developed by focus groups of the parties that have included OSHA Regional and Area Offices that have Ford locations, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration leadership and Area Offices, UAW leadership and Ford corporate, operations and local management. Incentives: Incentives will include inspection protocols (focused inspections) and the diminished probability of wall-to-wall inspections under OSHA targeting programs. The inspection protocols will result in shorter more focused inspections. Also, OSHA will continue to make maximum use of inquiry letters and phone & fax procedures for minor investigations. In addition, provided the Ford facility is following the Ford program and joint process, OSHA agrees to maximum penalty reductions based on the agency's policies for good-faith reductions for effective safety and health programs. Further, OSHA should also benefit from leading edge technologies, health and safety research, and the identification of emerging issues generated at Ford. Ford can also be used as a pilot for OSHA to spread this concept to other companies. Finally, all parties should benefit from positive jointly developed publicity relative to the partnership and whenever health and safety problems are identified and resolved. Rights of the Parties and Employees: The provisions of this agreement identified herein, shall not modify any legal or contractual rights and remedies. Knowledge and Technology Transfer: The International Union, UAW and the Ford Motor Company have jointly conducted health and safety research with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and have shared the research results with OSHA. Representatives of the UAW and Ford have also participated on OSHA committees and at conferences on general safety and health topics and on specific topics such as ergonomics, metal working fluids, and safety and health programs. This agreement will continue these actions and expands others such as alerts on new health and safety issues noted at Ford locations. It is also expected that arrangements may be made to include OSHA representatives, as appropriate, as participants in UAW-Ford NJCHS health and safety conferences. OSHA Inspections: OSHA inspections to investigate employee complaints, serious injuries or fatalities, and National or State emphasis programs are not precluded by this agreement. Ford plants selected for General Schedule inspections from the OSHA Site-Specific Targeting (SST) list will receive a focused inspection. The focused inspection will include an evaluation of the inspection protocols listed in the agreement. Ford agrees to facilitate the inspection process by providing OSHA compliance officers access to the plant injury and illness reports related to the protocols. The OSHA compliance officer will review the required record keeping information, conduct a walk through inspection, and interview workers in accordance with OSHA inspection procedures. Inspection Protocols: Inspection protocols will be based on the annual analysis of U.S. injury and illness experience from the Ford Health Data Analysis System (HDA) and from a similar analyses provided OSHA for the location selected for inspection. In general, the protocol will include an investigation of hazards or issues covered under Joint Programs developed by the NJCHS. These include:
Verification: Verification of health and safety progress is a multi-step process that includes:
Corporate Annual Report: A Corporate annual report will be developed and presented at an annual national meeting between the parties. The report will address trends noted in data collection. Among the information included in the annual review will be an analysis of the internal audit results and noise control and hearing conservation efforts. Plant Annual OSHA Day Meeting: Each Ford location covered by this agreement will conduct an annual OSHA Day meeting where the local OSHA Area Director will be invited to the location and briefed by the Plant Manager, the Union Chairperson and their leadership team. The briefing will include a review of the injury and illness experience for the past year and any developing trends as compiled by HDA. The briefing will also include a review of the results of the continuous internal comprehensive inspections conducted by the Plant Safety Engineer and the Unit Health and Safety Representative and the corrective actions taken. Additionally, the briefing will include the results of the Safety and Health Assessment Review Process (SHARP) conducted since the last OSHA Day meeting and the corrective actions taken. The written materials from the OSHA Day meeting will be given to the OSHA Area Director for analysis. For the purpose of monitoring, OSHA will be afforded the opportunity to conduct an informal walk-through of the facility. OSHA may return at a later date for a two-day informal/monitoring visit of up to fifty percent of the plants. Criteria for return visit will generally be based on locations that have an LWDII of eight or greater and specific areas OSHA may want to review. The purpose of the monitoring visit is to verify that the information presented in the OSHA Day briefing is an accurate portrayal of what is occurring within the facility. If observable conditions and program implementation are not consistent with the information provided at the OSHA Day meeting, a focused inspection could be initiated and expanded to a traditional inspection with the approval of the Area Director. The OSHA National Office will be notified when a monitoring visit is being conducted. The OSHA members of the steering committee will coordinate the monitoring visits. Monitoring visits will be based upon the availability of OSHA resources and the LWDII of the facility. It is understood that items maintained in corrective action files will be prioritized for action with timing milestones as determined by good health and safety practice and by joint agreement of Ford and UAW-Ford Health and Safety Professionals. If these tenets are adhered to, OSHA will not use the corrective action files as justification for Willful violations. In general, items identified by Ford and the UAW or OSHA will be abated immediately, where practicable, and will not result in OSHA citations. Other: SHARP is an ongoing management system that monitors health and safety. A presentation on SHARP together with the SHARP manual will be given to OSHA Regional and Area Offices where Ford has locations. However, Ford and the UAW solely reserve the right to modify SHARP. Initiation and Termination of Agreement: The partnership agreement is effective on the date of signing and will be in effect until midnight three years from the date of signing. After year three of the agreement, the parties will have an option to extend the agreement. Without regard to the three year term, any of the parties can terminate the agreement within ninety days after notification of the parties of a change in conditions or irreconcilable differences. Covered Locations: This agreement covers all Ford Motor Company locations as described in the Appendix. State Plans: The Ford Motor Company and OSHA recognize that certain Ford Motor Company facilities are located in states which have assumed authority for the enforcement of OSHA standards pursuant to Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Ford Motor Company intends to pursue similar agreements with State OSHA Plans.
APPENDIX
Atlanta Assembly Plant Hapeville, GeorgiaFORD LOCATIONS Atlanta Parts Distribution Center McDonough Georgia Chicago Assembly Plant Chicago, Illinois Chicago Parts Depot Chicago, Illinois Chicago Stamping Plant Chicago, Illinois Kansas City Parts Distribution Center Lenexa, Kansas Kansas City Assembly Kansas City, Missouri St. Louis Assembly St. Louis, Missouri Edison Assembly Plant Metuchen, New Jersey New York Parts Distribution Center Teterboro, New Jersey Buffalo Stamping Plant Hamburg, New York Cleveland Casting Plant Brookpark, Ohio Cleveland Engine Plant 1 Brookpark, Ohio Cleveland Engine Plant 2 Brookpark, Ohio Lima Engine Plant Lima, Ohio Lorain Assembly Plant Lorain, Ohio Maumee Stamp. Plant Maumee, Ohio Ohio Assembly Plant Avon Lake, Ohio Sharonville Transmission Plant Sharonville, Ohio Walton Hills Stamping Walton Hills, Ohio Dallas Parts Distribution Center Dallas, Texas |
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