Table of Contents
Background
Objectives
Statement Of Agreement
The OSHA Area Office Agrees To:
The Warden Agrees To:
Union Leadership Or Their Representatives Will:
Term Of Agreement
Agreement Evaluation
Key Officials
Funds
Termination
Signatures
Background
The Federal Correctional Institution at Three Rivers, TX and OSHA enter into
this Agreement pursuant to the authority of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Policy Statement 1600.8 and
sections 19 and 24 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and Executive Order 12196 that allows
OSHA to give help to specific sites categorized as Federal Agencies. This agreement describes the
scope of assistance that will be provided by a specific area office to the Federal Correctional
Institution at Three Rivers, TX. The purpose of this agreement is to place FCI Three Rivers in a technical
assistance mode, rather than on a targeted inspection list.
Objectives
- Strengthen the existing comprehensive safety and health program currently in
place, ensuring
compliance at all institutional levels.
- Reduce the total case rates for the Federal Correctional Institution at Three
Rivers, TX by 10%
per year, while at the same time increasing the timeliness of reporting new
injuries and illnesses
to OWCP.
- Identify and correct the primary casual factors in employee injuries and
illnesses, in particular
those behind the three top causes of injuries and/or illnesses.
- Improve employee productivity and quality of life by providing safe and
healthful occupational
environments.
- Improve the safety and health program to become qualified and eligible to
participate in a Federal
Agency Voluntary Protection Program (FAVPP).
Statement Of Agreement
OSHA, the Federal Correctional Institution at Three Rivers, TX, and A.F.G.E.
Local 4044, agree to work
in partnership to improve the employee safety and health at the Federal
Correctional Institution at Three
Rivers, TX. Accordingly, they make the following commitments:
The OSHA Area Office Agrees To:
- Help identify programmatic needs at this site by reviewing the Documented
Safety Program
(DSP) and provide practical help in implementing the program.
- Help identify the primary casual factors in injuries and illnesses, in
particular the three top
hazards at this site and develop countermeasures for correcting those hazards.
- Provide access to training resources including:
- A safety management training session as the need arises and resources are
available for
department heads and the Union.
- Access to OSHA Training Institute Courses (OTI).
- Guidance to other available sources of training.
- Help mentor FCI Three Rivers safety and health professionals and offer
technical assistance at
this site by arranging an Agency Technical Assistance Request (ATARs) so that
FCI Three
Rivers safety and health professionals could accompany OSHA compliance officers
on
inspections for training purposes. Technical assistance may include:
- Practical abatement assistance.
- Technical equipment loans.
- Air monitoring assistance.
- Accept the findings, if satisfactory, of FCI Three Rivers investigations and
inspections of
complaints and referrals that would normally be handled by OSHA. These will be
conducted in
accordance with OSHA policy except as modified by this agreement as follows:
- Complaints1) Complaint Inspections. If the complainant agrees, the FCI Three Rivers safety
and
health professionals and accompanied by a Union Official may inspect those
complaints
which would normally result in an OSHA complaint inspection except for:
- Complaints evaluated as imminent danger or high gravity serious;
- Complaint investigations which the employer fails to provide an
adequate response to; or
- Complaints where the complainant provides evidence that the employer’s
response to a complaint investigation is false or does not adequately
address the hazard(s).
2) Complaint Investigations.
- When OSHA asks FCI Three Rivers to inspect a complaint, the FCI
Three Rivers safety, health professionals in conjunction with A.F.G.E.
LOCAL 4044 will give a response to the OSHA area office which has
been signed off by the establishment parties. (FCI / Union Official)
NOTE: If either establishment party chooses not to sign off on
the response, that party can provide a written explanation
documenting why. The explanation will be an
attachment to the response to OSHA, or, in the case
where no explanation is given, the response will advise
that no explanation was provided.
- If a response satisfactory to OSHA is not received by the due date,
OSHA may conduct an inspection.
- Referrals
For referrals handled by letter, FCI Three Rivers safety, health professionals
will prepare
a written response to OSHA which will be approved by the Warden and AFGE
President.
NOTE: If an establishment party chooses not to sign off on the response, that
party can
provide a written explanation documenting why. The explanation will be
attached to the response to OSHA, or, in the case where no explanation is given,
the response will advise that no explanation was provided.
If a response satisfactory to OSHA is not received by the due date, OSHA may
conduct
an inspection.
The Warden Agrees To:
- Provide a written statement to be included in the Institutional
Familiarization and Annual
Refresher Training that identifies safety as the first priority for every job.
- Post copies of this signed agreement at key locations.
- Provide an opportunity for top management officials, including department
heads and union
leadership to attend a program presented by OSHA on basic safety management.
- Begin a comprehensive training program design ed to achieve the goal of
educating all employees
on the current safety record and need for improvement.
- Commit to implementing and achieving the objectives of this agreement.
- Provide the opportunity for employees to participate in developing and
managing the safety and
health program by soliciting participation of workers and their representatives
in:a) Hazard identification and abatement;
b) Employee training;
c) Participation in improving the safety and health program in place at the
establishment;
d) Employee attendance at all related meetings;
e) Employee access to all documents pertinent to the safety and health program
and this
agreement;
f) Support of existing safety and health committees;
g) Employee access to safety and health records except if prohibited by law,
policy,
regulations or security concerns;
h) Accident investigations;
i) Self-inspection teams; and
j) Developing an employee/inmate occupational hazard reporting system.
- Make sure that employees are not subject to restraint, interference,
coercion, discrimination, or
reprisal for filing a report of an unsafe or unhealthful working condition, or
other participation in
this agreement.
- Improve safety-related communications within the establishment, including
accident investigation
results, risk management information, and methods of abatement.
- Provide adequate resources to effectively enhance the current safety and
health program.
However nothing in this agreement will be construed as obligating either OSHA or
the Federal
Correctional Institution, Three Rivers, TX to expend in any one fiscal year any
sum in excess or
in advance of appropriations made by Congress in accordance with the
Anti-Deficiency Act, 31
U.S.C. 1341.
- Support and enhance the current system of internal safety and health self
audits including action
items and follow-up.
- Provide an opportunity for union participation with this agreement.
- Gather self-inspection data (hazards identified, hazards abated, and the
number of employees
removed from those hazards) and submit according to Agreement Evaluation
criteria.
- Develop a baseline injury and illness log for calendar year 2002 utilizing
the current 29 CFR
1904 regulations and provide to OSHA Corpus Christi Area Office.
- Maintain the injury and illness log as required by 29 CFR 1904 for employees
and inmates in the
work setting.
Union Leadership Or Their Representatives Will:
Inform workers of the partnership agreement through union channels. The workers
should be informed of the background, requirements of management, and of the union.
- Designate institution senior local union officials, as required by BOP
Policy, to participate in the
inspections conducted by Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers, TX
safety and health
officials.
- Designate institution senior local union officials not involved in the
complaint to participate, as
appropriate, in Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers, TX
investigations and inspections
of worker complaints and any OSHA referrals and sign off on the response to OSHA
or, if they
choose not to sign off, provide a written explanation documenting why.
- Encourage appropriate employee participation in this agreement.
- Encourage employee participation in the safety and health program to include
accident
investigations, site self-inspection, etc.
Term Of Agreement
This agreement will start on the date it is signed and run for a period of five
(5) years in one (1) year
increments. At the end of each year OSHA will conduct an evaluation to determine
if adjustments in the
agreement are necessary. If no adjustments to the partnership are recommended
the agreement will
automatically be renewed for an additional year. At the end of the five (5) year
period this agreement is
to be reviewed by the signatories and upon consensus may be renewed by a simple
letter of renewal
signed by all parties involved. All modifications to this agreement will be in
writing and will become
effective only upon the written agreement of all parties.
Agreement Evaluation
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this agreement quarterly status
reports must be submitted to the
Corpus Christi Area Office. These reports should contain the following
information.
- Updates on all required elements of the partnership until the criteria has
been met. The elements
of the partnership are those items agreed to by the Warder and the Union
Leadership. The
elements are listed in the sections entitled, "The Warden Agrees to" & "Union
Leadership or
Their Representatives will".
- The current injury/illness log, and
- The number of hazards identified through the self-inspection procedure, the
number of hazards
corrected, and the number of employees affected by these hazards.
Key Officials
The primary key officials in this agreement include the Warden, the OSHA Area
Director (Corpus
Christi, TX), and Federal Correctional Institution at Three Rivers, TX, Union -
Local 4044. Other key
officials include the Associate Warden (O), Associate Warden (P), Department
Heads, and the Safety
Manager as general coordinator, and designated officials of OSHA.
Funds
It is not anticipated that any funding will be transferred between OSHA and the
Federal Correctional
Institution at Three Rivers, TX. However, should there be a need for transfer of
funds to accomplish the
objectives of this agreement it will be done according to the policies of the
agencies and the respective
departments of which these agencies are a part.
Termination
Any problems that arise that cannot be resolved satisfactorily through the
agreement participants will be
addressed in writing. A letter outlining the problems will be sent to all
participants and will constitute
grounds for discontinuing the agreement if these concerns cannot ultimately be
resolved.
Signatures
Edward Perez
Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers, TX
Warden
|
Date |
Richard Wechsler
Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers, TX
Employee Representative - AFGE Local 4044
|
Date
|
Joe Reina
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region VI
|
Date
|
John A. Giefer
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Area Director – Corpus Christi Area Office |
Date
|
|
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