FRESH AIR – Roger Tredo (left), a social worker assistant 3, joins co-workers Bruce Pailler, Rebecca Spera and Carol Scorsone breathing clean air inside and outside the new Zoar Valley facility. — Photo by Jim Ferro Even management grateful PEF grievance leads to healthier worksite By DEBORAH A. MILES File a grievance and get thanked by management? That’s precisely what happened after PEF Region 1 field representative Art Munson filed a grievance citing unhealthy conditions at Zoar Valley Clinic. “Usually, we take adversarial roles,” Munson said. “But in this case, the union and employer cooperated fully.” Zoar Valley Clinic, a satellite facility of Buffalo Psychiatric Center, provides community mental health services in Gowanda. PEF member Roger Tredo, a social work assistant 3 at the clinic, described the clinic’s 70-year-old, two-story brick building with its leaky slate roof as “sick,” and that’s just how it made the people who worked there feel. “People were saying eight years ago, ‘This is a sick building,’” Tredo said. “It got worse. In some offices, paint was literally flaking off the ceiling onto desks, bookcases and the floor. “The majority of the staff either suffered from upper respiratory infections, spontaneous nose bleeds or headaches,” he said. “But after they left for the weekend, their symptoms would disappear.” What’s that smell? The main culprit haunting the facility was the odor. “But it wasn’t just the smell. It was how you would feel after spending any amount of time there, especially in winter,” Tredo said. The odor was coming from various molds, which developed in the damp conditions caused by the leaky roof. Tredo said members and the union complained about the conditions, but it wasn’t until Munson stepped in and filed a grievance that management reacted. “The complaints fell through the cracks. So, I contacted the Buffalo Psychiatric Center personnel department and they agreed something had to be done,” Munson said. PEF Director of Health and Safety Jonathan Rosen arranged for a study of the building’s air quality through the state Bureau of Capital Operations and the Dormitory Authority with full cooperation from OMH and Buffalo PC. “That report raised a level of urgency to get the people relocated,” Munson said. Waiting to exhale Lack of funding delayed the immediate relocation of employees. “It did take a little bit of arm-twisting on my part,” Munson said. “Then, the emergency allocations kicked-in and the 16 employees were moved out of the building and into trailers in September.” “By bringing in an expert firm which evaluated this space and found conditions to be deleterious to health, we were able to get the action we needed,” Rosen said. “In this case, labor and management were right in step with one another.” Together, they did it Tredo and other employees at the Zoar Valley site praised Munson for his commitment. “Art did a fantastic job. If it weren’t for him, we’d probably still be there,” Tredo said. After the grievance was resolved, Munson received a letter from the associate personnel administrator at Buffalo PC, Barbara Nellist. She thanked him for his cooperation, understanding and professional handling of the issues, which all helped to reduce employee anxiety. “Everyone demonstrated a great concern for the health of the employees,” Munson said. “We hope the spirit of cooperation can continue with all the agencies.”ety.”