“The
biggest problem is we need to get labor-management training. The union wants
management to listen. We have been bringing forth really good ideas,”
Williams said. “The problem is management doesn’t hear what we are saying. A
lot of problems could be avoided if we could just sit down and really listen
to each other.”Williams described what happens at a facility when people turn a deaf ear.
For one, the physical assaults on staff remain a serious problem. Even though the Workplace Violence Prevention Law was enacted, the facility did nothing.
“There was no key person to hold accountable to make sure the facility was in compliance with the law,” Williams said. “We keep saying, ‘Let’s find out why the assaults and accidents are happening.’ I think management cares, it just doesn’t know what to do.”
PEF supported the Civil Service Employees Association’s (CSEA) filing of a Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) complaint with the state Labor Department when management didn’t come up with a workplace violence prevention plan.
“PEF’s support pushed it through,” Williams said. “We have a strong coalition among the unions. It is a triangle with PEF, CSEA and NYSCOPBA (New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association). We all work together.
“Since the facility has been cited, management said it will do its best,” she said.
Bronx PC has 90 days to get a plan together. By law, the facility is required to involve the union in the planning process.
Cleaning house
Another PESH complaint was filed months ago when bedbugs took over the facility. Williams said the pests have been a problem for more than a year.
“I’ve been working at Bronx for 30 years. When patients were admitted into the facility, their clothing would be washed. They would get checked for head lice and get a full-body inspection to
make sure they weren’t bringing in any parasites,” Williams said.
“Short staffing and budget cuts have changed that. Some homeless patients come in from the street where they have slept. They don’t get inspected or a change of clothes. They are sent to the wards with whatever is crawling on them.”
The state Labor Department inspected the facility in February and found that Bronx PC did treat the infested ward. But the problem didn’t go away. A few days later, bedbugs were found in another ward, and more were discovered in March in yet a third ward.
Now, the facility is giving patients an enhanced physical assessment when they are admitted.
Preventative
medicineBronx PC also was cited for not providing staff with necessary equipment to protect them from contracting the H1N1 virus. Williams said a patient in the Thompson building contracted the virus.
PEF Vice President and Labor-Management Coordinator Pat Baker said the Bronx PC management has been uncooperative in the past and disrespectful of the staff.
“We are trying to get joint labor-management training at the Bronx PC to open the lines of communication between labor and management,” Baker said. “For things to improve, there must be some common ground where people can listen, find solutions, and implement them. Bronx PC has almost hit rock bottom with all its problems, so the only way to go now, is up and forward.”
“I’m hoping the training will teach us how to work together,” Williams said. “We are not the enemy. We are here for the betterment of the facility. We want to work with management to fix the problems.”
