Union Leaders Support Smokefree Workplaces

July 2005

"Every worker deserves the right to breathe smoke-free air." (Joslyn N. Williams, President of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, Smoking foes in D.C. gird for second try," Washington Post: B01, March 18, 2005)
"If we are all signed up to making workplaces safe then how can we justify low paid workers continuing to have to breathe in substances that can kill them, or being faced with no option other than to resign their job?...There is mounting good practice in bringing in safe and effective smoking policies with the full backing of the Wales TUC and our affiliated unions. We are keen to share this with the National Assembly and look forward to supporting them in bringing about cleaner, safer workplaces across Wales." (Derek Walker, Wales TUC [Trade Union Congress] Head of Policy and Campaigns)
"The feedback from our members working in bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants is that smoking in their workplaces is as prevalent as ever and a ban is now necessary…The Government is right to consider a ban and the T&G [Transport and General Workers Union] expects it to take a firm position in the interests of public health." (Brian Revell, Transport and General Workers Union, national organizer for food and agriculture, "Bar, club and catering staff back outright smoking ban," 7 June 2004, PersonnelToday.com (UK). Accessed on June 8, 2004. Download at http://www.personneltoday.com/pt_news/news_daily_det.asp?liArticleID=24076.)
"Fundamentally, the role of a union is to better the lives of members. Most people think [unions] just deal with wages, but that is not true. We believe our work on secondhand smoke is no different than any other issue.… We [Boston, MA, Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees] framed the issue of secondhand smoke as a workers' rights issue…. Clean indoor air works. We helped give legitimacy that this was a workers' rights issue. The public can leave. A worker cannot leave the job." (Mark Parker, Hotel, Restaurant, Institutional Employees and Bartenders Union, Local 26 -- AFL-CIO, "How to Build Win-Win Relationships with Organized Labor," 12 December 2003, National Conference on Tobacco or Health, presentation [9-12 December 2003].)
"When the hazard of tobacco smoke is added to other workplace toxics, the risk for these diseases skyrockets…. Training is essential to protect workers from preventable illnesses caused by tobacco and other toxics. Well-informed workers can make their workplaces safer. In our experience, workers in the trades want more information about the occupational hazards they face and the options available to them."(BUILT Project, "Union, yes [and] tobacco, no," California: Department of Health Services, 2001.)
"We are concerned about our members' safety and health, both on and off the job. That certainly extends to the efforts that would reduce cancer risk from tobacco. We are proud to join COLT [Committee of Organized Labor and Tobacco] in building strong ties between labor unions and health groups in ways that benefit LIUNA's members and all working families." (Terence O'Sullivan, General President, Laborers' International Union of North America [LIUNA], "Unions join drive to ban smoking in workplaces," Christian Science Monitor, 26 July 2001.)
"I think success, in terms of the union, comes from the fact that the union was involved from the onset. A joint approach was used, not a unilateral one. Also, I think it is important that the impetus came from the workers. It was a groundswell of support from the workers." (Sue Pisha, Area Director of Northwest region for Communications Workers of America, National Cancer Institute. "Smoking Policies and the Unions." [question and answer memo]. No. 7. [n.d.].)
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), representing more than three-quarters of a million workers, said risk assessment studies showed an estimate that 150 Irish pub workers die every year from secondhand smoke. In addition, the ICTU acknowledged that job loss claims carry null value: "Half measures being presented as an alternative [ventilation and delayed implementation] are simply red herrings conjured up by vested interests to evade their responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for workers and non-smoker customers." ("Smoking in the pub a real drag for the Irish" IOL. October 15, 2003. Available at: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click>id=31&art_id=qw106624998446S320&set_id=1. Accessed on November 6, 2003.)
"The powerful lobby of the tobacco industry would have you believe that strengthening this law would hurt the businesses affected. Yet, studies have shown that New York City businesses covered by the existing law have actually seen an increase in customers." (Randi Weingarten, President, United Federation of Teachers, "New York's top labor leaders support smoke-free workplace legislation, "Smokefree Educational Services, Inc., 1 March 2001.)
"Reducing smoking in the workplace can bring tremendous rewards to the employer and worker alike. Some of these benefits include improved employee health, productivity and morale: enhanced labor-management relations; and reduced occupational hazard." (Joseph S. Francis, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, "Unions working together toward a tobacco-free 2000: implication and innovation," San Diego: Labor's Community Service Agency, May 1993.)
"The vast majority of people prefer to breathe clean air. The tobacco cartel and its propaganda machine will try to convince you otherwise. In every instance, the tobacco cartel and the front groups it scared were wrong." (Arthur Cheliotes, President, Local 1180 Communication Workers, "New York's top labor leaders support smoke-free workplace legislation," Smokefree Educational Services, Inc., 1 March 2001.)
"Unlike a piece of machinery, the damage to a human is all too often irreparable. If a circuit or wiring goes bad, the company can install a replacement part. It is not so simple in the case of a human lung or heart…. A company that has demonstrated concern for mechanical components should have at least the same concern for human beings."(Gruccio, Orrick, Herrington, and Suntcliffe, "Smoking in the Workplace." Labor and Employment and Health. October 1985.)
Jonathan Rosen, Director of Health and Safety for New York's Public Employees Federation, which represents 54,000 professional, scientific, and technical workers, including 15,000 health care workers says "tobacco IS a union issue that must be managed, and that is always difficult to balance the interests of smokers and non-smokers. He sees smoking as a threat to workplace indoor air quality, particularly since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 1992 report classifying ETS as a Class A carcinogen. (Jonathan Rosen, Director of Health and Safety, New York 's Public Employees Federation, "Organized labor, public health, and tobacco control policy: a dialogue toward action, conference report and joint recommendations for action," New Solutions, A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 11(2): 2-17, June 2001.)
"I write this letter in full support of your effort, as the Speaker of the New York City Council, to help people to have a longer and healthier life by passing laws that will end smoking in the workplace." (Sonny Hall, International President, Transport Workers Union, "New York's top labor leaders support smoke-free workplace legislation," Smokefree Educational Services, Inc., 1 March 2001.)
"The Environmental Protection Agency has classified eight substances as Group A carcinogens. One of them is tobacco smoke. The other seven, including asbestos, benzene, arsenic, and radon, are illegal in the workplace." (Carroll Haynes, President, Local 237 Teamsters, "New York's top labor leaders support smoke-free workplace legislation," Smokefree Educational Services, Inc., 1 March 2001.)