Posts Categorized: Health & Safety

The UFCW’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Office team is offering three related workplace violence prevention training sessions to locals. These training sessions have been designed to help members mitigate potential threats both proactively and efficiently and include how to recognize the warning signs of workplace violence, de-escalation techniques, and appropriate response procedures.

The training sessions include:

Workplace Violence and Security Training

The Workplace Violence and Security training primarily focuses on describing the risks and types of workplace violence our members face. After identifying several risk factors, our members then learn several ways to prevent immediate and future workplace violence threats. It is important for our members to recognize that there are many forms of workplace violence outside of an active shooter situation, and policies must be in place to protect workers against all of them.

Active Assailant Training

The Active Assailant training was created in collaboration with Sgt. Steve Austin, a police officer at one of our locals in Maryland. In this training, our members focus more on active attack events by reviewing previous attacks and identifying ways to prevent them. Another focal point of the training is stress response and a person’s natural body response to disaster.

Active Violence Emergency Response Training (AVERT)

AVERT is a Health and Safety Institute training that has two main focuses: first aid and what to do in an active shooter situation. The first point of emphasis is about the first aid that is required for gunshot wound victims. Our members go through hands-on training on stopping severe bleeds and working on a victim in a time of emergency. The second half of the training focuses on the active shooter event, and trains members interactively about the run, hide, fight active shooter response strategy.

These training sessions have been an overwhelming success, and we hope to continue sharing them with all of our membership. Through proactive measures, education, and training, we can mitigate the risks of these horrific events while empowering our workers to thrive in all situations. If your local is interested in coordinating a workplace violence prevention training with the OSH Office team, contact Roy McAllister, the director of the OSH Office, at rmcallister@ufcw.org.

On July 3, the UFCW applauded President Biden’s announcement that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has formally proposed the nation’s first-ever federal safety standard addressing excessive heat in the workplace.

“President Biden’s decision to implement a federal workplace heat standard is a significant win for workers,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement.  “Measures like water breaks, cool recovery spots, and rest will protect workers from heat-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths. A nationwide standard is essential to ensure safe working conditions in the ever-intensifying summer heat.”

“If successful, these badly needed and long overdue protective rules will be in place to protect workers for the long haul,” Perrone added. “For far too long, our members who pack, sell, and process our food, check gas meters, and work in distilleries and chemical plants have been made to contend with extreme levels of heat in the workplace. Over the course of the next few years, we urge OSHA to pass this rule and save the lives of essential workers who are the backbone of our communities. This policy serves as a reminder of what is at stake in the fall–namely, that a strong labor movement and pro-union president are necessary for working families to win meaningful policy gains.”