State Vocational Federation of Teachers
    Local 4200A Connecticut
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    Health & Safety
    H&S Committee Honored by AFT

    At the AFT Public Employees National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada June 2007 AFT President, Ed McElroy awarded the WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARD to the SVFT. Aaron Silvia, past president, accepted the award on behalf of the entire Health and Safety Committee. The SVFT and its Health and Safety Committee were acknowledged for “exceptional commitment to the health and safety of all SVFT members.” The award recognizes the Health and Safety Committee’s “vigilance in maintaining a safe working environment for all members as an excellent example for all public employee unions.” The committee and Clare Rheiner, the chair deserves our collective thanks for a job well-done!

    With the start of the new school year, the Health and Safety Committee has begun visiting our schools. Composed of three union members and Central Office Consultant, John Woodmanse, the committee visits shops and science laboratories to examine their working environment. During the visit, the committee recommends any changes that will help promote safe conditions; the goal of the committee, therefore, is to help protect the health and well-being of the membership. Often, members appear uneasy when the committee members arrive at their shop to do the inspection and are reluctant to answer questions asked by the committee. We can assure you that we are there to help and not harm.

    When performing an inspection, the committee examines some of the OSHA regulated checklist items, such as: evacuation plans, properly functioning safety equipment, clear paths of egress and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Since shop instructors best know their own working environment, the committee makes an effort to ask the instructors if they have any concerns. This step provides an opportunity to have instructors’ concerns acknowledged and to begin a process to rectify them.

    The committee has worked hard to help make improvements and when we re-visit the schools, it is rewarding to see that items mentioned in the previous report have been addressed. Most items have been noted, corrected, and some are in the process of being rectified.

    The committee also recognizes the fine job membership has done in trying to maintain the safest possible environment under disruptive conditions. While so many schools are under renovation, many shops have had to relocate to temporary housing while still operating and continuing their production.

    Because so many buildings are under construction, it is especially important that all schools have an in-house health and safety committee. If a member has a concern, he or she should take it to the school’s in-house health and safety committee and try to resolve it at that level. If it cannot be resolved, then the SVFT Health and Safety Committee should be notified, and we will try to assist the member in working with the in-house committee and with John Woodmansee, management’s representative.


    The Checklist Packet helps vocational/technical schools and the traditional schools that teach technologies identify and manage the additional pollutant sources inherent in specialty trade education, such as metal fumes in welding shop, wood dust from carpentry shop, or chemical vapor from the cosmetology teaching area. As one shop teacher explained: "Our school is essentially a mini industrial complex because so many of our classrooms are devoted to teaching trades. The "Tools for Techs" checklists help us identify strategies that can reduce the potentially hazardous emissions in our school."

      Tools for Tech

      A pilot program, "Tools for Techs," has been launched as a result of a collaborative effort involvingThe University of Connecticut Health Center, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the Connecticut Technical High School System, and the State Vocational Federation of Teachers/ American Federation of Teachers.  Designed to supplement the EPA’s Tools for Schools (TfS) program, “Tools for Techs” addresses the unique indoor air quality issues found in Technical High Schools and the traditional high schools that teach technologies.  

      Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tools for Schools model, multidisciplinary building teams utilize checklists completed by teachers and observations made during walkthrough surveys to develop and prioritize recommendations that will improve the indoor air quality in schools.  The “Tools for Techs” checklists address the specific indoor air quality challenges associated with many of the trades.

      Tools for Schools



      EPA developed the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools (TfS) Program to reduce exposures to indoor environmental contaminants in schools through the voluntary adoption of sound indoor air quality management practices.

      The IAQ Tools for Schools Program is a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing IAQ problems. Poor indoor air quality can impact the comfort and health of students and staff, which, in turn, can affect concentration, attendance, and student performance. In addition, if schools fail to respond promptly to poor IAQ, students and staff are at an increased risk of short-term health problems, such as fatigue and nausea, as well as long-term problems like asthma.

    		 SVFT Health & Safety Committee
    • Clare Rheiner - Goodwin
    • Ed DeSousa - Bullard-Havens
    • Mike Lorusso - Wolcott
    • Rick Tanasi - SVFT President (Vinal)
      Left to right:
      Rick Tanasi; Mike Lorusso; Ed DeSousa; Clare Rheiner.


    H&S Visits 2008-2009

    Abbott Monday Sep. 22, 2008
    Cheney Monday Oct. 20, 2008
    Goodwin Monday Nov. 17, 2008
    Grasso Monday Dec. 15, 2008
    Kaynor Tuesday Jan. 20 2009
    O'Brien Monday Feb. 23, 2009
    Wilcox Monday March 16, 2009
    Windham Monday April 20, 2009
    Wright Monday May 18, 2009

    Union Affilliations

    AFT l AFT - CT l AFL-CIO

    State Vocational Federation of Teachers
    Local 4200A Connecticut
    l 2008 |
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    		 "It pays to be taught by a vo-tech teacher!"