Book Description:
Bringing Down the Safety Guy answers the question, 'How far has American workplace safety come in the last 100 years?' Even though today's management can be somewhat apathetic, we have come far from management statements like 'If there's a labor unrest, I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half.' Today's managers may feel the same way, but they are more politically adept at, instead of killing employees, exporting the work then simply eliminating the American job. A much cleaner, contemporary homicide! The book includes discussions of manufacturing activities, but just as important are discussions of the cultural ramifications that have occurred since NAFTA precipitated the exporting of these types of American jobs to third world countries. Proud people who used to work as seamstresses, assemblers, and warehouse workers and manufacturing employees of every description are not, despite the government's grand ideas, all taking jobs as computer programmers and NASA engineers. Chapter Summaries include: Chapter 1 What safety programs existed, or lack thereof, at the turn of the last century. Working conditions in the early 1900's. Chapter 2 The early days Stories of manufacturing processes in the 1970s, with descriptions of older and more dangerous machinery, working conditions, and unfortunately, horror stories about injuries. Chapter 3 Office technology in the 1970s, The early insurance safety man days. Chapter 4 Near death experience on fire escape; the many tragic possibilities of bad wiring; several fatal tragedies including China, and Hamlet, North Carolina exacerbated by poor fire evacuation procedures and padlocked exits. Chapter 5 Machine guarding hazards, pitfalls, maimings, amputations, fatalities. Chapter 6 Accidents: Whose fault are they? A machine assisted suicide; being mixed to death by a giant blender; some OSHA citations; how the media handles coverage of accidents; lack of public interest or outrage about same; and OSHA's schizophrenic personality. Chapter 7 While working as a subcontractor for insurance companies, a particularly harrowing experience involving arson and strong arming the warehouse guard. Chapter 8 The joys of traveling on business. Trips to the back country of Maine to visit a logging operation; Los Angeles to look at an earthquake proofed parking garage where the wealthy store their spare automobiles. Chapter 9 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); the Turtle Club; the Golden Gate Bridge construction; Lockout/Tagout; Trenching; Confined Space Entry; things that worked. Chapter 10 Industrial Hygiene, stink detectors, legal liability on conducting in house testing. Exxon Valdez' somewhat surprising environmental consequences. Chapter 11 Malden Mills fire; it is possible to be a benevolent capitalist. Chapter 12 OSHA mandates Workplace Violence measures; some reasons why America is becoming more violent. Chapter 13 Another textile mill closes; steady workers in an unsteady marketplace. Chapter 14 Unions' perceived lack of interest in safety & health. Maybe too busy on their corruption trials? Chapter 15 Designer sweatshops. Lip service to improving working conditions reigns supreme. Printouts from Liz Claiborne's hypocritical web page. Chapter 16 'Extreme' trend of risk taking, driving, glamorization of death gives safety a stodgy, 'no fun' image vs. life threatening 'activities.' Chapter 17 Changing the nature of American jobs, what will today's workers look back on. Chapter 18 Diversifying our company's product mix, having fun with games and belts. Chapter 19 George and Al; OSHA? Isn't that a small town in Wisconsin? Chapter 20 All the President's Men Go Bungee Jumping, What the future holds, or Do You Want Fries With That? Chapter 21 Lincoln's squirrel.
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