Four UAW members perished in
workplace incidents
All workplace fatalities are avoidable. Through the collective bargaining
process, we seek to make our workplaces safer and often negotiate stronger
protections for our members than is required by federal, state and local
laws and guidelines.
We do this because all workers should leave their workplace in the same
health as when they arrived for work.
These deaths serve as a reminder of the dangers of working alone, that team
leaders’ duties and lean manufacturing objectives must be coupled with
proper regard to safety, that malfunctioning or poorly designed machine
guarding and presence-sensing devices must be reported to management and be
promptly addressed. We must also do more to ensure that new safe working
procedures are in place when maintenance tasks create new hazards.
As we approach
Workers Memorial Day on
April 28, we know we
have much more work ahead of us. Four UAW members died in workplace
incidents since Workers Memorial Day 2015. We mourn the loss of these
members and send our condolences to their loved ones and coworkers.
UAW fatalities in the workplace April
28, 2015 –Feb. 29, 2016
May 5, 2015
Donald Megge, 53, millwright,
Jefferson North Fiat Chrysler Assembly, Local 7, Detroit.
Brother Megge was cleaning a filter press used to remove solids from waste
water when he was crushed between filter plates. Root causes included
disconnected presence- sensing devices, faulty circuits and working alone.
May 6, 2015
Lee Duncan, 41, team leader,
Jefferson North Fiat Chrysler Assembly, Local 7, Detroit.
Brother Duncan was re-installing rear fascia on vehicles in a remote
location. He was pushed by the vehicle conveyor and struck a metal locker
head first. The medical examiner has stated that the force of the blow lead
to severe brain trauma. He died immediately.
Jan. 22,
2016
Catherine White, 51, team leader,
Carlex Glass America, Local 737, Nashville, Tennessee.
Sister White was cleaning the ink applicator used to date stamp windshields.
A shuttle that picks up auto glass and moves it to a robot pick point
activated, trapping her head between a shuttle rail and the conveyor.
The crush point was not guarded. There was no lockout procedure in use. She
was pronounced dead at the scene.
Feb. 2, 2016
Terry Bodenbender, electrician,
General Motors Foundry, Local 211, Defiance, Ohio.
During the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, the UAW-GM Center for Human
Resources health and safety leadership were notified that a serious injury
incident had occurred. Information obtained indicated that sometime at
approximately 12:15 p.m. an accident had occurred while two employees
were troubleshooting a 15-ton crane. Employee Terry Bodenbender had
sustained a fatal injury due to a fall from heights. He sustained severe
blunt-force trauma injuries to his upper torso and skull. He succumbed to
his injuries Feb. 2, 2016 at the accident scene.