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On May 2, 2005, I had the privilege of accepting an award on behalf of Local
One for Safety and Health Training from NYCOSH. Following is a copy of my
acceptance speech which I would like to share with all of you, as this award
belongs to the entire membership of this Local and you should all be honored
and congratulated.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I am here to accept this award on behalf
of my Local, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees. The members of Local One feel that this award should also be
shared with the staff of NYCOSH for all the hard work they have done to
help make our members lives not only better but also safer.
We have all heard the saying that the show must go on. But at what cost?
Is the show worth a human being’s life? A human being’s arm
or leg? Our industry has changed significantly over the last 20 years.
Show sets are now built as if they are real buildings and must meet building
codes. Some pieces of scenery weigh in at 5,000 lbs. This scenery is hung
overhead and moves in and out in the dark and, therefore, the scenery
cannot be seen by the stagehand. The stagehand then has to rely on the
people below them to recognize that this piece of scenery is moving and
to know enough not to be underneath it.
When I became an officer of Local One seven years ago, I demanded that
my local start dealing with safety issues.
I researched organizations to find one that could assist us in dealing
with various safety and health issues and that’s when I discovered
NYCOSH and the services they offer.
I sat down with the NYCOSH staff and began to tell them about our concerns.
I told them about things like mold on scenery, back injuries as a result
of carrying pieces of scenery weighing thousands of pounds and much more.
I then went to my board and informed them that NYCOSH could assist us on
many of our health and safety issues.
I was given permission by my Board to arrange for Local One to become a
member of NYCOSH. NYCOSH then recommended several different ways for us
to deal with our issues. We worked out a three-fold system: First, trained
new members in understanding their rights under the OSHA rules. Second:
we began to train our shop stewards. And third: we started to set up working
safety committees in all places of employment.
This system has taken time. We’ve had both some successes and some
failures. The percentage of members either disabled or out on workers compensation
has dropped from five to four to three percent. I wish I could say it dropped
to one percent; however, it seems that the more we do to keep our members
safe, the bigger the shows get and then the safety concerns get bigger too.
The members of Local One stand proud and always perform their jobs to the
fullest extent without regard to their own personal safety. The philosophy
is always that the show must go on.
I am proud to be a union member and even prouder to be a union officer,
which enables me to attend these NYCOSH classes and hear how unions push
for safety and OSHA laws into the workplace. I have offered my services
to NYCOSH PAC because unions and NYCOSH are one and the same. OSHA and the
unions in this country are under attack in many ways because they cut into
the earnings of big businesses by preventing the employees from working
themselves into dangerous situations for people who could care less about
them.
We must stand together or we will be spread apart and then worked to death
by large international companies who care only about profits and nothing
else.
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.
Fraternally,
John M. Diaz, Sr., Chairman
Board of Trustees
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