Workers can now have a third-party union representative present during health and safety inspections following a final rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The final rule modifies 29 C.F.R. Section 1903.8(c) and clarifies the right for workers to have a third-party, non-employee as a representative during OSHA inspections. It also acknowledges the important role of worker representatives in making workplaces safer.
The rule applies to both public and private-sector workers and will have a big impact on how OSHA inspections are conducted at federal facilities.
“A national rep who works for AFGE can now be the representative and go on OSHA walkaround inspections. Before it could only be the health and safety officer or rep for the local union,” said AFGE Health and Safety Specialist Milly Rodriguez. “It also means we can go on an inspection of a workplace where we do not yet represent the employees if they select an AFGE representative in an organizing campaign when we are working to represent the workers, for example.”
Indeed, the rule would have made a big difference if it had been in place during AFGE’s previous organizing campaigns, including at TSA where AFGE worked with locals to file OSHA complaints but when OSHA did an inspection, AFGE national representatives were not allowed to go on the inspection.
“This rule gives workers better health and safety protections because they can choose outside representation from the union at the district or national level or experts in the occupational health and safety field,” Rodriguez explained. “It will be useful in situations where the local has not yet developed its own health and safety representative or where employees might be in fear of reprisal for raising health and safety concerns during an OSHA inspection.”
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