Safety is Broken at Bayway

JHSC is dysfunctional, AST is being treated like an afterthought, and productivity over Safety is unfortunately an often exercised option.

Our Collective Bargaining Agreement as well as Corporate Standards and SWP’s apply to the entire Refinery.  In addition, there are procedures which have been put in place in order to address Unit/Area specific concerns.  How effective these tools are at minimizing the risks associated with each task we perform is in great part dependent on their consistent implementation.  The lack of supervisory consistency in applying these procedures, not only from Unit to Unit but from team to team is of great concern to this Executive Board.

One major hurdle we face during our workday is that certain supervisors not only ignore but in many instances encourage noncompliance with these procedures, contract articles and corporate standards to get the job done.

This Executive Board, in conjunction with the Stewards and Members have relentlessly informed the Company about safety excursions and how this management team has often put productivity over safety.  The safety culture at Bayway is upside down. Management/supervision encourages wage to cut corners, leaving our membership as the last line of defense. Creating a negative work environment is ultimately putting us all at risk. Management should preach safety and make sure our members have the proper tools, PPE and procedures to do the job. When safety issues are brought to supervisions attention, they should be met with open and honest discussion not the frequent hostility accompanied by veiled threats of future retribution that so commonly occur. The Union is deluged with stories of supervision giving unsafe orders; from dragging a gang way off a barge with a truck to telling vac truck drivers to go do the job and you do not need a permit. We could go on, but we all work at Bayway and there is no need to belabor this point. 

We request that our entire membership hold Management accountable. Even if your supervisor encourages you to take short cuts or ignore safe practices do not do it. Do not let any Supervisor who gives an unsafe order off the hook. Document those orders and then call a time out. If the rogue supervisor relents and agrees to follow the procedure manual or just to do it safely, notify a steward so we can document this occurrence so when we have the need to hold their feet to the fire we have facts and figures to back up our position that we have a potentially dire safety problem; a safety culture at Bayway that is upside down. By no means are all supervisors rogue, The Union knows which supervisors consistently put our members in harm’s way and the Managers that support their behavior.

Your Union leadership is committed to the pursuit of a meaningful safety relationship and dialogue with management and doing our part for a safer Bayway. As has been proven many times in the past, the road to change can be filled with potholes and detours which challenge the will and spirit of all individuals. Together we can and will overcome these obstacles. By standing united and perseverant, until our goal of a safe and compliant refinery is met, we shall not be moved.

Signed,

Your Executive Board