OSHA - Was A New Day for Workers

In 1970 I was working as an Ash and Auxiliary Operator at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company Bailly Generating Station near Chesterton, Indiana.

It was a coal fired power plant that had a positive pressured boiler which allowed any leak in the boiler shell or associated duct work to spew poisonous flue gas and smoke into the plant proper.

The workers were subjected to this terrible atmosphere day after day causing sinus problems, vomiting, various illnesses and breathing problems.

Mechanics and electricians actually had to have oxygen pumped into a mask they had to wear just to fix even the most minor problem.

Operators would wear breathing apparatuses just to make their assigned routine inspections.

Visitors to the plant would bcome sick when taken to the upper elevations.

I remember very well seeing a poster on the union bulletin board informing workers of the newly established "Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970", informing workers that they could complain to our government about health and safety violations without fear of reprisal or discipline from employers.

Although I didn't file a complaint to OSHA, the poster did have the result of convincing me that I had the right to complain to the NIPSCO management without any fear (I had only five years with NIPSCO at the time.)

Usually, a grievance would require waiting a long period of time before any member of management would even recognize a complaint, but in this particular instance, I found myself in the plant manager office in a few days and free to tell it like it was.

I can't remember what the exact result of that meeting was, but must say that that OSHA poster played a big part in my work history from then on.

Today is Workers Memorial Day and the birthday of the Occupation Safety and Health Administration and I suppose that's what brought this experience to mind.

It took some time to get it done, but through the determination of the members of the United Steelworker Union, today the workers at that plant have a negative pressured boiler which doesn't spew the poisonous gases near the workers anymore.