We are the United Steelworkers, North America’s largest industrial union. We’re 1.2 million members and retirees strong in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. We proudly represent men and women who work in nearly every industry there is.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last line of defense for protecting workers on the job. Hazards should be eliminated or mitigated by using better design or engineering controls, or by administrative controls (safer job procedures) before PPE is assigned.
But in many industries, PPE is used either as extra protection or in some cases, the only protection that can keep a worker from getting injured or sick.
Why, then, are women so often left out? In order to be effective, PPE must fit properly.
According to OSHA, “All personal protective equipment should be safely designed and constructed, and should be maintained in a clean and reliable fashion. It should fit comfortably, encouraging worker use. If the personal protective equipment does not fit properly, it can make the difference between being safely covered or dangerously exposed.”
Too often workplaces supply women PPE that is just a small size of men’s clothing. That is not adequate.
Men and women are built differently. Some of those differences are:
Women have narrower shoulders than men.
Women’s chests need roomier garments than men’s garments.
Women have shorter torsos than men.
Women have wider hips than men.
Women’s hands are smaller; fingers are narrower and finger lengths are different proportions than men’s fingers.
Working in the wrong size clothing can make work more hazardous! Using the wrong size glove can affect the ability to properly grip. Extra fabric from clothing that is too big can create trip and fall hazards or can get caught in machinery. Improperly-sized headgear can fall off. The wrong size hearing protection can simply be ineffective.
It is also broadly reported that when PPE is not comfortable, workers are less likely to use it consistently.
The problem is widespread. Eighty-four percent (84%) of women report having difficulty finding the right size of PPE. Women are being left without proper protection. This problem is easily solved if the right sized PPE is made available.
What can be done?
When employers deny women proper protection by supplying ill-fitting PPE, there are several actions workers and their unions can take.
Request that the employer contact their safety supplier to find out what women’s PPE is available.
Unfortunately, sometimes the problem is unaddressed because no one has made the request to provide women’s sizes. If the supplier the company uses does not have adequate sizes, including for women, the employer must seek other suppliers who can provide what is needed.
If the request does not produce results, use the union to bring the issue forward.
Different local unions may have different ways to address safety problems: ...
Over 50 years ago on April 28, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted, promising all workers the right to a safe job. We now recognize this significant date as Workers Memorial Day.
On Dec. 29, 1970, President Nixon signed the OSH Act passed by Congress and it went into effect on April 28, 1971. This Act also created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA.
This law was won because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement which organized for safer working conditions and demanded action to protect working people. Unions and our allies have continued to fight hard to make that promise a reality – winning protections that have made jobs safer and have prevented millions of workplace injuries and illnesses.
But our work is not done. According to the AFL-CIO, each day more than 340 workers are killed and more then 6,000 suffer injury and illness because of preventable hazardous conditions. Many hazards are still unregulated and uncontrolled. Some employers cut corners and violate the law, and dangerous work is contracted out. Workers who report jobs hazards or job injuries are disciplined and even fired. Workers continue to loss their lives on the job, become injured or made ill.
Every year on Workers Memorial Day, the United Steelworkers and USW Tony Mazzocchi Center (TMC) remember those who lost their lives on the job while also renewing our promise to fight for safer, healthier workplaces.
Please join us in commemorating Workers Memorial Day. The USW will hold an event on Friday, April 26 at 9:30 a.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa., at the USW International headquarters. Then, the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council AFL-CIO will host an event on Monday, April 29 at 12 p.m. in Market Square in Pittsburgh. Click here to find an event near you, or to submit an event.
