What Would You Do?

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EmtTravis

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Ok so here is my situation. I work at a saw mill as a sawyer. There are currently about 12 employee's. About 7 of those employee's smock weed. Now this wouldn't make a difference to me except they do it at work. Where we work it is very very dangerous. For one we use very large saws all day long. Secondly almost none of the emergency stops work on anything and most things are direct wired to the fuse box's instead of to their respective on/off buttons. This place is a nightmare but it is the only job I could find 2 years ago and have been there ever since. The employee restroom has been out of order since before I started there. If we have to use the restroom we have to go outback behind the piles of logs.. There is a restroom in the office but we are not allowed to use it. I even asked them to bring in a porta potty but they won't. Now last thursday I got caught in some of the rollers on one of the saws and they control was not working right so they just kept rolling. Luckily I had my carhart jacket on and it jammed the rollers *burnt up the motor*. Well they have since got the roller control fixed but there are still many many dangerous issues that need addressed. My question to whoever reads this is what would you do if you was in my situation. I plan on being out of there in the next few weeks but I still worry about the place and people that work there. Should I write a letter to OSHA? If I call them they will not send out a investigator only if i write the letter will they. Should I call LE about the drugs? Some are dealing at work. Should I call the health dept about the bathroom situation?

Any comments and advice is welcome.
 
Well, it is easy for me as an outsider to say, quit quickly and run to OSHA and the law. I don't know the exact situation oviously, but look at it this way, if the scene is not safe do we stick around? If the scene we leave is not safe for someone else, do we just shrug and leave? No, you leave and call help to make the scene safe for you and others.

In my opinion, if you (a citizen) see the law being broken, (ie. dealing, MAJOR violations of OSHA and other safety regs, health department violations, etc) you as a law abiding citizen have not just the ability but the obligation to tell the authorities. Like I said, it is easy for us on the outside to give advice since we don't have to follow it now. If you do, the should I stick around or not question will probably answer itself. In all probability, they would give you the boot if you were still there when the state comes after them and the knew you squealed. (Squealed in a good way^_^)
 
Aloha, Brother!

I'll treat this as if you were either a friend or a patient involved with an abusive spouse:

You know the answer; GET OUT!

That is the only step right now because it is the first step and you haven't taken it.

Once you are out, spelled S - A - F - E, then you can contemplate the next action.

Do not delay; the only life in danger is YOURS. Others make their choices and they must live with them. This one is yours, and it is simple
 
smock weed? :unsure: Oh smoke weed. Got you.
 
Tough call in several ways. First, it sounds like you are getting out of there soon, so that's good anyway. Definitely be as careful as you can until you leave, in terms of personal safety. I wouldn't work on anything that didn't have a working emergency stop, and if you are given a bad time about that, mention OSHA's address.

If all the other employees at the place are intelligent and aware of the safety issues, and all are aware of the high employees, then I think I'd just leave with a written letter of resignation pointing out the problems to the management. If anybody is unaware of the equipment safety problems, I'd write a letter to OSHA and copy the management as I left. If some employees were unaware of the high employees and the safety issues involved, I'd copy the local LEO folks on the letter.

I'd also check out the local "whistleblower" laws before doing any of this. Don't know what it's like in your area, but in some areas, it can offer some protection.

What's your next job? More in the EMS area?
 
Consider also that these other eleven employees may count on this job to feed their families.
 
thanks for the advice everyone. I am more then likely going to write a letter to OSHA after I quit the place. I think im going to ask them who I should contact about the employee's who smoke weed on the job and the bathroom situation. My boss and I got into a big argument today because I refused to operate my saw til I got some new belts put on. I know the other employee's and even my bosses know about them smoking pot on the job. Well the bosses know they are high when they are there but they have never seen them do it. Also if OSHA was to close the place down til they got everything fixed wouldn't the employee's be able to draw unemployment?
 
EmtTravis said:
thanks for the advice everyone. I am more then likely going to write a letter to OSHA after I quit the place. I think im going to ask them who I should contact about the employee's who smoke weed on the job and the bathroom situation. My boss and I got into a big argument today because I refused to operate my saw til I got some new belts put on. I know the other employee's and even my bosses know about them smoking pot on the job. Well the bosses know they are high when they are there but they have never seen them do it. Also if OSHA was to close the place down til they got everything fixed wouldn't the employee's be able to draw unemployment?
Click to expand...

Remember that you can make reports to OSHA anonymously (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Don't until you're gone if you're worried about retribution.

These people may need the job, but the income won't do them or their families any good if they wind up needing to live off of a disability check after something goes wrong. I'd report it.
 
if you call in and make a complaint they will call the company and tell them to fix things. If you write a letter to have an investigator go to the place they want your contact info so they can tell you what happened. Also we only get a 30 minute lunch even if we work for 10 hours.. man i hate the place lol
 
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