Brothers and Sisters,

 On the rail, we are faced with a 'production above all else'  attitude. It not only comes down from "on high" at Gulf Canada Square but we are finding some of our members...those who are at most risk... also buying into it. 

 Don't ever be fooled or coerced or intimidated into letting your guard down. There is always time to do each and every task safely.

 Remember, that it often is a case of life or death and so we must take our safety and the safety of each other as the highest priority when we are at work.  What we do out there is dangerous enough...there is no need (or excuse) to add to the risk.

 CPRail, or any company, should never be nearly as important to you as your own family. Your loyalty must always be first and foremost with those who love you and depend on you to come home alive and well.

 The following was written by a friend of mine and a dedicated advocate for a safer work environment. Though she isn't a railroader, her message still rings true.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay united,

Bill Brehl

President

TCRCMWED

" Your safety is too important to leave in the hands of management"

Too Busy for Safety?

 by Wendy Sanche

Today I heard someone say they were "too busy" to attend a communication/safety talk.

It seems everyone is so busy these days that many of us don’t often stop to consider the consequences of our actions. There are those of us that, “eat, sleep, walk, talk” safety – trust me when I say that it can be a curse (for others) when you are passionate and live & breathe what you do for a living. Ask my son how terrible it was growing up with, “Safety Mom”.

I’m never to busy for safety; (or to help others), I have learned, albeit at a snail's pace, that not every person has the same intense level of passion when it comes to safety. I appreciate that what I do is vital and that I should, (and do) lead by example. If I am too busy, how can I expect others to take the time to be safe?

I will confess that at times it might be easy to fall into this trap of being too busy to worry about our own safety let alone the safety of others. If we look around at the busy environment we work in, it varies from day to day. Everyone seems to be in a hurry because there is so much to be done in an 8 hour day. How can we possibly fit it all in? There's the boss and coworkers, customer orders, deadlines, phone calls, emails, the ever popular, “other duties as assigned”, the list goes on and on. Why should we add one more thing into our busy schedules that involves looking for ways to keep us safe in a possible hazardous situation? We claim we are just too busy to worry about it. Are we really that busy? Do we need to take a step back and “Take 5”?

Well, here are a few questions to ask yourself before you say you are “too busy”:

1. If anything happened to you, who would take care of the kids? Are you going to be able to help?

2. If you were injured and left physically damaged, how could you support yourself, your family?

3. If you became a victim of a workplace accident, how would that affect your daily life, your relationship to others, your ability to live alone if you have to?

4. If you lost your home due to reduced income after an injury, how would you deal with not having a home for your family? Where would you go?

5. Who would miss you?

6. If you were killed in a workplace incident, who would provide for your family?

7. If you were critically injured, what would the long-range results be for you mentally/emotionally?

8. What do you think your wife, husband, or significant other will tell your kids?

9. If you were to busy to help someone do something and they were injured, how are you going to feel knowing you might have been responsible for their injury?

10. If you saw something and failed to report it because you were, “too busy” and someone was killed – how will you face your coworkers? What will you say to the family as you stand at the grave-site to mourn the loss of your friend/coworker?

11. If you are a supervisor/manager and you were too busy to provide the proper training or too busy to ensure your employee was following the safety procedures or using the proper PPE, because of your blatant neglect an employee is critically injured or killed, are you going to be able to hold up under the pressure and scrutiny of court cases, police, other employees, media, the family, Ministry of Labour – this list also goes on and on. Are you truly ready for your 15 minutes of fame?

Is it really worth the risk of pain, fear, guilt, anguish agony and possibly your own death to avoid taking a little extra time out of your busy schedule to plan, recognize and report hazards, attend communication meetings, do the training, ask the questions, warn a coworker, or supervise in order to reduce the risk of a critical or worse, fatal injury?

Please take some time, put down the phone while you drive, watch out for others, report hazards and near miss incidents and give safety some time – your family, coworkers and the company that needs you to remain an integral part of their team will thank you.

Wendy