SAULT STE. MARIE — United Steelworkers Local 2251, Algoma Steel's largest collective bargaining unit, is preparing formal complaints over COVID-19 physical distancing issues.
The union local representing almost 2,300 hourly rated employees is writing up grievances related to the conduct of outside contractors last week near the steelmaker's No. 4 gate on Goulais Avenue.
Early on Wednesday morning, the chairman of Algoma Steel's joint health and safety committee attended at No. 4 gate, the designated spot for outside contractors to enter the plant.
Wednesday was a 'down day' – when operations are halted to allow contractors to perform construction or maintenance functions.
Local 2251 president Mike Da Prat says that, outside the plant gate, everyone was reported to have followed the distancing rules.
There were no gatherings of more than five people.
All contractors stayed at least two metres (six feet) away from other contractors.
Inside the plant, however, was a different kettle of fish.
The committee chair reported to Da Prat that contractors were standing in groups of more than five, with as many as nine workers boarding short buses, in one case with two contractors on adjacent seats.
Four contractors were seen riding snugly in the king cab of a work truck.
None were wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed when working in close proximity to others.
Later in the day, another health and safety representative reported that contractors on the east side of #7 cast house were not social distancing or wearing PPE.
An order filed Apr. 3 under Ontario's Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act requires all essential businesses continuing to operate during the pandemic lockdown to comply with "the advice, recommendations and instructions of public health officials, including any advice, recommendations or instructions on physical distancing, cleaning or disinfecting."
Da Prat says he considered the contractor activity to be a "blatant violation" and contacted City Police.
Police were helpful, he said, but were uncertain whether they had jurisdiction on the steel mill's private property.
They referred Da Prat to Algoma Public Health (APH).
The health unit advised him that its current emphasis is on education, not enforcement.
APH said Da Prat needed to contact either police or Algoma Steel's human resources department.
"Employers have the ability to implement whatever precautions they deem necessary to protect the health and safety of their staff." Chris Spooney, APH's manager for environmental health, tells SooToday.
"Only essential contract work should be taking place for the safety and operation of the plant. If workers have any specific health and safety concerns, they should speak directly to their health and safety rep or the ministry of labour."
"The Algoma Steel health and safety team has been in contact with Algoma Public Health and we have provided updates regarding the latest recommendations to protect their workforce," Spooney said.
If contractors aren't practising physical distancing and then leave the plant, Da Prat sees a risk to the entire community.
And he's frustrated at being sent in circles when seeking enforcement.
"APH was quick to get back to me, but they just looped me back," the Local 2251 president tells SooToday.
"The end result is, I thought social distancing was to protect us. It appears that it's up to the union to fix," Da Prat said.
"Algoma Health Unit can stop people from feeding truckers. Authorities can chase children from playing in playgrounds. But they don't have the authority to stop contractors from gathering in groups more than five and congregating without appropriate distance between them. How the hell is that?"
"I would think that a biological hazard like this should be dealt with by epidemiologists and public health officials," Da Prat told us.
On March 25, Algoma Steel president Michael McQuade told his workforce that an employee of a supplier had tested positive for COVID-19.
"Algoma Public Health is advised the likelihood of transmission is low however out of an abundance of caution we have notified those employees who were in contact with the individual and asked them to stay home and self-monitor for the remainder of the 14-day window," McQuade said.
As recently as the beginning of this month, Local 2251 and the company were meeting daily – and co-operatively – to work out coronavirus workplace issues.
Among other measures, the two sides agreed that outside contractors would be segregated from the regular Algoma Steel workforce, with separate lunchrooms, washrooms and wash-up facilities.
Even with physical distancing rules in place, it's sometimes necessary for workers to be in close proximity to other workers.
An interim procedure for such cases was agreed to in advance of two Algoma Steel down days at the beginning of this month.
Respirators with a P100 filter were to be worn with a face shield, a Tyvek suit with hood and appropriate gloves, and the Tyvek suits were to be removed completely before workers entering any common area.
However, a memorandum authored by Da Prat, obtained by SooToday from a third party, suggests that differences arose when management unilaterally introduced its own policy last week.
That policy prompted Da Prat to advise more than 100 of his members with expired respirator fits to request assignment to other work.
"The company unilaterally created a standard operating procedure, which was general in nature and designed for all jobs that require employees to work in close proximity," Da Prat said in the memo, emailed to Local 2251 members on Tuesday.
"The [standard operating procedure] states the respirators must be selected within a certain criterion and from the health and safety department intranet page. This could lead supervision to believe that they select the respirators to be worn by the workers."
"The reality is that workers are fitted by medical for a respirator mask that suits the person’s physiology and the appropriate canisters or filters are then selected by the department for the environment or hazard associated with the work required to be performed."
"It is a requirement of the joint health and safety manual, and the respirator program that every worker must originally be fit for a respirator by medical and then re-fit every two years to ensure the fit is proper," Da Prat wrote.
"The company has suggested that our air-purifying respirator with P100 cartridges provides sufficient protection. Although the respirator, if fit by medical and the fit is current, provides PPE protection, the fact that it has an exhaust valve does not provide source protection. N95 masks, on the other hand, provide both PPE protection for the person wearing it and source protection for the people in close proximity of the wearer."
Da Prat added: "the APR [air-purifying respirator] having an exhaust valve results in droplets of moisture etc. to exhaust in the atmosphere around the wearer. To that end it is paramount that people working in close proximity must, along with the APR filter, wear a face shield, Tyvek suit and nitrile or latex gloves."
Local 2251 believes about 150 employees have expired respirator fits.
"These employees must not be assigned in any area having a hazardous atmosphere which absolutely includes potential exposure to COVID-19," Da Prat advised his membership.
"If you are assigned a job requiring working in close proximity, please ask your supervisor to check your records to ensure your respirator fit is current and falls within the two-year time limit for a re-fit."
"If you are not current on your respirator fit, you must request to be assigned other work."
Da Prat ended his memorandum by stating: "It must be noted that every member has the right to refuse unsafe work and this absolutely includes concerns regarding exposures that might result in transmission of COVID-19."
Da Prat is frustrated at being forced to use the grievance process in a public health emergency.
He says it will take at least 51 days for Local 2251's physical-distance grievances to get a hearing.
By the time the issues are resolved, he fears, the pandemic may be over.
And that's the best-case scenario.
The worst-case scenario is that when the issues are finally dealt with, the pandemic is still unresolved, and worse than ever.
Algoma Steel did not respond to numerous efforts to obtain its perspective for this article.
