Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access (2020) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 27-53
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From page 27... ...
27 Organizational Environment Transit agency (TA) characteristics such as size; mode; location; needs; externalities, including federal and state oversight; and labor relations set the stage for all the other areas of action.
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28 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access Characteristic TAs Surveyed (%) TAs Interviewed (N = 15)
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 29 successful or somewhat successful overall. At three large TAs, the joint restroom activity was considered the strongest area of collaboration in the labor relations.
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30 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access In a follow-up query sent to all survey participants, five of the 27 TAs that responded (19%) reported a designated person responsible for restroom issues.
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From page 31... ...
Organizational Context of Restroom Access 31 Box 2-1. Excerpts of a Collective Bargaining Agreement The Company recognizes that access to safe, clean, and accessible restroom facilities by its employees, and particularly by its operators, is critical to the safe and efficient operation of its services and, more importantly, is a basic human right.
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32 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access The mission of the Restroom Access Committee shall be, on an ongoing basis, to monitor and provide, to the General Manager and all Union Business Agents, information and recommendations regarding conditions, concerns, and improvements pertaining to restroom access or lack thereof: 7. The Company shall authorize release from work of Restroom Access Committee members on paid company time, at least once every two weeks for the first six months of the agreement and once per month thereafter, to engage in tasks commensurate with the mission of the Restroom Access Committee.
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 33 identifying and providing clean restrooms, setting up a committee and supporting it with release time, sharing information, and protecting operators from discipline. This language was successfully negotiated in a contract in the spring of 2019, after a long campaign involving LU demonstrations (sometimes in diapers)
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34 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access In the project survey, operations staff was reported to be involved in restroom access activities by all but one of the TAs, as shown in Figure 2-3. Service planning, scheduling and labor relations each had a role in less than half.
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 35 and one-quarter did not contribute any effective practices. The most frequent responses were considering restroom access in planning and scheduling and a commitment to access as needed.
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36 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access as well. It has made clear that it can and will issues citations in workplaces that are privately managed or in OSHA plan states.
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 37 Other violations related to restroom access could be cited, such as the general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act if assaults or accidents are allowed to occur, or Section 11(c) if employees are discriminated against for reporting their concerns.
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38 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access stated that drivers did not have proper access to toilets during all working hours on 20 routes. Management agreed to participate in a union–management committee about restroom access and to provide drivers with lists of restrooms and potable water locations on their paddles.
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 39 In 2014, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (2014, p.
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40 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access More generally, management and worker roles in ensuring restroom access are supported by the health and safety program requirements for many employers across the country. Typically, employers must consult the workplace joint health and safety committee (or worker representative)
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 41 as shown in Figure 2-8. Starting with the union and operations management, over time the TA folded in the roles of more and more departments that contributed to the task force's success.
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42 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access Figure 2-8. SFMTA organizational chart.
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 43 relief driver when they felt the operator needed a short break. In a medium-sized TA, a planner and a scheduler carried out most of the direct restroom access responsibilities but had a list of the people they would call on in each department as needed.
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44 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access understanding who is taking what actions. In the project team's survey, LU leaders were much more likely than management to say that no one was involved in solving restroom issues (17% of LUs compared with 4% of TAs)
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From page 45... ...
Organizational Context of Restroom Access 45 facilitate access for transit employees. In a survey of people throughout Portland, Oregon, regarding their feelings about public restrooms and their likelihood of using public transit, most respondents did not agree that having more access to public restrooms would increase their use.
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46 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 None Informal Written Call in to dispatchers Unscheduled stops Route deviations Disciplined for breaks Disciplined for delays Figure 2-9. Survey results for bus operators: Percentage of TAs with policies.
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From page 47... ...
Organizational Context of Restroom Access 47 The basic policy does not address the important roles, considerations, and practices that support restroom access, especially in larger organizations. Figure 2-11 provides the outline of a more complete policy document, adapted from that produced by a large TA.
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48 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access Good Practices: Transit Agency Provides and Funds Staff Resources Ideally, departmental and staff roles in the restroom access process are defined and supported in the written policy. Cooperation is quite possible without a formal agreement, but the absence of one can result in conflicts with other organizational pressures, such as costs or ontime service delivery.
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Organizational Context of Restroom Access 49 LU leaders are a driving force on restroom concerns across the United States and Canada. In addition to publicizing their concerns through newsworthy actions, they raise the issues faced by vehicle operators in labor–management discussions and in the press.
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50 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access meetings, and were empowered to ask field operations staff to inspect restrooms, among many other things. As at this location, many TAs have set up restroom committees to evaluate issues and generate improvements.
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Figure 2-13. Transit agency detailed organizational structure with restroom roles.
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52 Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access General Restroom Survey for Vehicle Operators (To be adapted with specifics for bus/rail/paratransit if needed.) How often do you face problems with workplace restrooms?
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From page 53... ...
Organizational Context of Restroom Access 53 request. Conditions could include pregnancy, prostate health, irritable bowel syndrome, and cancer treatment -- some temporary and some longer lasting.
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