Article III – Health & Safety – 2011 UMWA and BCOA National Agreement

Section (a) Right to a Safe Working Place

Every Employee covered by this Agreement is entitled to a safe and healthful place to work, and the parties jointly pledge their individual and joint efforts to attain and maintain this objective. Recognizing that the health and safety of the Employees covered by this Agreement are the highest priorities of the parties, the parties agree to comply fully with all lawful notices and orders issued pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended, and pursuant to the various state mining laws.

Section (b) Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, As Amended. The parties to this contract, finding themselves in complete accord with the FINDINGS AND PURPOSE Art. III 38 declared by the United States Congress in section 2 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 do hereby affirm and subscribe to the principles as set forth in such section 2 of the Act.

(1) In consequence of this affirmation, the parties not only accept their several responsibilities, obligations and duties imposed by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, but freely resolve to cooperate among each other and with the responsible officials of federal and state governments in determined efforts to achieve greatly improved performance in coal mine health and safety.

(2) Neither party waives nor repudiates any administrative, procedural, legislative, or judicial rights under or relating to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended. * * * * *

Section (d) Mine Health and Safety Committee

(1) At each mine there shall be a Mine Health and Safety Committee made up of miners employed at the mine who are qualified by mining experience or training and selected by the local union. The local union shall inform the Employer of the names of the Committee members. The Committee at all times shall be deemed to be acting within the scope of their employment in the mine within the meaning of the applicable workers’ compensation law.

(2) The Union and Employer shall jointly establish and fund a course of health and safety training for members of the Mine Health and Safety Committee, which is designed to improve health and safety knowledge and skills. The Mine Health and Safety Committee shall participate in and shall be paid at their regular rates of pay by the Employer for attendance at training sessions. The training program will be established by the Joint Industry Training Committee.

(3) The Mine Health and Safety Committee may inspect any portion of a mine and surface installations, dams or waste impoundments and gob piles connected therewith. If the Committee believes conditions found endanger the lives and bodies of the Employees, it shall report its findings and recommendations to the Employer. In those special instances where the Committee believes that an imminent danger exists and the Committee recommends that the Employer remove all Employees from the involved area, the Employer is required to follow the Committee’s recommendation and remove the Employees from the involved area immediately. The Mine Health and Safety Committee shall, when engaged in its official duties as herein provided, be furnished transportation at the mine.

(4) The Committee shall give sufficient advance notice of an intended inspection to allow a representative of the Employer to accompany the Committee. If the Employer does not choose to participate, the Committee may make its inspection alone.

(5) If the Mine Health and Safety Committee in closing down an area of the mine acts arbitrarily and capriciously, a member or members of such Committee may be removed from the Committee. An Employer seeking to remove a Committee member shall so notify the affected Committeeman and the other members of the Mine Health and Safety Committee. If the Committee objects to such removal, the matter shall be submitted directly to arbitration within 15 days…

(6) Mine management and the Mine Health and Safety Committee shall meet monthly at times arranged by the parties for the purpose of reviewing mine accident prevention efforts, discussing mine accidents and resolving health and safety problems at the mine. Special meetings may be called by either party for the purpose of resolving safety matters.

(7) The Employer shall be responsible for paying Committee members for the performance of the following duties:

(i) Inspecting the entire mine and surface installations connected therewith with management on a regular basis mutually agreed upon by the Employer and the Committee, but in no case any less often than every two months. The Employer shall be responsible for paying each Committeeman one shift at his regular rate of pay once in every two month period for performance of his duties under this paragraph.

(ii) Committee members shall be paid at their regular straight time rate of pay for up to two hours for time spent in joint monthly meetings with the Employer provided for in paragraph (6).

(iii) Investigating explosions and/or disasters including any mine fatality.

Section (e) Access to the Mine

In recognition of the UMWA’s concern with health and safety in the coal mines, Union officials as described below and any authorized representative of the UMWA Department of Occupational Health and Safety, without interfering with the Mine Health and Safety Committee and the Mine Committee in the performance of their duties, shall be granted access to the mines on the following conditions:

(1) Subject to the routine check-in and check-out procedures at the mine, the officers of the International Union, the International District Vice President of the District involved, and authorized representatives of the International Union’s Department of Occupational Health and Safety shall be afforded the opportunity to visit a mine to consult with management or the Mine Health and Safety Committee and to enter the mine at the request of either management or the Mine Health and Safety Committee.

(2) If the Mine Health and Safety Committee calls in such representatives to meet with mine management to discuss health or safety problems, mine management shall have the right to be represented by its own health or safety representative. Where application of a federal or state law or regulation is involved, either management or the authorized Union representative may invite federal or state inspectors to participate.

(3) Representatives authorized by the International Union may accompany state or federal coal mine inspectors investigating any fatal or serious nonfatal accident, ignition, mine fire or mine explosion. …

Section (g) Safety Rules and Regulations

Reasonable rules and regulations of the Employer, not inconsistent with federal and state laws, for the protection of the persons of the Employees and the preservation of property shall be complied with.

After the Effective Date of this Agreement, at least ten (10) days prior to the implementation of any new or revised safety rule or regulation, the Employer shall provide copies of the proposed rule or regulation to the Mine Health and Safety Committee and shall meet and discuss it with Committee members in an attempt to resolve any differences between the parties. If the Committee or any Employee believes that any such new rule or regulation or revision is unreasonable, arbitrary, discriminatory or adversely affects health or safety, they may file and shall process a grievance. …

Section (i) Preservation of Individual Safety Rights

(1) No Employee will be required to work under conditions he has reasonable grounds to believe to be abnormally and immediately dangerous to himself beyond the normal hazards inherent in the operation which could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm before such condition or practice can be abated. When an Employee in good faith believes that he is being required to work under such conditions he shall immediately notify his supervisor of such belief and the specific physical conditions he believes exist. The Employee shall state the factual basis for his belief but shall not be required to cite applicable law or regulation. Unless there is a dispute between the Employee and management as to the existence of such condition, steps shall be taken immediately to correct  or prevent exposure to such condition utilizing all necessary Employees, including the involved  employee.

(2) If the existence of such condition is disputed, the Employee shall have the right to be relieved from duty on the assignment in dispute. Management shall assign such Employee to other available work not involved in the dispute; and the Employee shall accept such assignment at the higher of the rate of the job from which he is relieved and the rate of the job to which he is assigned.  The assignment of such alternative work shall not be used to discriminate against the Employee who expresses such belief. If the existence of such condition is disputed, at least one member of the Mine Health and Safety Committee shall review such condition with mine management within four (4) hours to determine whether it exists and each party shall state the facts upon which it relies as to whether such condition exists or does not exist. If there is agreement between the Mine Health and Safety Committee member or members and mine management that the condition does not exist, the Employee shall return to his regular job immediately.

(3) If the dispute remains unsettled following the investigation by a member of the Mine Health and Safety Committee and involves an issue concerning compliance with federal or state mine safety laws or mandatory health or safety regulations, the appropriate federal or state inspection agency shall be called in immediately and the dispute shall be settled on the basis of the findings of the inspector with both parties reserving all rights of statutory appeal. Should the federal or state inspector find that the condition complained of requires correction before the Employee may return to his job, the Employer shall take the corrective action immediately.  Upon correction, the complaining Employee shall return to his job. If the federal or state inspector does not find a condition requiring correction, the complaining Employee shall return to his job immediately.

(4) For disputes not otherwise settled, a written grievance shall be filed no later than five working days after the findings of the inspector and the dispute shall be referred immediately to step 3 as provided for in Article XXIII, Settlement of Disputes, Section (c)(3). If upon final resolution of the dispute, as provided above, it is determined that an abnormally unsafe or abnormally unhealthy condition within the meaning of this section existed, the Employee shall be paid for all earnings he lost, if any, as a result of his removing himself from his job. In those instances where a determination has been made, as provided above, that an Employee did not act in good faith in exercising his rights under the provisions of this Agreement, he shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, subject, however, to his right to file and process a grievance. In no event, however, shall such discipline for failure to act in good faith be imposed prior to the review between at least one member of the Mine Health and Safety Committee and mine management required under paragraph (2) of this Section (i). … 

Section (p) Settlement of Health or Safety Disputes

When a dispute arises at the mine involving health or safety, an immediate, earnest and sincere effort shall be made to resolve the matter through the following steps:

(1) By the aggrieved party and his immediate supervisor. Any grievance which is not filed by the aggrieved party within twenty-four (24) hours following the shift on which the grievant reasonably should have known of such grievance shall be considered invalid and not subject to further consideration under the grievance procedure. If the grievance is not settled at this step, the BCOA-UMWA Standard Health and Safety Grievance Form shall be completed and signed jointly by the parties.

(2) If no agreement is reached at step 1, the grievance shall be taken up by the Mine Health and Safety Committee, the UMWA district health and safety representative and mine management within four days of the conclusion of step 1. If the dispute involves an issue concerning compliance with federal or state mine safety laws or mandatory health or safety regulations, the appropriate federal or state inspection agency shall be called in immediately and the dispute shall be settled on the basis of the inspector’s findings, with both parties reserving all statutory rights of appeal. If the dispute is not settled, a record shall be made of the position of the parties and the evidence at this step.

(3) If no agreement is reached at step 2 within five (5) days, the dispute shall be referred to an arbitrator for settlement in accordance with the procedure under Article XXIII, Section (c)(4). The grievant shall have the right to be present at each step, if he so desires, of the foregoing procedures until such time as all evidence is taken. A decision reached at any stage prior to step 4 of the proceedings above outlined shall be reduced to writing and signed by both parties. The decision shall be binding on both parties and shall not be subject to reopening except by mutual agreement.