Remembering Jamie. And Rockie

Fighting for the living.

For local union leaders, the war against workplace illness and injury is an ongoing, daily battle.

A battle in which it's sometimes appropriate to stop and remember those who have fallen. Jamie Vecchio and Rockie Scullino were among those remembered at this week's 25th annual Day of Mourning activities at the Steelworkers Hall, with a good turnout and a City proclamation.

People came to remember the ones killed on the job or by workplace related illnesses, says United Steelworkers Local 2251 President Mike Da Prat.

And to fight for the living.

For the Sault Steelworkers locals, that fight continues on a daily basis with their occupational disease program.

"To date, 880 of our members have files with the WSIB [Workplace Safety Insurance Board]," said Da Prat. "So far 166 letters have been received with 130 claims denied."

Most of the claims that were denied will be appealed, he said.

Of the 36 claims that were allowed, 11 workers have died.

One was only 51 years old when he died of a workplace-related illness.

"It's important to also remember the families of the workers who have died when we talk about fighting for the living," Da Prat said. "Most of them didn't even know they could file a claim."

Some of these families who lost their sole income provider included young children who missed out on opportunities to play sports or participate in activities with their friends.

Unnecessarily.

Because the family did not know it could apply for benefits.

"You can't get that time in their lives back," he said.

In some cases it can take many months from the time a person decides to file a claim to when the benefits begin.

Da Prat said the most frequent reason a claim is denied is because it is incomplete or contains information that is unclear.

"If the company was engaged in the process with full, true and complete disclosure, it would be easier," said Da Prat. "But we want to make sure we put our best foot forward and file complete claims, so sometimes it takes time. Our problem is we have to dispute the company's information."

The union tries to find other workers who were working when and where the ill worker was working, and talk to them.

It can take as long as 25 years for signs of some occupational illnesses to show up, so it takes some detective work to find the sources of the exposure that caused the illness.

"A crushing injury is obvious," he said. "When people see that they ask what happened and how it can be prevented from happening again."

With workplace-related illnesses, it's not immediately obvious that a worker was adversely affected, or what caused that illness.

While regulations have changed and there's better enforcement for workplace safety, the hazards that cause workplace illnesses are not being addressed.

The baghouse that Essar Steel Algoma recently installed on its No. 7 blast furnace was a good step, Da Prat said, but there's still a lot of work to be done.

There are dangerous emissions from coke-making that workers are exposed to on a regular and ongoing basis.

"Our crane operators are continuously put in smoke-filled conditions," Da Prat said. "But it's that or open the doors and everyone down below them freezes."

He would like to see exhaust systems and scrubbers installed that would take out the harmful fumes and protect both workers and the environment.

Combine that with safety gear that's easy and comfortable to use and many lives could be saved, he said.

The local occupational disease program continues to gather data and that data is starting to show some disturbing trends, Da Prat said.

One trend he finds particularly worrisome is the growing body of evidence suggesting that acceptable exposure levels are too high.

"No one really knows when the damage occurs," he said. "It could be in the first months of exposure or it could be after years of constant exposure."

The Ontario government basically says the levels are fine until someone dies and it's proven the person died as a direct result of exposure to a workplace hazardous material, Da Prat said.

"People have to die for them to change the levels," he said. "Asbestos-related illnesses take 25 years to develop."

The Ontario government regularly reviews and adjusts occupational exposure limits.

It periodically adds or removes biological or chemical agents to its controlled exposure list.

But those reviews and changes came too late to save hundreds of workers from life-altering pain and suffering, a fact that became obvious to volunteers working in Sault Ste. Marie's occupational disease intake clinics over the past year.

These clinics have seen 880 families come through the doors since they began May 7, 2008.

Current and former Algoma Steel employees, retirees, family members and widows/ widowers were urged to attend and attend they did.

Some in wheelchairs.

Some with walkers and with oxygen tanks.

Volunteers who assisted at that first clinic have reported it was heartbreakingly clear that a few who attended did not have a lot of life left in them.

Almost a year to the day from that first clinic, organizers who were there will be in Sudbury assisting unions there with their first occupational disease intake clinic.

"We'll be there to lend our expertise in whatever way we are needed," Da Prat said. "It has to be done differently for different situations but we will do what we can to help."