June Update
Both the monthly membership and E & G meetings were held yesterday, June 5th. The board did meet with the company to receive an update on Fastnet.
Fastnet As a board we were looking for details on how the facility will run. There are folks within Merck that believe that only those with degrees should be eligible to work in this factory. Obviously, we can’t agree with that. We need to learn the scope of work so that have a better understanding, and we’re able to negotiate effectively. The details provided that were provided were not really anything additional to what we already knew. It does appear to be extremely fast-paced, with a lot of turnarounds. It can possibly include running four to five products simultaneously in the same building at the same time in different trains.
Topics of discussion from membership and board meetings
- Retirement packages Those who have already been awarded packages will be leaving in July. The company continues to hint at packages for years end. They will not commit to a number. Production volume predictions seem to change weekly. The number packages will be associated with volume. As of right now we believe it will be a limited offering.
- Passivation skid The company is in agreement that any work performed with the passivation skid on site will be 94 C work. Originally, we were told that it would probably be CT’s running it, but after they’ve test ran it, they believe it fits operations better. It may be its own classification or possibly embedded into one of the existing work groups.
- Spor Klenz A communication came out approximately 2 years ago to our site and others that were cleaning with sporklenz. Durham put their workers in respiratory protection. West Point moved away from using sporklenz and began cleaning with an alternate agent.
Prior to the memo, our site had tested AB spaces and those results were below the exposure limits. Based on that, our site made the decision to test in other areas to confirm those were below exposure limits as well and would not require additional PPE.The data we have been given is insufficient to answer the questions that are needed to be able to safely do our jobs. However, with current cleaning practices, it is trending to end up above the exposure limit for acetic acid during full room cleans.
An official request for information has been submitted for all the data that they have, including that from other sites. The International Health and Safety representative is involved and will be reviewing the information as soon as we have it.
For now, what we know is:
- From the information provided, as of now there does not appear to be a chronic health concern from the use of sporklenz, meaning long term exposure does not pose a risk. Any health concern would be immediate from overexposure such as burns etc.
- Only full room cleans that are not in AB space are in scope. There are enough air changes in the AB space to prevent over exposure. Other activities that involve sporklenz use such as wipe ins, floor cleans, and pouring it down drains, have test data that deem them safe without respiratory protection.
- This site is bringing in additional resources to speed up testing so that areas and activities that fall below the threshold will be exempt from wearing mandatory respiratory protection.
- Until additional test results prove it’s safe otherwise, anytime a full room clean is being executed anyone in the room will have to wear a PAPR. You cannot enter the room after a full room clean without a PAPR for 2 hours after the cleaning has been completed.
- Job Postings Several job postings will be coming up in the next few weeks. As of right now the only jobs that will not be filled for our bargaining unit are those that are backfills for Primaxin and one existing vacancy in Weigh and Dispense.
- Colonoscopy A colonoscopy is considered an outpatient procedure and is covered by the contract. The prep day technically is not covered but the company has agreed to allow two days off for colonoscopy going forward. If complications arise, we will have to go thru sedgwick and FMLA to cover the additional days.
The next union meeting will be July the 2nd. Please make plans to attend.