Health & Safety
Health & Safety
The UAW and Ford Motor Company are dedicated to protecting the health and safety of our workforce and have been since 1941, the beginning of their working partnership. The call for Joint collaboration to better protect workers was contained in the very first UAW-Ford Collective Bargaining Agreement. Today this legacy continues as the UAW and Ford Motor Company foster a joint partnership in their commitment to health and safety, operating as the UAW-Ford National Joint Committee on Health and Safety, the NJCHS.
The UAW-Ford NJCHS
The UAW-Ford National Joint Committee on Health and Safety (NJCHS) works to enhance the health and safety of our workforce, both on and off the job. The UAW-Ford NJCHS fosters safety as a core value in all aspects of the workplace, with continued focus on ensuring full engagement to harness the voice and input of the true workplace experts – our workers. There is a special emphasis placed on watching out for each other by being our brothers and sisters keepers, as an injury to one is an injury to all. The UAW-Ford NJCHS continues to strengthen their efforts in health and safety through the collective bargaining process and strategic implementation of cutting-edge safety initiatives. Its ultimate goal of injury prevention and safer workplaces is achieved through a mindset of continuous improvement – leading the way in the automotive industry and beyond.
Current Safety Initiatives:
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Strengthening the competencies of our facility UAW Health and Safety Representatives and Safety Engineers, the men and women who ensure the effective implementation of programs at the plant level, through cutting-edge custom developed training for our safety teams including the latest injury prevention strategies and tools to engage the experience and knowledge of our workers.
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The addition of a severe weather initiative with specific activities to facilitate inclement weather preparedness.
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Continued focus on high risk work particularly done by our skilled trades with enhanced risk assessment tools and deeper input opportunities from them.
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Developing and updating world-class training for our workforce, including lifting and rigging, overhead crane training, powered material handling vehicles, pre-task analysis, and many more.
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Ongoing training and drills for our world-class Emergency Response Teams.
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Expanded semi-annual safety training for all workers with a special emphasis on the use of technologies such as social media avenues, apps and video. Creation and delivery of communication and messaging often offering site-specific training and on-the-job access to job aides.
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Research initiatives that seek out unknown workplace health risks and develop strong countermeasures.
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On-going involvement in new technology and new product launch-readiness for safer implementation.
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Continuous research and updates to an already strong ergonomics program with focus on newer technologies and ergonomic principles, as well as, shift patterns and extended work-hour impact analysis.
Final Word
Our joint commitment to workplace safety has enabled continued progress that we are proud of. In recognition that there are many challenges yet to overcome, we remain focused on building safer workplaces together. The goal of organizational resilience is achieved by building capacity into our processes. This is best accomplished by continued engagement of our dedicated and experienced workforce, the strength and pride of our organizations. We will continue to leverage our partnership to work toward an injury free workplace. Our ultimate goal is to ensure every member of our workforce returns safely home to their families every day.
