Painters' Cardwell tapped by International
Another Michigan man is going to work for his International Union.

B.J. Cardwell, business representative for Painters District Council 22, has been appointed "general organizer" by the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

Cardwell, 43, became a painter in 1975 in Local 514. For the last three years, he has been business representative and director organizing for PDC 22. Since February 1998, Cardwell said the Painters District Council in Michigan has organized an average of three to five new contractors per month, resulting in cards being signed by about 700 new members.

Newly installed International President Mike Monroe noticed the results in Michigan under Cardwell, and approached him about extending his organizing talents nationwide.

"I feel great about going to the International Union," Cardwell said. "I'm looking forward to helping the Painters membership numbers grow in Michigan and in the rest of the country. I'm confident that the organizing successes we've had in Michigan will continue."

Cardwell starts his new job June 1, and his new duties will require him to roam the country.

"B.J. is a sponge, he learned quickly and he just has that gift," said Painters District Council 22 Secretary-Treasurer Robert Kennedy. "We have other people who will step up and get the job done, but we're going to miss B.J. around here."

In our last edition, we had Bob Pilarski's name right, but the wrong union affiliation in a photo caption. Bob is an International Representative with the Laborers Union. Sorry about that.

Noise standard falls on deaf ears, so far
Every year, 750,000 construction workers are regularly exposed to noise levels of 85 decibels or more, and OSHA's standard for noise protection for Hardhats doesn't kick in until 90 decibels.

However, in other industries, OSHA has a much lower tolerance for noise, and the agency gives employers a detailed list of hearing protection equipment for workers and has extensive bookkeeping requirements for noise exposure.

As is the case with the proposed new federal ergonomics standard (which ignores construction) and a proper sanitation standard which does not currently require portable toilets and handwashing facilities on all job sites, the lack of a proper standard for hearing is again giving building trades workers the short end of the stick when it comes to health and safety protections.

Alice Suter of Alice Suter and Associates, told an OSHA panel that OSHA has not effectively enforced the noise standard because there is not much of a standard to enforce. "It's just a bare-bones type of regulation," she told the Construction Labor Report.

OSHA Administrator Charles Jeffress told the panel that he agrees with Suter's assessment and that the agency will start rulemaking this summer to revisit the construction noise standard.