WEATHERSFIELD 2 salaried workers at RMI suffer injuries on job

A union official said RMI had an excellent safety record before the lockout.
THE VINDICATOR
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WEATHERSFIELD -- Federal officials confirmed Thursday that a salaried RMI Titanium employee lost three fingers from his right hand last month and another broke his elbow while working production jobs at the plant.
Management employees and other salaried workers have been operating the titanium mill since Oct. 26 when RMI locked out its hourly, unionized workers over a contract dispute.
Darlene Fossum, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Labor in Cleveland, said RMI has been cited for a safety violation in the amputation case, but no citation was issued in the elbow injury.
She would not reveal the victims' names or discuss the injuries because RMI's case is still open. Details will not become public, she said, until department officials reach an agreement with the company on how the alleged safety violations will be addressed.
An RMI spokesman did not return a call requesting comment. The company's policy since the lockout has been to communicate only through press releases.
What union chief said
Todd Weddell, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 2155 and 2155-7, which represents the 380 locked out RMI workers, said the injuries prove the union's point that mill jobs are dangerous for those not accustomed to working in an industrial setting.
"We don't want to see anybody injured in any way," Weddell said. "Regardless what side you're on, this has to make you wonder what it will take for somebody to wake up and say enough is enough."
Weddell said RMI had an excellent safety record before the lockout, and accidents like the finger amputation are "very, very unusual" there.
Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected the titanium mill after an RMI employee complained of injuries and safety violations there, Fossom said.
OSHA guards the identities of its informants, she said, because it often must rely on worker whistle-blowers to learn about workplace hazards.
In a letter to the complaining employee, OSHA inspectors said the worker whose fingers were amputated was operating a machine which was not equipped with a guard to protect the user from rotating parts, flying chips and parts. The machine is used to form titanium into billets.
Other details
Inspectors wrote that the employee who broke his elbow was using tongs to grip a piece of steel and fell backward when the tongs released.
Weddell said the accident likely happened because the salaried worker was unaccustomed to working with the mill equipment.
OSHA officials did not learn of the worker injuries at first, Fossom explained, because companies are not required to report accidents to the Department of Labor unless there is a fatality or at least three workers are hospitalized.
Inspectors issued two citations, both labeled serious. RMI was cited for having inadequate machine guards, or no guards at all, on several pieces of equipment, and for lifting large objects with mesh that had tears, punctures, snags or cuts. Inspectors have recommended RMI remedy the hazards and pay penalties of $2,000.
vinarsky@vindy.com