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CAO says city is negotiating a citywide heat illness prevention plan and untangling procurement to get PPE to frontline workers
Summary
At a Ways and Means hearing CAO Faith P. Leach described negotiations with unions on a citywide heat-illness prevention plan, DPW's HIP draft being used as a model, cooling-center activation on code-red days and a procurement coordination workgroup to resolve PPE bottlenecks.
Council President Z. Cohen and others pressed City Administrator Faith P. Leach for details about worker safety as the city prepares for a hot season. Leach said the administration is negotiating a citywide heat-illness prevention (HIP) plan with unions and using a DPW draft HIP already sent to MOSH as a model.
Leach described near-term steps to protect employees during heat events: "We're also planning to partner with the city's health department so that when we reach those code red days, that there are cooling centers that all of our employees as well as our residents have access to." She added that cooling centers would include water, electrolytes and quick snacks for workers during rest breaks.
Procurement and PPE
Council members described sanitation workers who lacked goggles and gloves. Leach said procurement bottlenecks have caused delays in basic safety equipment and the administration now runs a procurement coordination meeting and a procurement workgroup to unblock high-priority orders. "There should never be a day that someone doesn't have access to safety boots," she said.
Workplace injury monitoring and prevention
Leach described a workplace-injury committee led by risk management and co-led by the Office of Performance and Innovation that reviews cases, identifies root causes and recommends interventions. She also said OPI now runs a workplace-safety stat that brings deputy mayors and agency leaders together to track implementation.
