J. W. Szcygielski to Dr. Paul Kotin and D. B. Von Wald on Unreported Pneumoconiosis Cases at Waukegan (1979)

A two-page memo of April 11, 1979, from J. W. Szcygielski at the Waukegan, Illinois plant to Dr. Paul Kotin and D. B. Von Wald at Johns-Manville headquarters, answering W. B. Reitze's OSHA Letter #38 of August 15, 1978. Waukegan had been entering an occupational disease case on OSHA Form 200 only when the worker filed for compensation, though "Strictly construing the requirements of OSHA, we should be reporting Occupational Disease cases at the time of first diagnosis." He counted 35 people identified with pneumoconiosis, diagnosed from 1958 to 1979, who "have not been reported on OSHA Log #200."

What it shows

Szcygielski explained the difficulty: reporting at diagnosis would put workers' names in the OSHA log, which "would become a matter of public record at least to the Government agencies involved." Since the summer of 1978 the plant's medical department had let each worker with pneumoconiosis decide whether the union should be told. Some had chosen not to, and the union was seeking the names of "red tagged" people in an unfair labor practice charge, which the company resisted as "privileged confidential information." He asked headquarters for "guidance and direction." For the earlier dispute over Waukegan's red slip cases and the union, see Hite's 1971 memo.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

In response to W.B. Reitze's OSHA Letter #38, 8/15/78, J.W. Szcygielski writes a memorandum dated 4/11/1979 to P. Kotin, M.D. and D.B. Von Wald. Regarding the system that the Waukegan plants have been using to report occupational disease cases, Szcygielski states that since last summer, Manville had been using a procedure in their medical department which allows for the employee who has pneumoconiosis to decide whether or not Manville's local union should be informed of this diagnosis. Manville has had some amount of people that have chosen not to advise the union of this diagnosis and beyond that the question of the name of "Red Tagged" people has been requested by Manville's union in the recent negotiations; the company is involved in an unfair labor practice charge and Manville has maintained that this is privileged and confidential information.