FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Byrnes, IMPACT Eastern Region, (203) 380-0530

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Thanks to the support of Iron Workers International and the Ironworkers Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT), union signatory contractors in Rhode Island join a group of safer, more competitive contractors already enjoying lower workers’ compensation costs and higher productivity in Ohio, Tennessee and Connecticut.

“The goal of the Iron Workers International is to provide highly skilled, professional and drug free workplace for its signatory contractors and owners,” said Kevin Byrnes, Eastern Regional Director for IMPACT. “The passage of H. 5944 is a great step toward reducing workers’ compensation costs and increasing productivity across the state,” Byrnes added.

Approved Mar. 30, 2011, by the Rhode Island legislature, H. 5944 exempts members of Iron Workers International and its signatory contractors participating in the IMPACT drug testing program from strict limitations imposed by the state’s post-employment drug testing laws.

A survey last year by the President of the Iron Workers International indicated that workers’ compensation and drug testing—due to the specialized and often dangerous nature of ironworking—were critical areas that needed labor and management cooperative efforts.  As a result, members of Local 37, the Iron Workers International local union representing Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, have pushed for passage of the legislation to protect workers and lower costs.

Instrumental to the bill’s passage was a recent Cornell study, which highlighted the need for drug testing among construction trades.  The article indicated that “tested workers and job applicants…experienced a 51 percent reduction in injury rates within two years of implementing a drug-testing program.”  Reductions in injury rates often translate to a substantial decrease in workers’ compensation premiums and a lower cost burden for signatory contractors.

IMPACT’s drug testing program creates a pool of eligible drug-free workers in order to eliminate repetitive testing and provide a safe work environment for all parties.  The program uses an independent third party to perform program testing, enforce the program requirements and maintain the testing database.

Ironworkers who fail a drug test enter an Employee Assistance Program and are required to complete program rehabilitation requirements before returning to work.

98 of Iron Workers International’s 128 local unions current participate in IMPACT’s drug testing program.

About IMPACT: The Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (www.impact-net.org) was formed in 2003 under Section 302(c) 9 of the Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act. IMPACT is a non-profit, tax-exempt labor-management trust under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.  The primary mission of IMPACT is to expand job opportunities for union ironworkers and their signatory contractors through progressive and innovative labor-management programs, training and safety. IMPACT is governed by a 22-member Board of Trustees. Each of IMPACT’s 10 regions is represented by one labor trustee and one management trustee.

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