members’ rights. Soon after, the private sector began requiring testing and the trades had to agree to test or chance losing work to others that would. We began to see the emergence of single craft substance abuse programs developed through local collective bargaining agreements. These drug testing programs outlined specific policies and procedures that had to be followed by their employers. They stated how, when and where testing could take place. Single craft substance abuse testing
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programs were a step in the right direction, but as time went on customers wanted less individual craft programs
n the late 80’s when federal drug testing began, organized labor was less than enthused and felt drug testing was a violation of their
and ones instead that included all the unions working on a particular project or jobsite, thus the birth of ‘MULTI- CRAFT” testing programs. The multi- craft or building trades programs became popular in the late 90’s and continue today with programs throughout the country. These collectively bargained multi-craft programs have seen great acceptance over the years, providing customers with an umbrella policy that meets or exceeds their substance abuse testing requirements. Progressing one step further in this
evolutionary process, collectively bargained substance abuse testing programs emerged and were promoted at the International Labor Union level. Labor unions such as the Ironworkers and the Boilermakers have testing programs that are administered nationally, utilizing the same policy and procedures for all of their local union members throughout the United States. This enables members who travel outside of their local union’s jurisdiction to easily transfer to a different area. They become “portable” so to speak. Employers see the benefits of collectively bargained programs, including increased productivity, safety and cost savings. Either regional or national,
collectively bargained programs offer employers a quality program that will save them both time and money. These programs generally
test a member for pre-employment, for cause, post-accident and also have a RANDOM TEST component that tests anywhere from 25%–35% of their membership yearly. Members are selected and notified to test either immediately or within a set number of hours. An item unique to a collectively bargained substance abuse programs are stipend
reimbursements; a predetermined amount of money reimbursed to
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the member for taking a specified test. Generally it is thought to be compensation for the time the member misses work to take the test. Another feature is portability of test results. Union workers and bargaining members routinely work for numerous employers annually. Drug testing is difficult and costly under standard employer testing practices. To reduce work loss time and eliminate repetitive drug testing “labor- management cooperative substance abuse testing programs” have evolved. These programs allow members to move from one employer to the next by sharing current test data. Third Party Administrator’s, “TPAs,” act as a neutral party who maintain and house the data employers/labor unions utilize to verify member’s eligibility. To gain this type of acceptance and
obtain reciprocity, these collectively bargained drug testing programs must be of the highest caliber and include an up to date test panel (including Ecstasy, expanded opiates and Oxycodone), maintain strong test components (random, post-accident, for cause, pre-employment), contain disciplinary procedures and have an employee assistance program. The development of a collectively bargained program can take years and includes both labor and management. Once the policy is finalized members and employers are educated on the policy requirements prior to the start of testing. If an employer does not follow the policy a grievance can be filed. A grievance is a formal complaint usually lodged by an employee or the union, alleging a misinterpretation or improper application of one or more terms in a collective bargaining contract. In today’s collectively bargained
workplace, drug testing is a top priority especially when it comes to preventing workplace accidents and keeping the jobsite safe. Many of the International
winter 2012
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