Quiting because of safety concerns

jtroto · Jun 7, 2016

I'm looking for advice or support,

I have been working at my current job for 18 months am at a point in my current job where I feel that my boss in unconcerned with safety and that it is a matter of time before somebody in my workplace is seriously injured. Our machine shop is without a designated manager, safety officer, or any sort of leadership and I have been trying my best to fill the roles as best that I can, but my boss won't give me any authority to enforce rules or mandate training for employees. I even wrote a new shop manual which is up to date with the most basic company and government standards to replace the one-page front and back shop manual that has been used here for years. I've told my boss time and again about problem employees who are risking serious bodily injure, informed him of practices which are damaging equipment and using supplies too quickly, and asked him once a week for the past four months to approve the new shop manual, but he has yet to make any changes to how we operate. He says he cares about safety, but he has done absolutely nothing action-wise to indicate that is true.

Barring a complete turnaround in his views on safety, I'm going to give him my letter of resignation at the end of the week. I don't want to blow the whistle to HR because it may affect my friends who still work for him, but I also have to make it clear to my future employers exactly why I left this job.

How should I word my resignation, and how do I justify my decision to future employers? Any other advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

michiganbuck · Jun 7, 2016

A letter... "I hope I can find another job.. Wish me luck.."

Making waves does little for next job recommendations.
Bigger shop likely to have all the rules you would like and perhaps pay $45 an hour and full benefits and with ....
Machines unsafe or people practices?
Dumb bosses are common..
Dumb workers are just as common..

QT: [ I even wrote a new shop manual.} do that on company time?
Most rules are in the OSHA book and a lot of workers try to get around them. Some guys put toothpicks in one of the two hand safety, some take off their safety glasses after being told a million times. Boss can get tired of telling them every day.

QT: [my boss won't give me any authority to enforce rules or mandate training for employees.] He should along with a fat raise.

[also have to make it clear to my future employers exactly why I left this job.] At the new shop job interview tell that the boss at the old shop refused do as you told him.

*But Yes if you are in danger get out quick with all your fingers.

Red James · Jun 7, 2016

How many serious injuries in the last eighteen months? Yes, you should resign and look for a shop that will appreciate you; put all this in your resume and start looking. Good luck.

Comatose · Jun 7, 2016

The absolute best way to justify your decision to new employers is find a new job before you leave. It's a better job market now than it has been in years (Unless you're oil and gas)

wheelieking71 · Jun 7, 2016

Comatose said:
The absolute best way to justify your decision to new employers is find a new job before you leave. It's a better job market now than it has been in years (Unless you're oil and gas)

Comatose is right. Sound advice: never quit a job before you have another lined up.

I get the impression you are soon to be your own worst enemy.

Hard to give solid opinion without better details about what you feel is unsafe.
Are you being told to do things you are not comfortable doing?

moonlight machine · Jun 7, 2016

jtroto said:
I'm looking for advice or support,

I have been working at my current job for 18 months am at a point in my current job where I feel that my boss in unconcerned with safety and that it is a matter of time before somebody in my workplace is seriously injured. Our machine shop is without a designated manager, safety officer, or any sort of leadership and I have been trying my best to fill the roles as best that I can, but my boss won't give me any authority to enforce rules or mandate training for employees. I even wrote a new shop manual which is up to date with the most basic company and government standards to replace the one-page front and back shop manual that has been used here for years. I've told my boss time and again about problem employees who are risking serious bodily injure, informed him of practices which are damaging equipment and using supplies too quickly, and asked him once a week for the past four months to approve the new shop manual, but he has yet to make any changes to how we operate. He says he cares about safety, but he has done absolutely nothing action-wise to indicate that is true.

Barring a complete turnaround in his views on safety, I'm going to give him my letter of resignation at the end of the week. I don't want to blow the whistle to HR because it may affect my friends who still work for him, but I also have to make it clear to my future employers exactly why I left this job.

How should I word my resignation, and how do I justify my decision to future employers? Any other advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

If you want any future employers I would not let them know you are a shit starter. You need to get a job as the boss as clearly you think you are. Or start your own shop and make sure you get all that stuff right, oh, and make some money as well.

Joe Rogers · Jun 7, 2016

Doing my best troll impersonation...I wouldn't quit until I had a new job and after the surprise OSHA inspection....
Joe

Peter from Holland · Jun 7, 2016

Are you hired as manager our just as one of the guys ???

Are you personnaly forced to work in a unsafe manner ???

If both questions are answered with no I would stay
Good chance you have the same problems on the new job then

Peter

jumpinjimmy447 · Jun 7, 2016

Our machine shop is without a designated manager, safety officer, or any sort of leadership and I have been trying to fill the position.

If you were not hired in to fill these positions then don't.

yardbird · Jun 7, 2016

jtroto said:
I'm looking for advice or support,

I have been working at my current job for 18 months am at a point in my current job where I feel that my boss in unconcerned with safety and that it is a matter of time before somebody in my workplace is seriously injured. Our machine shop is without a designated manager, safety officer, or any sort of leadership and I have been trying my best to fill the roles as best that I can, but my boss won't give me any authority to enforce rules or mandate training for employees. I even wrote a new shop manual which is up to date with the most basic company and government standards to replace the one-page front and back shop manual that has been used here for years. I've told my boss time and again about problem employees who are risking serious bodily injure, informed him of practices which are damaging equipment and using supplies too quickly, and asked him once a week for the past four months to approve the new shop manual, but he has yet to make any changes to how we operate. He says he cares about safety, but he has done absolutely nothing action-wise to indicate that is true.

Barring a complete turnaround in his views on safety, I'm going to give him my letter of resignation at the end of the week. I don't want to blow the whistle to HR because it may affect my friends who still work for him, but I also have to make it clear to my future employers exactly why I left this job.

How should I word my resignation, and how do I justify my decision to future employers? Any other advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Don't you think it would have helped to provide some details? Stuff that'd make us go wtf? That's crazy! Get out now while you're still able. Might have helped your case a bit? Just saying....

Brent

Monarchist · Jun 7, 2016

jtroto said:
I'm looking for advice or support,

I have been working at my current job for 18 months am at a point in my current job where I feel that my boss in unconcerned with safety and that it is a matter of time before somebody in my workplace is seriously injured. Our machine shop is without a designated manager, safety officer, or any sort of leadership

"Designated"? Not sure the average family unit of humans has had a great deal of 'designated' the last hundred thousand odd years. But not ALL the kids died.

Your shop may be better organized informally than you have bothered to understand.

As to the letter? Thank them for the opportunity to have learned a great deal.

Doesn't matter if you learned a higher level of skill.
Or that they were flaming arseholes, one and all.

True statement either way. Don't go into detail.

A non-confrontational letter in-record won't force them to claim they never heard of you if ever a new employer-to-be should ask. And what did we start asking when Political Correctness and druggie, drunks, and thieves Lawsters shut the door to sharing 'discriminatory' bad-news?

"Would you consider person X eligible for re-hire?" Full stop. No details asked or given.

Same again with 'justifying' why you left.

"Learned as much as I thought I was going to in that environment. Hope to keep learning and growing here."

And you need to DO that.

Learn to be able to make a damned good cup of tea or coffee, even if you cannot boil the entire ocean all at once.

Bill

quadzilla87 · Jun 7, 2016

18 months in a shop environment?
Keep quiet and you might learn a thing or two.

Also, what are these "safety concerns "? Do they just seem unsafe and so you want to be appointed "safety officer"??? Sounds like you want a management position despite your lack of experience.

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xa-mont · Jun 7, 2016

My gut feel is that you're sooking about something that isn't your responsibility.

You haven't stated any incidents that have actually happened in the time you've been there. A work place that's had no incidents in 18 months in my opinion is a pretty safe shop.

Maybe a union job is what you're after (not sure if it's the same in the states but in Aus union run jobs are very heavy on force safety and not so much common sense safety)

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Chip Chester · Jun 7, 2016

1. Find a new job, with offer in writing.
2. While doing 1, be quiet.
3. Be fully prepared to exit on day you give notice, if they opt out of your two week offer.
Ask new job if you can start early if old job declines two week offer.
4. Meanwhile, take pictures of unsafe equipment (but not people) if you're allowed to, and if you can do it without being seen.
5. When you begin the new job, keep quiet about true reasons for leaving.
5. When you're past any probationary period, do anonymous note to OSHA, with pics.

This is a balance between exposing your friends to a few more months of safety issues, vs. years and years of them. But you also need to have a job, and hopefully it'll be a step up in opportunity and safety.

Depending on your safety threshold and the general shop climate down there, you may have to do this a few times until you're happy. You can't make your boss do what you think their job is, and you are out-of-job-description to do it yourself, opening yourself up for some issues come review time. Note that this is regardless if you're right or not. And regardless of whether the issues are common-sense or not. Asking the company to put their stamp of approval on what you think is right, when you're without the formal training to weigh in on the matter, puts the company at hugely at risk if something happens to someone doing what you think is right.

Chip

John Welden · Jun 7, 2016

List a bunch of your safety concerns. I want to hear what is so bad.

Like no guard on the table saw? :rolleyes5:

cellardoor7 · Jun 7, 2016

If every thing you said is true, everyone already knows you are a giant pain in the ass. When you give notice, they will tell you it's not necessary, and tell you to pack your shit right then. The "letter of resignation" will be viewed as comedy, and they will take their chances with the anonymous tip to OSHA.

ManualEd · Jun 7, 2016

John Welden said:
List a bunch of your safety concerns. I want to hear what is so bad.

Like no guard on the table saw?

I'll bet its even worse.
Like no caps on the electrical sockets!
I could shove a drill bit right in there and get electrocuted!

(Seriously though, I'd love to hear shit like "They're lifting a 6 ton shaft with old fan belts because they don't slip" kinda stuff)

michiganbuck · Jun 7, 2016

QT: [Like no guard on the table saw?]
I worked in a 3500 man union shop that had safety classes all the time and had a good safety record..
The big table saw had a small sign "Carpenters Only".... that was the only safety device on the saw.

yardbird · Jun 7, 2016

michiganbuck said:
I worked in a 3500 man union shop that had safety classes all the time and had a good safety record..
The big table saw had a small sign "Carpenters Only".... that was the only safety device on the saw.

Curious at these classes did you have to sign in with your badge number, department number, supervisor and your signature? I'm betting you did? Were employees ever aloud to skip the class after you signed in?

I've always said these classes are to cover their ass not to protect ole michiganbuck. I feel that is the case here anyway.

We can't have mommabuck owning the whole damn corporation because you got killed now could we? Gotta keep that for happening. Lol...

Just kidding!!!!.... NOT!

Brent

Comatose · Jun 7, 2016

Either the complaint is that management is forcing dangerous work practices, or the problem is that management is allowing dangerous work practices, or the problem is that you work with a bunch of dimwits, or the problem is you don't fit in with the shop's culture.

If someone is only using one corner of an insert and binning it, and you told the boss, and the boss doesn't do something about it, let it go. They're his inserts, not yours.

If you weren't asked to write a manual, why should he change shop policy? Do you have the background such that following your manual legally covers his ass more than the current one pager?

If you have asked him 16 times to approve some manual you wrote or make some change you want and he hasn't, the answer is no.

Quiting because of safety concerns

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