Commerce and Labor Testimony - HB 235 High Hazard Training Certification Act (Michael Knisley)

Summary

Michael Knisley, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council, submits a memorandum dated 10/26/2021 to the Ohio House of Representatives Commerce and Labor Committee in support of HB 235, the High Hazard Training Certification Act. The memo states that the council represents nearly 100,000 building and construction tradespeople. It states that Lima and Toledo Building Tradespeople have worked 21 million maintenance workhours in Ohio oil refineries over the past 20 years without a single lost-time injury. It also states that BP and Cenovus have a new outsourcing approach under which these workers will be replaced by low-wage workers with reduced safety and skills training.

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Full text

                                             MEMORANDUM



To: Ohio House of Representatives – Commerce and Labor Committee
From: Michael Knisley
Date: 10/26/2021

Re:            HB 235 – High Hazard Training Certification Act

Chairman Stein / Vice-Chair Johnson / Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan:

        My name is Mike Knisley. I’m a pipefitter by trade. I’ve worked in both the Lima and Oregon
refineries. I’m a lifelong member of the Lima community. My home and property is located 7 miles
downwind of the now Cenovus Oil Refinery in Lima, which is the largest oil refinery in Ohio.
       I’m also the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades
Council. We represent nearly 100,000 building and construction tradespeople—men and women that put
on a hardhat and go to work at a construction jobsite here in Ohio every day.
         Our members and partner contractors believe in exceptional training; good wages; competitive
benefits; and our goal is to ensure that our workers return home safely to their families each and every
night. Ohio’s Building Trades members have the proper licensing, apprenticeship and safety training to
build and maintain everything you can imagine, including Ohio’s major oil refineries. For the reasons
that follow, I offer this testimony in support of House Bill 235.
        The safety provisions in House Bill 235, the High-Hazard Training Certification Act are critical
to securing the safety of the construction workers who build and maintain Ohio’s oil refineries. In
addition, House Bill 235 ensures the protection of public health and safety in the refinery communities
where our tradespeople live and raise their families.
      Let me tell you, the loss of even one worker causes tremendous devastation to their family, their
workplace, and their community.
       There’s a lot at stake here. I don’t think it is too much to ask that there be a level of training that
holds companies and workers accountable for safety in high-hazard oil refineries.
        The Ohio Building Trades lead our industry in safety on major construction projects. Our safety
record in Ohio’s oil refineries represents the gold-standard in high-hazard construction maintenance:
         Lima and Toledo Building Tradespeople have worked 21 million maintenance workhours in
Ohio’s oil refineries over the past 20 years without a single lost-time injury. With BP and Cenovus’ new
outsourcing approach, these workers will be replaced by low-wage workers with reduced safety and
skills training and zero institutional knowledge of Ohio’s complex high-risk oil refinery facilities.
        No matter how experienced or well trained in their skilled trade and safety precautions, our Ohio
refinery workers are put at grave risk if they work alongside an unskilled worker during a plant
turnaround or maintenance cycle.

        Since the early 1990s, OSHA has documented that petroleum refineries specifically pose acute
risk of debilitating workplace accidents and worker fatalities. A skilled worker shortage, paired with lax
safety and skills training requirements has led to a recent surge in serious OSHA safety violations in
petroleum refineries. All it takes is one mistake for a refinery accident to impact an entire community
like my hometown of Lima.
       The high barrier to entry in the petroleum-refining industry means that not just any business
owner can open a refinery. Only established petroleum industry leaders have the expertise to own
petroleum refineries. Similarly, our state must have reasonable and wise training standards for workers
in Ohio’s oil refineries. You can’t allow unscrupulous contractors and subcontractors to bring in
inexperienced, untrained people to work in Ohio’s refineries. Refinery construction is work that has
zero margin for error.
         Ohio’s Building Tradespeople must have a voice in policies that protect them in high-hazard
facilities. We must have reasonable policies that protect Ohio communities from industrial accidents in
high-risk refineries. As a tradesperson who has worked in our state’s oil refineries, I urge this body to
protect Ohio workers and the public from catastrophic incidents by implementing the high-hazard
training standards in House Bill 235.
       Thank you for your consideration of this very important proposal.


Sincerely,

Mike Knisley
1018 South Thayer Rd.
Lima, OH 45806


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