The Connecticut labor news., 1923-10-06
PAINTERS START
 A MOVEMENT TO
 PROTECT HEALTH
Hartford Union Joins General Bureau to Put Stop to Poisonous
 Materials in Trade.

Hartford, Oct 6.-At a meeting of
 Painters Local No. 48I, held at Eagles Hall, 23 Central Row, this week, the organized painters of Hart
 ford voted unanimously to affiliate
 with the Workers Health Bureau of . New York and appointed a health committee to consider plans for start
 ing a clinic for this city to protect the men against the many dangers of the painting trade.
 The meeting was addressed by Miss Harriett .Siiverman, director of the Workers Health Bureau, who clearly explained the risk painters take every day of the year in working with pois- onous, materials In her talk, Miss Silverman borught out the fact that the laws of Connecticut are strict in reference to the labelling of poisonous drugs and that drug stores are for bidden to sell wood alcohol, mercury, salt of lead, and other poisons to the public as a protection against acci- dental death, yet every time the painter yields a brush on a painting job, he is taking deadly risk which sooner or later destroys his body.
 Ninety-fiye per cent. of the men ex- amined were found suffering from occupational diseases among a group of 2o7 painters These examinations were made in the Painters Health Department organized last year by the local union which adopted the Workers Health Bureau program.
 It was pointed out that insurance companies are fully aware of the haz- ards of the trade as they class paint CTS as intermediate or doubtful risks, increasing the rates, limiting the of in some cases, even rating them up from si xto eight years.
 Since the New York painters have organized to prevent disease, they have accomplished something to- wards controlling hours of work and have won the 40 hour week-a neces. sary precaution, as the more time spent away from the poisonous dust and fumes, the better are the chances of getting rid of small part of the weeks accumulation.
 All the building trades and the Central Trades and Labor Council were invited to attend the meeting to get the Various trades interested in starting this health<program jointly. Lead poisoning. tuberculosis, and many other disc es are produced by conditions and dangerous working materials in many other trades, A chart was shown covering A trades represented in the A. F. of L. which indicates the extent of occupational diseases. There IS no reason why all the organized trades Tn Hartford can't get together on this program.
 Among the other speakers and who strongly favored the need of stapting a clinic on the Workers Health Bu- reau idea, were Dr. Charles P. Bots ford, Hartford Board of Health; Pat rick F. O'Meara, Connecticut Fedora tion of Labor; Ira M. Ornburn, sec retary Connecticut Federation of La bor; James Johnson, organizer of the State Painters.
 Regulations looking to curbing and eliminating dangerous health condi- tions have been in existence in Euro pean countries since Ioo6. The paint ing trade, particularly in the United States, is Y years behind these coun- tries. Realizing this, painters locals throughout the country, as we'll as matters and other trades, are adopt ing plan of health organization with in the union to protect themselves.
 Workers Health Bureau technical advisory committee consists of Dr. Alice Hamilton, assistant professor industrial medicine, Harvard Medical School; Emery R Hayhurst, M. D., consu1tant industrial hygiene depart ment of public health, Ohio State University; G. E. A. Winslow, pro- lessor of public health, Yale Univer- sity.