ILR conference looks at bioterror's workplace threat

Lois Gray, ILR professor emerita of human resource studies, and Ann Martin, associate dean of the ILR School extension division, talk with Moe Biller, retired president of the American Postal Workers Union, at a dinner honoring Biller at a joint conference in Washington, D.C., on combating bioterrorism in the workplace. Cornell ILR School

The deaths of postal workers from anthrax-contaminated letters prompted a national conference on "The Implications of Bioterrorism in the Workplace" co-sponsored by Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations earlier this year. The conference, which took place in Washington, D.C., Jan, 11-12, attracted worldwide media attention and a C-SPAN broadcast.

Co-sponsored by the American Postal Worker's Union (APWU) and the ILR School's extension division, the conference was organized by the school's Long Island, N.Y., district office, headed by Tom Germano, in response to concerns from area postal workers. Germano has worked with the APWU throughout his career.

Ann Martin, associate dean of the ILR extension division, who attended the event, said: "The conference was a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when the university partners with an organization, in this case, the Postal Workers Union, to provide first-class education and information in response to a public need.

Day-one speakers included U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), who called the ILR School "the premier institution for labor education in this country" in her keynote talk; Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and John Henshaw, assistant labor secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Workshops on day two of the conference included: "Bargaining for Health and Safety," led by Kathy Devine and Arthur Matthews, both ILR extension faculty members; "Anthrax, Bioterrorism and the Postal Service," led by Germano, physician-scientist Steven Schutzer and industrial hygienist Edward Olmstead; and "Assessing Risks and Crisis Management," led by Nellie Brown and Nancy Lampen, also ILR extension faculty members. The conference was the APWU's inaugural Moe Biller Labor Issues Lecture Series, named for the union's retired president, who was honored at the event.