After nearly one month of investigation, the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MN/OSHA) found that Cintas Corp committed 21 serious safety and health violations and fined the company over $15,000.
In October 2004, in the middle of the OSHA inspection, Cintas fired an employee who had complained to both the company and MN/OSHA about safety hazards and was vocal in the current union campaign with UNITE HERE. The National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating Cintas? allegedly illegal mistreatment of this and other employees at the Eagan facility. The company is currently under investigation in the U.S. and Canada for dozens of violations of federal labor law.
"Cintas talks a lot about safety but in reality they don't do anything about it," stated Alex Ramirez, an employee who has had numerous surgeries due to serious work-related injuries. "They don't even properly train us on how to protect ourselves from accidents. And when you get hurt on the job, they blame it on you. That's what happened to me."
The MN/OSHA citation detailed all 21 violations as "serious," meaning capable of causing "death or serious physical harm." OSHA inspectors have previously cited Cintas for four of these same violations at other plants in the last two years. Last September, a Cintas facility in Rochester, N.Y., was issued a proposed fine of $20,000 for three of the same violations found at the Eagan facility. Some of the repeated violations include exposing workers to hazardous machine parts and electrical current as well as failing to train employees on working on hazardous equipment. Additionally, MN/OSHA cited the company for failure to train and protect workers from hazardous chemicals and failure to give workers directions to emergency exits.
Cintas, headquartered in Cincinnati, made nearly $3 billion in sales and profits of over $270 million in fiscal 2004, yet over 1,000 drivers were forced to sue the company to recover unpaid overtime pay. In January 2003, Cintas employees in the United States and Canada began organizing with UNITE HERE and the Teamsters in order to improve working conditions and gain respect on the job. Ironically, Cintas, the largest uniform supplier in North America, also promotes a service to customers that allegedly advises businesses in how to comply with federal and state health and safety regulations.
UNITE HERE represents over 440,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, including 40,000 members in the laundry industry. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million members throughout North America. UNITE HERE and the Teamsters represent more than 1/3 of workers in the uniform and laundry industry.
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After nearly one month of investigation, the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MN/OSHA) found that Cintas Corp committed 21 serious safety and health violations and fined the company over $15,000.
In October 2004, in the middle of the OSHA inspection, Cintas fired an employee who had complained to both the company and MN/OSHA about safety hazards and was vocal in the current union campaign with UNITE HERE. The National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating Cintas? allegedly illegal mistreatment of this and other employees at the Eagan facility. The company is currently under investigation in the U.S. and Canada for dozens of violations of federal labor law.
“Cintas talks a lot about safety but in reality they don’t do anything about it,” stated Alex Ramirez, an employee who has had numerous surgeries due to serious work-related injuries. “They don’t even properly train us on how to protect ourselves from accidents. And when you get hurt on the job, they blame it on you. That’s what happened to me.”
The MN/OSHA citation detailed all 21 violations as “serious,” meaning capable of causing “death or serious physical harm.” OSHA inspectors have previously cited Cintas for four of these same violations at other plants in the last two years. Last September, a Cintas facility in Rochester, N.Y., was issued a proposed fine of $20,000 for three of the same violations found at the Eagan facility. Some of the repeated violations include exposing workers to hazardous machine parts and electrical current as well as failing to train employees on working on hazardous equipment. Additionally, MN/OSHA cited the company for failure to train and protect workers from hazardous chemicals and failure to give workers directions to emergency exits.
Cintas, headquartered in Cincinnati, made nearly $3 billion in sales and profits of over $270 million in fiscal 2004, yet over 1,000 drivers were forced to sue the company to recover unpaid overtime pay. In January 2003, Cintas employees in the United States and Canada began organizing with UNITE HERE and the Teamsters in order to improve working conditions and gain respect on the job. Ironically, Cintas, the largest uniform supplier in North America, also promotes a service to customers that allegedly advises businesses in how to comply with federal and state health and safety regulations.
UNITE HERE represents over 440,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, including 40,000 members in the laundry industry. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million members throughout North America. UNITE HERE and the Teamsters represent more than 1/3 of workers in the uniform and laundry industry.