kaberett: a dalek stands at the foot of a flight of stairs, thinking "fuck." (dalek)
[personal profile] kaberett
who the hell am I supposed to contact given:
  • smokers are (illegally!) rendering my building so toxic that I can't actually enter/exit it without rendering myself unable to breathe
  • an initial e-mail 4 months ago to disability services & building manager has resulted in no useful follow-up, and nor have the two most recent chasing e-mails

... because this isn't actually sustainable. I can't do my job without entering the building; I can't enter the building without getting poisoned, and if I were actually on a contract I'd be seriously thinking about constructive dismissal, but that's not how PhD stipends work.

(No, really, at least two hundred metres of corridor and the entire central stairwell are currently not actually usable by me without causing damage. The only mostly-safe route to my areas of work has no working lifts. I literally cannot get to my desk +wheelchair without exposure, or to my lab at all unless I time breathing very carefully. As for getting to my desk without chair, it's about six flights of stairs, which isn't sustainable given my joints. It is shit.)

(no subject)

Date: 2014-07-15 01:23 pm (UTC)
rmc28: Rachel in hockey gear on the frozen fen at Upware, near Cambridge (Default)
From: [personal profile] rmc28
I would suggest escalating to your supervisor (this would also apply outside of academia).

Send her a summary of the situation and attach your emailed attempts to get something done. You have done all you can to get your job done; she has an interest in you getting your job done; we live in a hierarchical society and she is higher up the hierarchy than you.

(no subject)

Date: 2014-07-15 01:55 pm (UTC)
jjhunter: Drawing of human JJ in ink tinted with blue watercolor; woman wearing glasses with arched eyebrows (JJ inked)
From: [personal profile] jjhunter
...part of me wonders if a request for 'plz give me access to appropriate respiratory protective equipment until such time as the environment of my path to enter / exit the building is no longer toxic to me (see health condition documentation, etc. etc.)' might get results. Especially if the price tag for the kinds of RPE needed was included (I suspect it would be considerable!)

Before you get to that point, though, there's a certain magic to taking your previously emailed complaint, tweaking it for printed letter form, adding a line to the start along the lines of 'this is a printed version of an complaint previously emailed to $disabilityservicesperson via $theiremail and $buildingmanger via $mangeremail; since then [brief detailing of lack of useful followup]. [Health consequences to you.] This situation constitutes an ongoing occupational health hazard to me because there is no other path I can enter / exit my workplace without exposure to toxicity.' etc. etc., and then add a line documenting that the people receiving a copy of this printed complaint compose not only $disabilityservicesperson and $buildingmanger, but also the boss(es) of those people, and your institutional ombudsman or any advocate-type person whose area of responsibility remotely has bearing on $peoplewithyourjobtype or occupational health & safety.

Most institutions past a certain size will have advocate-types for occupational health & safety precisely so that these type of thing can be addressed appropriately without the employee needing to bring down the hammer of an official complaint to $appropriategovernmentagency. That being said, you shouldn't shy away from making the latter type of complaint if that's what it takes — if it's a problem for you, a.) that's enough — you already have the law on your side, and your employers have a responsibility to minimize hazards to your health in your workplace as much as practicable with the type of work you do; also, b.) if it's a problem for you, it will also be a problem of some degree for other people. If a smoker wants to muck with their health by smoking, that's one thing; they don't get the right to make that choice for other people.

(no subject)

Date: 2014-07-15 03:33 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] sidheag
Contra everyone saying it's your supervisor's job to deal with this, I don't think it is. Unless your setup is very different from ours, she isn't your manager in a job sense; rather, she is your academic advisor. If a student of mine were having such problems, I would not take ownership of the problem, but would advise him/her on who were the right people to talk to. For us, that would be health and safety rep, failing whom, Head of School. (The HoS would send an email to all building occupants reminding them of the rules, and that would work.)

(no subject)

Date: 2014-07-15 03:39 pm (UTC)
silveradept: A kodama with a trombone. The trombone is playing music, even though it is held in a rest position (Default)
From: [personal profile] silveradept
This is definitely time for serial escalation. Supervisor, then union rep, then ombusdman, then safety government organization. It will hopefully not get that far.

(no subject)

Date: 2014-07-15 05:58 pm (UTC)
batdina: (Default)
From: [personal profile] batdina
okay. totally aside from getting this *fixed*, my suggestion is more practical: use a respiratory mask to get in and out of the building. They're available here: http://respro.com/. they are in the UK. the mask makes me look a bit like Darth Vader, but the sucker works like a charm.

it doesn't solve the larger issue, but it will give you the wherewithal to continue fighting.

(no subject)

Date: 2014-07-16 12:55 pm (UTC)
beckyc: Me, wearing a gas mask (Default)
From: [personal profile] beckyc
I don't know what the answer to your actual question.

BUT with regards to not getting poisoned: have you tried a variety of HEPA masks? Personally I don't really get along with wearing most full masks when doing anything terribly aerobic because hives. But might be an option for short periods?

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