In all seriousness
Jul. 15th, 2014 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
who the hell am I supposed to contact given:
... 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.)
- 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.)
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Date: 2014-07-15 01:23 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2014-07-15 01:55 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2014-07-15 03:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2014-07-15 03:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2014-07-15 05:58 pm (UTC)it doesn't solve the larger issue, but it will give you the wherewithal to continue fighting.
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Date: 2014-07-16 12:55 pm (UTC)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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