July, 1980
Bennettsville
South Carolina
Gastonia
North Carolina
Bowling Green, Kentucky
textiles
COMPANY
news
• • Summer season at Fire
stone Playground will last
through Sept. 1. The company-
owned playplace in front of the
Gastonia textile plant is made
available to youngsters as part
of the City of Gastonia recre
ation & parks program.
Two City Recreation em
ployees supervise the children
at play. Hours are 8 A. M.-
5 P. M., Mondays-Fridays:
10 A. M.-5 P. M., Saturdays; 1-
5. Sundays.
Plant Maintenance looks after
the playground year-round. The
wading pool is the major attrac
tion with West Gastonia chil
dren.
Safety: from one generation to another
E. W. PASSMORE, Safety Engineer
Firestone Textiles Gastonia
• • Safety at Firestone Textiles plants has
been a well-honored tradition through the
years, handed down from one working genera
tion to another. The most recent recognition
of this outstanding performance is the North
Carolina Department of Labor Safety Award
presented to people of the Gastonia plant for
the 33rd consecutive year—for “outstanding ac-
cident-prevention.”
That’s quite an accomplishment, since only
two other firms in the State have received this
award all those 33 years. The efforts of every
employee made the achievement possible. Now,
it is the aim and responsibility of the present
employee generation to keep up the tradition.
WHO IS responsible for your safety on the
job? Some say, without thinking, that it’s the
safety engineer; others think it’s the super
visor’s responsibility mainly. But many people
rightly know it’s mostly their own individual
responsibility for job safety. It’s really a com
bination effort, people working with the safety
department and others involved in safe opera
tion in a safe work place.
The Safety Engineer and Safety department
are responsible for providing a safety and medi
cal program for making safe-operating pro
cedures work. The department inspects the
plant for OSHA and other safety violations and
hazards; samples air in certain areas inside the
factory to guard against contaminants. The de
partment also takes care of workers’ compensa
tion claims, provides supervisors with the latest
safety information; holds safety meetings with
supervisors.
The Medical department provides first-aid
treatment, performs hearing tests on all em
ployees once a year, does surveillance on those
who work with certain chemicals; makes avail
able safety glasses, ear protection, and orders
prescription safety glasses.
THEN COMES the job of the supervisor to
enforce the safety rules and report all unsafe
conditions to Maintenance or Safety; to have
regular safety meetings with all people of the
departments, to issue safety equipment.
With all these efforts to provide a safety pro
gram, it remains the responsibility of every
employee to follow and practice all rules, regu
lations and policies.
So, safety is the responsibility of every per
son at work. But how about elsewhere, espe
cially traveling about and at home? Surveys
show that people are safer at work than they
are any other place. Last year alone, there were
more than a million home accidents—160,000 in
juries from lawnmowers and 50,000 of that
number requiring hospitalization.
Will you paint your house this summer or
climb a tree to trim it? Last year, 87,760 people
were injured using ladders. The home injury
list could go on and on.
LET'S FINISH by pointing to some sugges
tions that, if put to use, can make for you a safer
Summer.
More on page 4
Today and 43 Years Ago • Plaque, the 33rd con-
Sylvia secutive one, symbolized the North Carolina De-
Glenn partment of Labor award to Firestone-Gastonia peo-
and pie, the latest recognition for safety. Framed cer-
Melvin tificate is one of the earliest awards (this one from
Boone Liberty Mutual Insurance Company) to Firestone
of TC Cotton Mills of Gastonia in May, 1937. It recorded
Twisting 1.672,800 people-on-the-job hours without a lost-time
accident, from Oct. 22, 1936 to April 17, 1937.
Car-sales
incentive
Almost 500 Firestone em
ployees and retirees had re
ceived $100 in late June for
having contracted to buy a new
motor vehicle through July 15,
in the company’s vehicles-sales
incentive. The incentive offer,
originally for the month of
April only, was extended—
retroactive to May 1 and going
to mid-July.
The program applied to em
ployees/retirees in the U. S.,
purchasing autos and station
wagons produced in North
America. The $100 incentive
was in addition to any rebates
that applied to the auto manu
facturers or individual dealers.
The offer applied to 1979 and
1980 vehicles by American
Motors, Checker, Chrysler, Ford,
General Motors and Volks
wagen.
Every useful occupation gives ample oppor
tunity for service. The happiest . . . are those
who are making their jobs mean more than
simply an endless routine of work and wages.
The whole structure of business is based upon
making useful things for others—this is service.
HARVEY S. FIRESTONE
Founder, The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
‘Look Up Gaston’
Dan Howe is among volun
teers who will be interviewing
residents during July-August in
the Look Up Gaston program.
The Firestone supervisor in
Fabric Treating will compile in
category of the Research Task
Force’s project of gathering data
on how local agencies, churches,
businesses and civic organiza
tions serve people of the area.
The Look Up Gaston Council
is a division of the Gaston
Chamber of Commerce charged
with determining problems in
the county and seeking solutions
to those problems.
James E. (Jim) Stanton was
re-elected by a wide margin to
the Office of Coroner, Marlboro
County, S. C. in the June Demo
cratic primary. Stanton was
elected to his first term in 1976.
He is the son of Ruby F. Mc-
E a c h i n of Bennettsville-
Firestone Main Office.
☆ ☆ ☆
Bumper stickers seen along
the way • REPEAL INHIBI
TION! And LEGALIZE BLUE-
GRASS!