Is your office building making you sick? Are you worried for your personal safety because of the line of work you are in? What are your concerns? What solutions are needed?

I do campus security for Compton Unified School District in California. We have always been challenged to maintain a safe campus, but the struggle continues to grow as we are becoming more concerned with our own safety and who is protecting us. I hope that my passion of helping make a better, safer place for OUR children never fades, but I want to make sure I make it home safely to MY children every night.
—Carolyn Richie, Compton Council of Classified Employees, CA

I work in a state-owned office building that continues to make employees sick. Chronic sinus issues, asthma and other impressed immune system issues continue to develop. The building had massive water incursion and still has periods of water incursion when there is driving or heavy rain. The state has refused to re-envelope the building.
—Anna Crawford, Administrative and Residual Employees Union, CT

My major concerns about my office building are uncleaned and unsanitary conditions, i.e. if vacuum cleaning occurs at all, it is done during working hours whereby we, the employees, are subjected to work in polluted environments because the cleaning is done in our offices while we sit at our desk! Can you believe it!! 
—Patricia Aduna-Boatin, Maryland Professional Employees Council

My major concerns about my office building are the air quality and use of pestisides indoors. A lot of the staff and children have asthma. I also want to know why the EPA does not conduct yearly tests in schools to determine the amount of carcinogens in the air that our children are breathing.
—Carmen Applewhite, United Federation of Teachers, New York City

My major concerns about my office building are the increasing mold and poor air quality. This poorly ventilated and old building is creating eye irritation and respiratory concerns for the staff of this office and the union members who must come to this location for information and problem solving. We have asked for an air filter which was denied. The Union membership paid for a small filter to help clear the air in the main foyer. We need to have a standard for all school environments that will be upheld. We need to ensure that students and teachers are given the opportunity to report concerns and receive the results of any testing.
—Susan Mittler, Ithaca Teachers Association, NY

Already this year we have had an asbestos scare, where five classrooms had to be quarantined. Classes were taught whereever there was space—like the end of a hallway.
—Kathy Adams, Middletown Federation of Teachers, CT

The building has too many poorly located doors to the outside. It is quite possible for someone to enter and leave unnoticed. A criminal can be in and out before he/she is noticed. The classroom and office doors can only be locked from the outside with a key. 
—Victor Ochoa, Chicago Teachers Union, IL

My major concerns about my office building are safety to and from the parking lot. We have huge trucks parked in the lot sometimes and if you come certain times of the day you have to walk out in the street. And if the parking is filled you have to park in the back and take a long walk. If they had security in the lot to watch the cars and the employees entering and exiting the building, I would feel a lot better.
—Charlotte Sanders, Chicago Teachers Union, IL

Many of us teach in "portable classrooms." In my "portable," you can see daylight between the doors and the jambs. Windows leak water every time it rains. The roof leaks. The evaporative air conditioner doesn't work. The fan works, but not the water, so it only blows in hot air—and occasionally some dust, pigeon feathers and bird droppings. The warped plastic windows are loose in the frames, making it very easy for someone to break in. We are told we can't have "good" computers in the portables because they could be stolen. Aren't my students "good" enough children to get the "good" computers, no matter what room they learn in? Needless to say, we feel like second-class citizens.
—Amy C. Bryan, Albuquerque Federation of Teachers, NM

I am a chemistry teacher in a public senior high. Every safety guideline I have ever seen about class size in lab is 24 students as the maximum. Why is it then, that administrations will place up to 40 students in my classroom and expect me to do hands-on experiments? This is neither safe for me nor my students. 
—Peter Grebner, St. Paul Federation of Teachers, WI

They have been doing construction in my office for months and I have been breathing all the dust, paint fumes, etc. for a long period of time. At times the office has been a hazard, but we were never given the option of temporarily relocating. I have asthma and allergies. I have been sick since they knocked down the first wall, and although I have made comments I was not taken seriously.
—Pura Labrada, United Teachers of Dade, FL