LibGuides: Automotive Collision Repair and Painting: Rights, Responsibilities, and Ethics

Rights and Responsibilities

Tradespeople keep infrastructure and the economy moving. With this career come Rights and Responsibilities. You have the right to be safe and healthy on the job, the right to fair employment, and the right to organize. You also have the responsibility to help keep your coworkers, families, job site, and clients safe and healthy. Please use the resources on this page for research into these topics. If you need more information, please ask a librarian at the Research Desk or use the chat bubble on the bottom right of your screen.

Workers' Rights by OSHA
2023 publication detailing rights of workers to safe working environments.
Union Member Rights
Guide to rights of union members and responsibilities of union officers from the US Dept. of Labor.

Labor Organizations

For many Trades, unions exist to serve workers in maintaining safe and equitable work spaces. The list below are national unions that serve workers in your field. When you get hired at a workplace that is served by a union, you may have the option of joining a local branch of one of these unions. For terminology and basic concepts about unions, please visit this link from The International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

International Association of Mechanists and Aerospace Workers
"The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, (IAM) is the preferred Union for representing automotive professionals. The IAM represents more than 40,000 Auto and Truck Technicians and Mechanics in North America and Canada ."
United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America
"he International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) is one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America, with members in virtually every sector of the economy."

Professional Ethics

The concept of professional ethics encompasses many things. These include your rights and responsibilities as a tradesperson, but also as a citizen of the world. Some information about how your work impacts the people around you, the economy, the environment, and the world over all is listed below. Please come visit us at the library for more information on this topic.

Ethical Responsibilities of Skilled Tradespeople

Skilled trades workers play an important role in our society by providing essential services such as construction, electrical work, plumbing, and automotive repair. As the trained professionals of their industry, skilled trades workers have to meet specific industry standards and ensure the safety and integrity of their profession.

Safety Of Clients

The first and foremost ethical responsibility of skilled trades workers is to prioritize the safety of their clients. This includes following all relevant safety regulations, using proper equipment, and ensuring that their work meets or exceeds industry standards. For example, to ensure the quality of a building, a construction worker has to stick to building codes and safety guidelines.

An electrician must follow proper wiring protocols to prevent electrical fires and shocks. A plumber must install pipes and fixtures correctly. The ethical duty of tradespeople is to prioritize clients’ safety. Ensuring the safety of clients is essential to make a career in trades.

Act With Honesty

Skilled tradespeople are responsible for acting with honesty and transparency in their work. They should also be open to feedback and address complaints. Honesty and transparency are essential to building trust and maintaining a positive reputation in trade jobs.

Uphold Work Standards

Skilled tradespeople also have an ethical responsibility to uphold the standards of their profession. This means adhering to a code of ethics and committed to ongoing education and professional development. It is essential for tradespeople to stay up to date with the latest industry standards and regulations. They should also be aware of new technologies and techniques.

Professionalism

Another ethical responsibility of skilled tradespeople is to treat their clients and fellow tradespeople respectfully and professionally. This includes punctuality, communicating clearly and effectively, and behaving courteously and respectfully. All these factors are essential to make a career in trades.

Tradespeople should also be mindful of their actions and language on the job site and avoid discriminatory or harassing behavior. Tradespeople have to treat others with respect and professionalism. It helps create a positive work environment and encourages a culture of inclusivity and diversity.

Environmentally Responsible

Skilled tradespeople must act in accordance. Technician schools ensure trade workers work in harmony. They minimize waste, reduce energy consumption, and use eco-friendly products. Construction workers can incorporate green building practices.

In conclusion, skilled trade workers have several ethical responsibilities that they must follow. Trade programs at PTTI teach trade workers the moral duties of skilled trades jobs.

By prioritizing safety, honesty, professionalism, ongoing education, respect, and environmental responsibility, tradespeople can build trust and maintain a positive reputation in their industry. Every skilled tradesperson is responsible for taking these ethical obligations seriously and striving to provide the best possible service to their clients and community.

The Philadelphia Technician Training Institute, "Ethical Responsibilities of Skilled Tradespeople." PTTI, 2022. ptt.edu.

Business Ethic
"Defining Documents in American History: Business Ethics offers an in-depth analysis of 67 primary source documents at the foundation of the study of business ethics. These include letters, newspaper accounts, book excerpts, speeches, political debates, testimony, firsthand accounts, memoirs, court rulings, legal texts, legislative acts, excerpts from both fiction and nonfiction books, and dialogues from dramatic works."
Corporate Greening, Exchange Process Among Co-workers, and Ethics of Care: An Empirical Study on the Determinants of Pro-environmental Behaviors at Coworkers-Level
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived co-worker support, commitment to colleagues, job satisfaction, intention to help others, and pro-environmental behavior with the emphasis on eco-helping, with a view to determining the extent to which peer relationships encourage employees to engage in pro-environmental behaviors at work.
Epidemiological study of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and related risk factors among automobile maintenance workers
"The automotive industry is labor-intensive, and workers are involved in highly repetitive tasks, long hours, and medium to low workloads, resulting in work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), which have become a major health concern for workers in this industry. China is a major automotive country with tens of thousands of auto repair workers, but their conditions of WMSDs have been poorly reported. This work aimed to analyze the current prevalence of WMSDs and their associated risk factors among automobile maintenance workers."

Automotive Collision Repair and Painting

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