George
Smith
Class of 1991
Background:
Mr. George E. Smith was born October 27, 1921, in Champaign,
Illinois, U.S.A. He attended the University of Illinois at
Urbana and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Professional
Experience:
From December 1941 to November 1945, Mr. Smith served in the
US Army Signal Corps serving primarily in the CBI theater.
He obtained the rank of Master Sergeant and refused offers
for a commission. After returning from the service, he worked
at the electrical trades, until being hired by a local union
as a business representative in 1951. As a union representative,
he made his first priority the establishment of joint safety
and health committees. In 1973, he was appointed as an International
Representative of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, where he served as Director of the Safety and Health
Department. He retired from this job on June 30, 1989. He
was active in the National Safety Council since the l950s,
serving as chairman of the labor division; member of the Board
of Directors from 1972; vice president for Labor for eight
years; as chairman of the Board's Government Relations Committee;
and as a member of several other Board Committees. He was
chairman of the AFL-CIO Subcommittee of Safety Standards from
1974 until 1989; chairman of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction
Trades Department Subcommittee on Safety and Health Standards;
and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Safety Equipment
Institute for many years until his retirement. In the American
National Standards Institute, he served as a member of the
Board of Directors; the Executive Standards Council; the Safety
and Health Standards Board; and several Standards Committees,
still serving on the A-10 Committee and several of its subcommittees.
For many years he served as a member of OSHA's Construction
Advisory Committee on Safety and Health and as a member of
the Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Research Advisory Committee.
Also active in community affairs, he served as a member of
the Board of Directors of Southern Illinois Incorporated,
as Secretary of the Carterville, Illinois, Planning Commission,
and in various offices in the International Association of
Lions Clubs, including a term as District Governor of District
l-C. Although he retired in 1989, he remained active as a
consultant, and also taught some courses for the National
Safety Council.
Career
Highlights:
Mr. Smith had a distinguished career in the occupational safety
and health field for over 44 years. Working with the IBEW
he grew in service to the nation and the world. In his arena
of worker safety, Mr. Smith fought for safety both on and
off the job. Before most of us even knew the words "seat
belt safety", Mr. Smith and the IBEW were working with
aircraft seat belt manufacturers to create one to be installed
in work and family vehicles. As the IBEW's Director of Safety
and Health, he had to know safety in the construction, manufacturing,
industrial, public, and utility sectors. His knowledge and
involvement caused him to be respected by all in the safety
arena. Along with working with labor organizations in the
United States and internationally, Mr. Smith found time to
be a leading force in many safety & health organizations
and government agencies. The National Safety Council, ANSI,
OSHA and the Safety Equipment Institute have grown and become
better organizations through his involvement and leadership.
He received many awards, including the National Safety Council's
Distinguished Service to Safety Award, and the Distinguished
Service Award of the Industrial Safety Equipment Association.
