The company has deliberately chosen the term probable suspicion because it allows more latitude than probable cause. The job of determining whether there is probable suspicion falls to supervisors, each of whom has taken at least six hours of training from local drug-abuse experts. The task centers on watching out for the kinds of things drug usage might cause -- short-term memory loss, rapid mood swings, slurred speech, motor-coordination problems. "Basically, it's to the point where you'd wonder if the person is fit to work," says Longbine. "If a supervisor makes that determination, his obligation stops right there. He's not to make any accusations. I pick it up from there."
In 1983 OSM analyzed the results of the program's first three years. At that point 42 people -- out of a work force of about 900 over the three-year period -- had entered into work-performance contracts and undergone treatment, mostly for marijuana and alcohol abuse. Only 3 of them were no longer on the payroll. The other 39 were still there and doing much better. A few of them, in fact, had even been promoted to management positions, and there have been more promotions from within their ranks since then. As harder drugs have hit the Portland area, the success rate has dropped. Among cocaine abusers, for instance, it's between 40% and 50%. The company has yet to rehabilitate anyone addicted to heroin, Longbine says.
Five years ago, in a move aimed at blocking drugs from the workplace, the committee recommended the limited use of dogs trained to sniff out drugs to scout the grounds, although they were not allowed to approach workers. In a dozen visits the dogs have detected drugs three times, finding small amounts of marijuana and hashish. In the past four trips they have found nothing. When OSM conducted a worker survey last summer, 85% of the employees favored having the dogs, although it was clear that resentment of them ran high, at least in some quarters. Wrote one person, "It's not good to have a lock cut off your locker for a quick K-9 thrill on a pair of your dirty socks." Also apparent was some resentment of the program in general: "Sounds like McCarthyism all over," one worker wrote. Another urged, "Don't get involved in our lives away from here. It's none of your business."
Most of the comments Longbine compiled, however, supported the company's actions. Quite a few people even thought the program was too lax. The one idea that did generate fierce resistance in a 1985 survey was random drug testing for everyone. Ninety-five percent opposed it then. Several commented that they would quit if the company started doing that. Oregon, Longbine observes, is a state where people take their freedom very seriously.
As any company would, OSM has tried to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the program, but Longbine admits that because of the need to protect confidentiality, "it's turning out to be harder than we thought." He does know that less than 10% of applicants are now failing the urinalysis, perhaps because many potential employees, when informed about the test, decide to withdraw their applications. He also knows some of the costs. The two hours of drug training runs the company about $48 per employee in lost production time -- a total of $31,200 in lost production for 650 employees last year.
On the benefit side, OSM's accident rate has declined by at least 60% since 1980. In the first three years of the program, the absentee rate went from 14 days to 1.5 days per year for employees who had received treatment through the program.
Then there's productivity. The company uses 1980 as a base year. Since then productivity has increased by more than 140%. "The program is certainly part of that, but it's hard to quantify in hard numbers," Longbine says. "There are many factors." One, certainly, is that OSM, no longer unionized, is largely employee owned, with part of the equity traded on the New York Stock Exchange. That fosters a more dedicated work force.
Regardless of those uncertainties, in Longbine's opinion, there is no question that the program is paying off. "We have a lot fewer problems now because we are so much more open about it," he says. "People are more willing to admit things and seek some help. But I'll tell you, I think every company in this country still has drug problems, and any company that says it doesn't is just fooling itself. And the more companies fool themselves, the more problems they will get."
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The Company Oregon Steel Mills Inc., Portland, Ore.; a 62-year-old steel mill with revenues of $153 million and 650 employees
The Program Instituted in 1980; formulated and overseen by an employee committee; based on holding people accountable for their actions and treating addiction as an illness. There is some testing aimed at rehabilitation. It is supplemented by an ongoing education program. Employee dismissal is a final option.
The Cost $31,200 per year in production lost to class time plus unquantified testing costs. Medical-rehabilitation costs, handled through a health maintenance organization, are also unquantified. Insurance premiums have skyrocketed, increasing every year.
The Return Sharp decreases in accidents and absenteeism; productivity increases of more than 140%
