Friday, May 30, 2008

Construction accidents in NYC

The news regarding another fatality in a construction accident in New York City is disturbing to say the least. More-so if you (like me) have family members that work in the building trades and another family member who lives and works in NYC.

An article from March 19th in the NY Times notes that,

Between early 2006 and the middle of 2007, 44 people died on construction sites, 40 of them in nonunion jobs involving immigrants, said Louis Coletti, the president of an association of builders.


OSHA statistics bear out this assertion regarding union vs. non-union jobsites
,

Most construction fatalities in New York City occur at sites that employ nonunion workers, according to a report by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.


In 2008 we have seen 7 people killed in a crane collapse plus however many have lost their lives today. It's not just the fatal accidents, there have been numerous severe accidents without fatalities in the last few years as well.

Something is seriously amiss in New York City and it may be time to finally scrap the city's Buildings Department which has been notoriously corrupt and replace it with a new public corporation, a plan that is backed by both business and labor and opposed by Mayor Bloomberg.

Here in Colorado we are watching a gathering storm regarding labor and it's role in the state. As that debate heats up and wild accusations are bandied about keep in mind the occurrences in New York City. Remember that labor in partnership with business is offering a solution to the problems and that the Republican Mayor is balking at those. Remember that people are dying because of those delays. Remember too that union workplaces and union jobsites are considerably safer places for the workers and make the sidewalks safer for the public.

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