Invisible Tragedies -- Four Construction Workers Killed Every Day Building America

Every day an average of four construction workers are killed as they go about building America.

When miners, firefighters and law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty, their stories become news. We hold vigils and we mourn their loss publicly -- as we most certainly should. Yet when construction workers are killed, their tragedy too often goes unnoticed, as if the cost of building America must be injury or death on the job.

Construction work is dangerous, and those who do it understand the inherent risk of their occupation. However they should not be expected to deal with unnecessary and avoidable hazards. Unfortunately, that is exactly what many face because they lack sufficient power to protect themselves and the agency tasked with providing protection for them - the Occupational Safety and Health Administration - too often falls short.

With as many as 1,250 deaths each year, construction workers face death on the job 20 times more often than miners and 10 times more often than police officers or firefighters. While 8 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed in construction, construction workers suffer 22 percent of workplace fatalities.

Last week, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to address whether OSHA is adequately enacting and enforcing construction safety rules. The hearing shed light on what those in the construction industry have known for some time -- OSHA under President Bush is failing construction workers.

Much of the hearing focused on a recent wave of crane related deaths and injuries in New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Dallas, revealing a serious problem in crane safety.

In 2003, OSHA convened a panel of experts representing industry and labor to develop new safety standards for cranes. Four years ago, after 13 months of meetings, the panel developed consensus recommendations for new regulations. But, despite the support of both labor and employers, OSHA has yet to issue a proposed rule in the Federal Register.

At last week's hearing, Congressman George Miller and other members questioned OSHA chief, Edwin Foulke, about the agency's delay. Mr. Foulke offered a bureaucratic response about paper work and procedures. He never once took responsibility for OSHA's failure to move quickly to put in place crane safety regulations nor did he offer suggestions on how OSHA can speed up the process going forward.

While OSHA spent four years sitting on crane safety regulations -= despite having a standard in hand developed by industry and labor -- more than 300 workers died in crane-related accidents. Indeed, according to OSHA itself, "there are estimated to be 64 to 82 fatalities associated with cranes each year in construction, and a more up-to-date standard would help prevent them."

While last week's hearing was an encouraging step, Congress must move forward with the Protecting America's Workers Act -- an important piece of legislation to strengthen and expand the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This important legislation will cover more workers including the public employees in the many states who have no OSHA coverage or protection, increase penalties for repeated and willful violations, enhance public disclosure of safety records, require employers to provide necessary safety equipment to their workers and, perhaps most importantly in the current environment, make sure workers themselves have the power to refuse to perform work that is clearly and needlessly unsafe.

Construction workers are not a disposable commodity. The price of going to work every day to build America should never be injury or death on the job.

Comments

[woodsywizz]

I'm gonna say, hard-hats off to you Pythias.
The first time I had to put on a full-body harness instead of the old "safety belt", [a simple padded wide belt with two large metal loops at either side for ropes to tie off "safely"] I thought the world had gone safety-nuts.

But it was just like the parachute harness I learned to wear in the Air Force. And I felt comfortable right away. OK, it took me three days. I'd been there before, but it had been a while.

Pythias is right, when you mandate safety, you mandate slower operation.

I'm proud of my construction experience, I had the guts to do difficult things most air-conditioned Americans wouldn't. I can pour a slab, dig a septic system with a backhoe, frame, sheetrock, tape-and-float, texture, paint, run conduit and wiring, run plumbing both plastic and copper....I am NOT an expert.

But some of the proudest moments of my life were watching something I helped build come to life, and change from a skeleton into a vibrant, living building filled with chatter and business and joy, a place where people come to work, and to be helped.

Do what you can to help construction get safer, but for God's sake listen to someone like Pythias.

And, when you wear those full-body harnesses....tighten up the leg loops to grab your thighs strongly, or your balls will be crushed when you fall.

Parachute training.

[Pythias]

I've worked in Construction for nearly thirty years. We don't need MORE rules, we need to follow the rules and procedures already in place. I can say from experience that the people who MAKE the rules are never the ones who actually have WORK UNDER those same rules. We are now so hampered by PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that we can barely move. Go ahead and try to get something out of your pocket when wearing --protective gloves, flourescent vest, hardhat, kevlar sleeves, hard hat, steel toed boots and a fall protection body harness, (with dual lanyard). Its a wonder we can DO anything. Don't be surprised at the high cost of building, or the length of time it takes to get it built.