Laborers Call for Safer Building Sites
Date Posted: April 25, 2024
Posted In: Discussion, Organizations, Workforce,
From The Guardian: Wooden planks with nails covered the site where Antonio, a construction day laborer in Houston, Texas, was helping clear fencing last December. The contractor that hired him provided no protection, he said – so when he slipped, and a nail struck him just above the ankle, it became “really swollen”.
Cristian Céspedes of Unforgettable Coatings at union rally in Las Vegas, Nevada
Antonio was given hydrogen peroxide, and the contractor promised to get him medical attention the next day. But after developing a fever overnight, and with his ankle still swollen, he took himself to the emergency room.
Upon arrival, he was told if he had waited much longer, doctors might have needed to amputate his leg below the knee. “I spent about 16 days in the hospital,” Antonio, who requested to omit his last name for fear of retaliation, said.
After two weeks, the contractor – which had not picked up the phone the day after his accident – got in touch. They wanted to know “if I was ready to work”, Antonio said.
His injury was never reported to the proper authorities. He has not received compensation.
The incident was not unusual.
More than 450,000 workers were injured by falls, slips and trips in 2021 and 2022, according to official data, with 865 fatalities recorded in 2022 alone. Of those who died, more than 400 were construction workers, according to the Center for Construction Research and Training.
Employers are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) to protect workers from falls on the job, by providing guardrails, harnesses, scaffolding and personal safety gear when necessary, and provide training to workers.
“Construction is a dangerous industry, but falls are preventable, 100%,” said Ryan Papariello, safety and health specialist at the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America. “We know how to prevent these incidents.”
But in many cases where injuries and fatalities of workers occur, basic Osha protections are not being followed, or implemented at all.
“Probably the most important to me is a general awareness of the job site, what’s going on around you, and the confidence to be able to stand up and say, ‘Stop, this is unsafe,’” said Anton Ruesing, executive director of the International Finishing Trades Institute. “A lot of workers don’t feel comfortable enough to say, ‘Hold on a second, that’s unsafe, and I’m not going to do that.’”