Safety agreement ends walkout on Strip

Zach Wise

Construction workers picket in front of MGM Mirage’s CityCenter Tuesday afternoon in protest of safety conditions for the $9.2 billion project. The strike, which started late Monday night in reaction to the deaths of 11 workers on Strip projects over the last year and a half, ended when union leaders and contractor Perini Building Co. reached an agreement on improved safety conditions.

By Alexandra Berzon (contact)

Published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | 3:55 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | 4:20 p.m.

Construction will resume on MGM Mirage's mammoth CityCenter and at a neighboring project tonight after union officials and a contractor reached agreement on safety improvements to end the one-day strike.

Union leaders said contractor Perini Building Co. agreed to pay for safety training for workers, allow a team of union researchers to examine the cause of safety problems and give union officials full access to the site.

"We want it to resonate up and down Las Vegas Boulevard that you can get projects done on time, on budget and safely," said Steve Ross, head of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization that represents most union workers at CityCenter and the neighboring Cosmopolitan sites.

Perini representatives did not return calls for comment.

Workers walked off the job late Monday night to protest unsafe working conditions. They were reacting to 11 deaths over the last 18 months at Strip construction sites, including one Saturday that was the sixth to occur at the $9.2 billion CityCenter.

Ross said the agreement was reached in the spirit of collaboration with Perini, which had indicated earlier that it wanted to make the safety improvements the unions sought.

But Ross added that the agreement is just the beginning, not the final step in addressing safety concerns that have arisen during the $32 billion building boom underway on the Strip.

Discussion: 1 comment so far…

By SPFPAUNIONYES

6/3/08 at 11:47 p.m.

Suggest removal

The International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America SPFPA would like to recognize and praise Steve Ross, head of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, and all of the building trades and unionized tradesman for their courage in bringing awareness to the unsafe working conditions at the MGM Mirage City Center as well as other construction site locations underway on the strip.

We would also like to acknowledge Perini Building Co. for agreeing to pay for safety training for workers, allowing a team of union researchers to examine the cause of safety problems and giving union officials full access to the site.

Together Maybe Today We Saved a Construction Workers Life.

In Memory of

Dustin Tarter a crane "oiler" who was working on a moving crane when he is believed to have been caught between the counterweight system and the track of the crane, fire officials said. Tarter was crushed and killed.

• Mark Wescoat, 47, of Las Vegas, an electrician who fell about 20 feet to his death on April 26.

• Harold Billingsley, 46, of Las Vegas, an ironworker who died Oct. 5, 2007, after falling about 55 feet after reportedly hitting his head on a beam and losing his balance.

• Harvey Englander, 65, of Las Vegas who died Aug. 9, 2007, when his body was struck and severed by an elevator counter-weight system.

• Bobby Lee Tohannie, 40, of Kayenta, Ariz., and Angel J. Hernandez, 24, of Las Vegas, were crushed to death Feb. 6, 2007, when two 3,000-pound steel walls fell on them.

Respectfully

Steve Maritas
SPFPA Organizing Director
Proud Son of Theodore Teddy Maritas
President of 30,000 Member New York District Council of Carpenters 1978-1982

http://www.spfpalocal7777.org/SAFETYFIRS...