Local government safety role to get a look

County, city officials also plan to explore ways to strengthen OSHA

Fri, May 2, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Construction deaths

Two leading Southern Nevada elected officials said Thursday they want to bring together developers, building contractors, workers and state and local officials to find ways to improve safety following a series of deaths on construction projects on the Las Vegas Strip.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani and Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross, who heads the local building and construction trades council, said they are eager to know what role localities can play in overseeing construction safety, currently left to state government. Giunchigliani and Ross said they also want to explore steps the Nevada Legislature can take to strengthen the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the state agency that investigates workplace accidents.

“I want to hear the suspicions or rationale about why we’ve had the increase in the number of injuries and deaths,” Giunchigliani said. “I’m looking for some concrete recommendations about what local government can do ... or do we have to have the Legislature involved? I’m envisioning this as more fact-finding than anything else.”

Ten construction workers have died in nine accidents on the Strip in the past 17 months, including electrician Mark Wescoat, who fell to his death at CityCenter on Saturday.

“My main concern is that worker safety may be getting compromised in the run to try to get these projects off the ground more quickly,” Giunchigliani said. “I could be wrong, and that’s fine, but this is a huge issue and we need to know what’s driving this.”

Ross said he wants MGM Mirage and the Perini Building Co., general contractor for MGM Mirage’s CityCenter, to know “that we as local governments are greatly concerned and we are going to be as involved as necessary.”

The Sun reported in March that investigators for Nevada OSHA had discovered that contractors committed safety violations in each of the nine deaths that had occurred to that point. Those citations were often withdrawn during informal conferences with employers, a practice sharply criticized by safety experts and federal OSHA officials.

After the Sun’s stories were published, state legislators said they wanted to address the safety issues during the next legislative session, but that does not begin until 2009.

Saturday’s death at CityCenter has given safety issues more urgency, said Giunchigliani, who said she first discussed the topic with Ross last fall as the death toll mounted. Giunchigliani said she wants to meet as soon as next week rather than wait to put the subject on the County Commission agenda.

“This is going to affect everybody in the long run,” said Giunchigliani, a former state assemblywoman who chaired the chamber’s Labor and Management Committee.

Ross said he thinks most of the safety issues stem from workers’ not always following safety guidelines — a belief similar to those voiced by contractors and some local union officials. Safety experts and national union officials, however, have said lax oversight by state safety officials and a rush to build as swiftly as possible could be contributing to unsafe conditions.

Ross said injuries and deaths can be reduced by increasing worker training. Already, MGM Mirage and Perini have agreed to increase training requirements for workers at the $8 billion CityCenter project, where five deaths occurred.

In discussions organized by Ross and the National Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, MGM Mirage, Perini and union leaders agreed to raise training requirements for workers at CityCenter.

Ross said he plans to ask the Legislature next year to pass a bill that would require every construction worker in the state to complete 10 hours of safety training.

Discussion: 7 comments so far…

By mikeg

5/2/08 at 8:44 a.m.

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Can the state do anything about getting the RJ back in Caesars? Lol.
By safetypro

5/2/08 at 9:32 a.m.

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SAFETY STARTS WITH TRAINING' IN ALL ASPECTS OF CONSTRUCTION. ACCOUNTABILITY IS WHATS NEEDED.. SITE SUPERVISORS @ TIMES PUT EMPLOYEES IN HARMS WAY FOR PRODUCTION, THESES SUPERVISOR LACK SAFETY TRAINING ALSO, SITE SAFETY MANAGERS HOW ARE THEY QUALIFIED?? GENERAL CONTRACTORS WORKING ON THE VEGAS STRIP ARE ENROLLED IN O.C.I.P. OWNER CONTROLLED INSURANCE PROGRAMS REGARDLESS OF THERE INJURY RATE, UNDER THE O.C.I.P. CONTRACTORS WILL NOT INCURE A COST FOR CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS..
By sisterAZ

5/2/08 at 9:52 a.m.

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mikeg, please don't make a joke about this issue... There are families out here that are hurting as a result of this growing problem. Losing a loved one is nothing to laugh about. These men went to work in Vegas to support their families, to have a life. They are the ones who will not be returning at the end of the day. Please show some respect.

My hope it that the State of Nevada will make the correct changes to protect the countless other construction workers who are still building in Vegas. It is by their hands and hard work that those buildings are going up. Take care of those that are still there. Safety should be a priority to any company no matter the business you are in.
By aliceibew

5/2/08 at 1:55 p.m.

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If Anyone Knows mikeg can you kick the crap out of him. lol ... Alice,s Husband...N.Y.C. BORN..
By lavus

5/2/08 at 7:47 p.m.

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OSHA? just like GLBT? I know many ppl on biloves.com like to say GLBT, not sure what it means.
By letjusticeprevail

5/3/08 at 8:42 a.m.

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"I'm envisioning this as more fact-finding than anything else". Great, that's what we need, more fact-finding and less action. When you find out the facts, are you actually going to take action? OSHA laws/rules and regulations are in place, it's the people running the local office that allow themselves to be influenced to drop or reduce citations/fines that are the problem. Clean house and start over! Maybe then we'll see some change in this valley.
By fenyxfx

5/3/08 at 9:02 a.m.

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"Already, MGM Mirage and Perini have agreed to increase training requirements for workers."

I hope so. I've been on three Perini sites so far and the safety training for the most part consisted of a dated 30 minute video that most people watched through their eyelids. The City Center training was more involved but still consisted of a lot of video in a dark room at 4 in the morning. Half the people I "remind" of certain policies claim they never knew them to begin with.

Moreover, there are a lot of helpers/pre-apprentices on site. Where apprentices at least get the same safety training and get to follow their journeymen around, helpers get sent off alone constantly with almost no knowledge of what they need to do. That kind of inexperience tied with shoddy instruction and bare minimum training is an accident waiting to happen.
Hell, I've known some of these guys to open manlift gates 50 stories up without a lift being there. It exposed them to a completely unprotected fall and no one seemed to care. They just wanted to see if they could do it.

It just goes to show both the contractors and the workers need to put safety to the front of their minds. They need a healthy respect for what could happen if they don't work safely. I've seen the results firsthand and it's only made worse knowing something simple could have prevented it.