In Nevada, safety could be big issue

By Alexandra Berzon (contact)

Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Workplace safety has hardly been a major topic on the campaign trail or at the recent Democratic and Republican national conventions. But some prominent worker advocates think the issue could appeal to workers and help draw distinctions between the presidential candidates.

That could be especially true in Nevada, where a string of recent construction deaths on the Las Vegas Strip has elicited a strong public response.

Mark Ayers, president of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, addressed the Las Vegas deaths in a speech Thursday in Henderson to about 100 union members supporting Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

“Now, of course John McCain says he’s a brave man,” Ayers said of the Republican nominee. “And, of course, in a lot of ways he is. But I wonder if (he) is brave enough to sit down with the families of Harvey Englander, Harold Billingsley and the 10 other construction workers who died on the job in this city.

“I wonder if he’s brave enough to listen to them describe the agony, the hurt and the pain they still suffer — and always will,” Ayers said.

He criticized McCain for not supporting the Protect America’s Workers Act, which Obama co-sponsored. It would moderately strengthen the Occupational Safety and Health Administration by creating minimum fines for safety violations following fatalities, increasing fine maximums, and making it easier to bring criminal charges against companies that egregiously violate safety standards. McCain has not signed on to the bill.

“Who could be so cold, so hardhearted and so indifferent to protecting workers’ lives to oppose something like that?” Ayers said.

Ayers, in town from Washington, said in an interview before his speech that he is still losing sleep over the Las Vegas deaths.

A Sun investigation discovered that Nevada OSHA had found safety violations in connection with many of those deaths. But after Nevada OSHA issued citations, the agency met with contractors and downgraded or eliminated its original citations.

The House Education and Labor Committee held hearings in June to discuss construction deaths in Las Vegas and New York City, and OSHA’s weak response.

Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO health and safety director, points to numerous occasions when McCain has voted for legislation that she says undermines worker safety, or has voted against bills that would strengthen it. For example, advocates say, McCain has supported legislation that would take economic effects on business into consideration when developing OSHA enforcement tools, a step they think could weaken enforcement of workplace safety laws.

In a recent interview with Las Vegas Channel 8, McCain expressed strong commitment to protecting worker safety when asked about recent Strip construction accidents.

“I think it’s a very important part of America for the American worker,” McCain said. “This goes back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt, when they had terrible conditions in some workplaces in America. We have an obligation as a federal government to do what we can to help protect the lives and safety of the American worker.”

The Channel 8 reporter, Mark Sayre, asked McCain whether he would do anything as president to weaken OSHA.

“Oh no,” McCain said. “Look, these are hardworking Americans. Probably the hardest-working Americans — I don’t mean to be comparative — but the fact is, these people work so hard in this construction business. It is inherently dangerous. So we’ve got to provide them with all the safety and protections that we can.”

In the interview, McCain did not offer specifics. A campaign representative did not respond to questions Friday.

Obama spokeswoman Kirsten Searer on Friday said Obama was also disturbed by recent events in Las Vegas.

Worker advocates insist that in contrast to McCain, Obama has been a strong supporter of worker safety legislation in both the Illinois Legislature and the U.S. Senate. As president, Obama would increase OSHA funding for more investigations and for health and safety programs for small business and workers in high-risk industries, Searer said.

“This is an issue that will resonate with labor communities, who are a critical demographic of people working for change in this election, especially in Nevada,” Searer said.

But Obama talks about that on the campaign trail only occasionally.

Two weeks ago, while speaking before a group of workers at a Kansas City hangar where workers service American Airlines jets, Obama criticized the Bush administration’s weak OSHA enforcement.

“In a facility like this, the possibility for injury is enormous,” Obama said, according to the Associated Press. “It’s pretty standard to lose an eye, lose a limb, lose a life ... We’re going to have a government that makes sure workers aren’t put at unnecessary risk.”

Evoking OSHA and workplace safety can be another way of reminding workers, especially those in high-risk industries, that the Bush administration “has failed them,” Seminario said.

But Seminario and Ayers also acknowledge that given all the other issues on voters’ minds, workplace safety is probably not a top concern.

“I hope workers think about safety when they vote, but it’s hard to focus on safety when you are losing your home, your job, your health care and, if you are lucky enough to be working, protecting your wages,” Ayers said after his speech.