CONSTRUCTION WORKER DEATHS ON THE STRIP:

Ironworkers want stronger union action

Some members, relatives of victims resent local leader’s comments

Tiffany Brown

Ironworkers Union Local 433 members will meet at their Shiloah Drive, Las Vegas, union hall Friday.

By Alexandra Berzon

Thu, Apr 3, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Part One: Pace is the new peril (3-30-2008)
Part Two: OSHA goes easy (3-31-2008)
Part Three: 'Not in this city' (4-1-2008)
OSHA up for a rare inquiry (4-2-2008)

Ironworkers Local 433

The deaths of construction workers on the Strip are widening a rift in an ironworkers union local over workplace safety.

Members of Ironworkers Union Local 433 and friends and relatives of some accident victims say the union leadership isn’t fighting hard enough to ensure safety at Strip building sites. Of the nine construction worker deaths on the Strip in the past 16 months, three were members of the union.

Workers and family members also say they are disturbed by remarks in Monday’s Las Vegas Sun by Chuck Lenhart, business agent and leader of the local. Lenhart said he believed contractors were doing all they could to create safe workplaces and that the workers’ own mistakes caused their deaths.

Union members and relatives of victims have told the Sun they have heard Lenhart make similar statements.

Greg McClelland, a representative of a safety committee working with the regional ironworkers unions, said Lenhart’s comments were out of line with the union’s beliefs. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think everybody else shares that sentiment,” McClelland said. If the contractors had abided by all safety laws, the three victims might have lived, he said.

Lenhart said Wednesday that his comments in the Sun had been taken out of context. “We’ve tried to fix the problems we’ve had as an industry,” he said. “I’ve always looked out for the best interests of this membership.” He said he has advocated for workers and for changes in laws, and noted that his stepson had been injured at CityCenter. Lenhart refused to comment further.

Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited contractors for safety failures in all three ironworker deaths on the Strip: those of Harold Billingsley, David Rabun Jr. and Norvin Tsosie. The agency withdrew all citations in the Billingsley case after meeting with the contractor. The union could have attended that meeting to represent its workers but did not.

Billingsley died after falling through a hole in temporary decking at CityCenter that OSHA investigators said should not have existed. His safety harness was not working. Safety laws required a temporary floor two stories down to break any fall, but no such floor existed.

Thus far, OSHA citations remain in the Rabun and Tsosie cases.

McClelland said workers almost always side with a fallen co-worker in a serious accident, finding fault with the contractor or with safety inspectors. Now, after the Sun’s examination of the three deaths, “the men are pretty upset,” he said.

McClelland is leading a safety committee made up of representatives of contractors, unions and Nevada OSHA to examine conditions at Strip construction sites. He said the committee is making progress and safety measures are improving.

Lenhart’s comments to the Sun and the union’s diligence on safety issues are expected to come up at a meeting Friday at the Local 433 union hall. “There’s going to be some fireworks,” said David Rabun, a veteran ironworker whose son died Nov. 27 at the Cosmopolitan. Rabun plans to attend with his daughter-in-law Jessica Rabun, who will be in town from Texas.

Jessica Rabun said she was upset by remarks Lenhart made after her husband’s death. As she stood in the hospital, she said, Lenhart came to her and said, “ ‘It’s easy to become complacent’ ” as an ironworker. “He wasn’t meaning to be rude, but I would never say that to somebody who just lost someone. To me, it was blaming my husband.”

Glenda Rose, whose boyfriend, Tsosie, died Aug. 2, said that when she stopped at the union hall afterward, Lenhart said something to the effect of: “This is the line of work they do. This kind of stuff happens. He was defending these companies to me. I remember walking away thinking: ‘I thought you worked for Norvin,’ ”

Fred Toomey, who held Lenhart’s job for 15 years before retiring, said the union is not doing enough to encourage or defend union stewards on job sites who confront management about safety problems. When he was business agent, Toomey often shut down jobs over safety concerns, he said. He plans to attend the meeting Friday.

Other ironworkers, speaking only if not identified, said they believe they and their union are powerless against a safety system stacked in favor of construction companies. “It’s like picking away at a mountain,” one CityCenter ironworker said at Stage Door Casino after completing his shift. “You get what you can a little at a time.”

Another worker, speaking outside the union hall, said he thought the union was doing all it could to ensure safety. “What should they have done? You make your own conditions.”

Sun reporter Michael Mishak contributed to this story.

Discussion: 8 comments so far…

By angryfamily

4/3/08 at 8:52 a.m.

Suggest removal

Does anyone know what time the meeting is taking place?
By Felicity

4/3/08 at 4:22 p.m.

Suggest removal

5PM at the union hall
By micole

4/3/08 at 5:50 p.m.

Suggest removal

The Ironworkers Hall is located at 100 Shiloah. This is one block west of I-95 and E. Charleston. You will turn North off of E. Charleston Blvd onto Shiloah. The Hall is located on the West side of the Street. I hope to see lots of love and support there. Mr. Non-Union, Mr. Inspector, Letjusticeprevail. Angryfamily, Kelly Snow and anyone else who believes in the changes that need to be made, I hope to see all of you there. This isn't just about Ironworkers, it is about all of the men.
By sad

4/3/08 at 7:48 p.m.

Suggest removal

I do hope that Mr. George Cole attends the union meeting and stands up to become a "solution to the problem" and not just a finger pointer. Mr. Cole, i am saddened by your family's loss more than you can know, but please look inside your own heart and be honest about how many on the job deaths you were responsible for and how many safety citations you have received. Every worker has the right and personal responsibility to themselves and their family to stand up and say "I refuse to work in an unsafe condition"! Trying to make that extra buck and avoiding safety procedures is not an excuse!
By JimmyJoJo

4/4/08 at 5:16 a.m.

Suggest removal

Want, want want. Always got the hands out wanting yet more. Never fails. Seems to me that unions are getting WAY out of control lately and need to be put back into place.

JJ
www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com
By micole

4/4/08 at 7:32 a.m.

Suggest removal

Dear Sad:

Yes, I do plan on attending the union meeting. I believe that Union has the collective power to support and influence the necessary changes. So, I am attending the meeting to see if the Ironworker's Union is willing to be a part of the solution.
You are correct, I was part of the system that I am now criticizing. I made an open admission of this fact during my interview for this article. I offer no excuses. However, I will say that I did then, what I knew then, and when I knew better, and when it became very personal to me, I did better.
Today, I am the man that I am, as a sum of my experiences. I am sure that a year from now I will be yet a different man based on the things that I will experience over the coming year.
Lastly, I would not have exposed myself to ridicule, judgement and slander, if I did not want to take a stand and be part of the solution.

Sincerely,
Mr. George Cole
By harrahswhistleblower

4/4/08 at 5:30 p.m.

Suggest removal

Anyone that has concerns regarding Nevada State OSHA's handling of any of these cases is strongly encouraged to contact me at:

harrahswhistleblower@gmail.com

I am Fred Frazzetta the Harrah's Whistleblower.

Nevada State OSHA has repeatedly failed to uphold the Statutes that are in place to protect us. Together we can file a formal complaint with Federal OSHA, which by law they will have to investigate. I have documentation pertaining to other investigations done by State OSHA that clearly show favoritism for one reason or another to big business. I believe that Public Corruption has taken place...it is the only reasonable explanation as to why behind closed doors things have gone away or changed drastically. Enough is enough and we need to make those responsible for these grievous acts accountable for their actions.

I am truly sorry to those families that have lost loved ones because of the mentality in this town of getting the job done at all costs. One life lost is too many...just ask someone who has lost a loved one. I thought Unions were supposed to stand up for their members, and that as brothers & sisters we are supposed to protect one another. It is time to take a stand...I am willing to...are you?
By tmac

5/15/08 at 6:47 p.m.

Suggest removal

Hello. I remember when Fred Toomey was our B.A. in Vegas and Fred was always there if there was an un-safe situation on the job. Yes Mr. Lenhart, Fred did shut down jobs when needed but never once did I see him do so if it wasn't needed. It's the new breed of Ironworker such as yourself who doesn't have the guts which the Ironworkers of old did to stand up for their people. As an Ironworker (retired) of 35 years my stomach is turned by your attitude and back in the 1970s you are the kind of Ironworker that old Fred and others would have decked. Terry McGahey.