NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | April 20, 2018 | PAGE 13
Bill to end tribal worker union rights fails in Senate
Labor had a rare win in the Re-
publican-controlled U.S. Senate
April 16. A bill to strip Indian
casino workers of their federally
protected right to unionize
couldn’t get the 60 votes needed
in the Senate to overcome a fili-
buster and cut off debate.
The vote was 55-41, largely
along party lines, with Republi-
cans voting to cut off debate in
order to allow the bill to pass.
But there were exceptions: Re-
publican Rob Portman (R-OH)
voted with the Democrats, and
seven Democrats voted with the
Republicans: Tammy Baldwin
(D-WI), Martin Heinrich (D-
NM), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND),
Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jon Tester
(D-MT), Tom Udall (D-NM),
and Mark Warner (D-VA). Four
others were absent for the vote.
The Tribal Labor Sovereignty
Act passed the House by 239-
173 on Jan. 10. Oregon Democ-
rat Kurt Schrader voted for it.
The bill would end federal pro-
tection of the union rights of an
estimated 600,000 workers in
tribe-owned commercial enter-
prises. It’s unclear if the Senate
will try again to pass the bill.
Guest Column
By Ray Thomas, Attorney
Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost
Making construction zones safer
More roadway construction workers are killed each year by
construction equipment and vehicles than by on-road vehicles.
How can we make construction sites safer for the workers?
As part of the permit process, most construction sites must
file Traffic Control Plans (TCP) or, for projects where the
work moves with the progress made on a roadway, Tempo-
rary Traffic Control Plans (TTCP). However, these plans of-
ten overlook the danger to workers on the job site, since In-
ternal Traffic Control Plans (ITCP)—whose basic role is to
separate the machinery and construction vehicles from the
workers on foot—aren’t required or regulated to the same
degree. But ITCPs should be a core part of every job site
safety plan.
ITCPs should include a realistic plan for worker safety.
For example, does the highway project involve work at night
under artificial lights? Do some pieces of equipment make
noise that will mask the sound of an approaching vehicle?
Are workers at risk for being caught between pinch points
or hit by moving equipment parts? If workers cannot be kept
out of the hazard zone, then spotters, flaggers and guarding
must be used to reduce the danger. There is simply no excuse
for failing to create a safe work site when it has been known
for at least 10 years from available studies that a large per-
centage of deaths on the site result from being run over. For
example, of 639 fatal occupational injuries that were re-
viewed at road construction sites between 2003 and 2007,
305 were due to a worker being struck by a vehicle or mobile
equipment. [See “Fatal Occupational Injuries at Road Con-
struction Sites, 2003-07,” Monthly Labor Review, November
2010.]
Here are a few common-sense measures construction sites
can and should consider implementing to protect workers.
• ITCPs: Every construction site should make and implement an
Internal Traffic Control Plan to separate workers on foot from
the heavy equipment.
• On-site internal traffic control personnel, including flaggers
and spotters. This is especially important when heavy equipment
must move, or in limited visibility conditions.
• “If you don’t know, don’t go” policies: Address any “blind
spots” via flaggers, spotters, and modifying equipment to have
appropriate mirrors, cameras, and/or sun-shades. It’s also im-
portant for workers to know that no deadline is more important
than preserving their own safety and the safety of their col-
leagues.
• Protective guards and barriers: Sites should use chains, cables,
and barriers to separate workers from moving equipment or
equipment parts.
• Appointing a properly trained Safety Manager, whose focus is
not so much “punishing” violations as examining why workers
feel as though they need to cut corners in order to get the job
done, and then forcing management to address those systemic
problems.
• Training for emergencies: Workers should be briefed on emer-
gency traffic control plans, as well as plans and protocols for
how to rescue and evacuate co-workers in the event of an acci-
dent or injury.
• Regular job site safety meetings: Safety on the site can’t be
solved once and then set aside—workers and management need
to check in regularly to make sure the site is as safe as it can be
as the work continues and conditions change.
Ray Thomas is a Portland attorney. He and his law partner Jim Coon have been
practicing claimant law together at Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost for the past
27 years.