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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2019)
PAGE 2 | April 19, 2019 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: https://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Senior staff reporter: Don McIntosh Office manager: Jill Lukens Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $15 a year for union members, $23 a year for all others. 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Coats, etc. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 ...It was the biggest OSHA fine in years. And it still hasn’t been paid. From Page 1 ODOT rules, even willful safety violations don’t disqualify a company from bidding on proj- ects. In order to bid on ODOT projects, companies must fill out a “prequalification” application every two years. The application asks if in the previous five years they’ve been found to have vio- lated state or federal prevailing wage or environmental statutes or regulations — but not whether they’ve been found to violate safety regulations. When local painters union reps first learned Abhe & Svo- boda got the Ross Island Bridge job, they worried the company might cut corners and leave workers exposed. Abhe & Svo- boda — a Minnesota-headquar- tered company that does busi- ness nationwide — had a history of safety violations: In 1996, a worker was killed in Wisconsin in a lift bucket accident. In 1998, a worker fell 200 feet to his death in Maine. In 2011, the company was fined nearly $30,000 for dozens of OSHA vi- olations on the Astoria-Megler Bridge between Oregon and Washington. To gather information, union organizer Omar Rubi got a job on the bridge painting crew. He fell through the ladder after his and several coworkers wit- compressed air hose got stuck nessed serious safety lapses, but on a bent cap cover (a piece of were ignored and even disci- metal used to cover space be- plined by company manage- tween scaffold planks on the ment for complaining about the platform). safety issues. Rubi was sent Montiel says his dad had home two days before the acci- warned an Abhe & Svoboda dent after saying workers could foreman about that exact hazard take their complaints to OSHA, two days earlier — the loose and was later terminated. He piece of metal sticking up from now works en- the platform forcing pre- was near an vailing wage unsecured lad- “He was like, oh yeah, rules at the der hole, and we’re going to fix it; Port of Seattle. Lilly asked Lilly and his don’t worry.’ They didn’t that the hole be adopted son fix it, and two days later covered. Montiel are my dad got caught on “He was from Brazil, that piece of metal and like, ‘oh yeah, and Lilly we’re going to fell through the hole” speaks limited fix it; don’t — Christopher Montiel English, but worry.’ They Montiel, didn’t fix it, reached by and two days phone at home later my dad got caught on that in Renton, Washington, said his father’s fall could have been piece of metal and fell through the hole.” prevented. Lilly fell 37 feet and landed On the morning of the acci- dent, Lilly and other workers on Montiel’s shoulder, knocking were using compressed air him down. Montiel hit his face hoses to blow down dust, sand, on the steel deck, resulting in paint chips, and other material. brain bleeding and broken facial Montiel was working on a tem- bones in four places, and neces- porary platform below scraping sitating surgery on both eyes. paint. Lilly lost his balance and Lilly suffered injuries to his wrists, eyes, and scrotum, and two broken ribs. The two had to be removed from the bridge by the Portland Fire Department in an elaborate rescue operation. Both were experienced painters and had been working for Abhe & Svoboda less than two months. Two years later, both are unable to return to their former occupation because of their injuries, and are doing light-duty work at Salvation Army. They’re represented by Portland attorney Colin Hackett in ongoing workers’ compensa- tion proceedings. Abhe & Svoboda’s legal ap- peal of the OSHA fine will be decided by administrative law judge Nicholas Sencer. Meanwhile, under its contract with ODOT, Abhe & Svoboda was supposed to complete the Ross Island Bridge repainting project by Aug. 31, 2017, but didn’t wrap it up until June 15, 2018. To penalize the company for the delay, ODOT assessed $777,600 in liquidated damages. Abhe & Svoboda is contesting that penalty too. Abhe & Svoboda chief finan- cial officer Tom Stockert did not return a call seeking comment on the case.
