Building Trades President Testifies for Immediate Action on Safety Standards

The President of Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), Mark Ayers, recently testified there needs to be immediate action to improve safety for construction workers. He testified that there should be a construction safety office within the Office of Health and Safety Administration.

Recent events such as the recent fatalities in Las Vegas and the pair of crane accidents that killed nine people this year in New York City underscore how dangerous the construction industry is. According to the Center for Disease Control's National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), "Construction has about 6% of U.S. workers, but 20% of the fatalities - the largest number of fatalities reported for any of the industry sectors. " More information can be found out about their efforts here.

In addition to the recommendation for a new office of construction safety within OSHA, President Ayers outlined four other recommendations for improving safety on U.S. construction sites:

1. An OSHA temporary emergency standard requiring that all workers in the industry are trained and certified in accordance with the basic10-hour OSHA safety and health training program.
2. Immediate promulgation of an OSHA crane safety standard.
3. Stepped up OSHA jobsite enforcement activities.
4. Increased funding for construction safety and health research under NIOSH.

The Link to the BCTD press release can be found here.