Friday, April 18, 2008

NUMBERS ARE UP!

How many times have we heard it? The proof is in the pudding, numbers are down. Rewind after to corrections NUMBERS ARE UP! Revised BLS 2006 Stats Point to Rise, Not Decrease, in Workplace Deaths "Revised figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on workplace fatalities in 2006 indicate that the numbers were higher than previously thought: The final count of 5,840 means that the overall occupational fatality rate increased 2 percent between 2005 and 2006."

Yep in your face EF for all the times I have heard
  • We don't need more regulations Our famous Alliance program is working.
  • We don't need more funding.
  • We don't need more inspectors.
  • We don't need higher fines.
The problem her is the we don't; they should be say we don't, make regulations, fund, inspect or fine. Lets also add to this list we (OSHA) don't have support from our peeps. Influenced, OSHA bends After involvement of Gibbons appointee, violations, fines in case of Orleans workers’ deaths were reduced "The case so angered Boyd’s safety manager, Don Barker, and OSHA inspector John Olaechea, who investigated the accident, that both men quit their jobs."


On Feb. 2, 2007 Richard Luzier fell into a manhole, Travis Koehler and David Snow both went in to save the others all lost consciousness. Richard and Travis lost there lives while David recovered only after several weeks on life support.

Boyed Officials were warned by both OAHA and their own environmental safety and health manager about the issues involving confined spaces. Boyd had previous violations at another of their facilities and even left a trail of emails, memos and statements with out a second thought.

"Olaechea wrote his findings on March 13, 2007. “Boyd Corporate had knowledge and failed to act,” Olaechea concluded. “That is the exact definition of a willful (by indifference).”

What did Boyd get, "The “willful” violations were reduced to “serious.” Fines of about $400,00 were cut to $185,000, still among the largest in state history. But to reach that level, the department had to engage in another odd maneuver. OSHA law caps fines for a willful violation at $70,000 and for a serious violation, at $7,000 — too low to reach the $185,000 total. So the state once again went outside of normal procedures, attaching $23,000 to each of the eight serious violations, plus other fines."

Also included in this agreement was free training, no regular inspections for 2 years unless there is a complaint.


So how much does it cost to get away with a double murder?

Let the case drag out longer than the allotted 6 months helps. Then you get rid of the man that issues the willful violations and change them to serious violations, which by the way gets them out of any liability.

Get a few of your peeps involved like Gov. Jim Gibbons’ who gained $45,000 from Boyd Gaming and related interests in his 2006 race for governor and nearly $40,000 in his congressional campaigns dating to 1996. Elliott, director of the Business and Industry Department, which includes OSHA (talk about a conflict of interest), Cornwall, Gov. Gibbon’s chief operating officer and Roger Bremner, the administrator for the Industrial Relations Division, who directly oversees OSHA. So the final decision left out the original OSHA investigator Involved in the negotiation were Coffined, Elliott and Bremner, whose of Industrial Relations Division oversees OSHA and reports to Elliott.

Guess who wasn’t involved…the families. All the decisions made, all those allowed to make a case and the was no representation for the families both gone and still here. now the case can be made that there is never representation for the families but that is not so. if you are in a union they may have a representative involved. Seems to me since this was such a special case and exceptions were made then there should have been for the families....let them have a rep come in in their behalf!

Well I'm pretty sure they make our Scarlet letter Award. Make Moma Proud you all! and by the way that does include those who enabled and condoned what some would call manslaughter for sale!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As the wife of David Snow, the survivor of this accident I have to say you are right on the money. Check out our site
www.myspace.com/boycottboydgaming

Print Page