OSHA loses most of Monte Carlo fire case on appeal

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=176459

30 December 2008

by Alexandra Berzon

By Our Partners at the Las Vegas Sun

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The construction company cited by the state for worker safety violations in connection with the January fire atop the Monte Carlo was largely cleared of responsibility in an appeal decision this month.

The state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration had fined Union Erectors, a structural steel company, $18,000, saying the company had violated nine workplace safety laws.

But the OSHA Review Board — made up of labor and management representatives appointed by the governor, including an MGM Mirage official who recused himself from the case because the fire was at one of his company's resorts — overturned all but one of Union Erectors' citations, reducing the fines to $3,500.

The review board's reversal follows a pattern. The Sun reported Monday that nearly all violations by employers that have been brought before the OSHA appeals body have been overturned this year.

In this case, the board's decision was based largely on testimony by Union Erectors workers that contradicted Clark County Fire Department findings that the company had caused the fire by not following proper fire prevention procedures.

On Jan. 26, Union Erectors employees were using torches to install a catwalk on the roof of the Monte Carlo. Sparks flew onto a a nearby wall, igniting a blaze that spread to the exterior facade and upper floors of the hotel, according to the Fire Department and OSHA report of events.

FULL story at link.

[merh]

1. What the media is missing

is that the state agencies responsible for hearing such grievance, namely employee grievances, have been ruling in favor of the corps/government agencies and against the employees over the last 8 years - they stacked the decks, they loaded the state courts and the hearing agencies with their anti-worker members.

Their grass roots efforts put ours to shame, they started with the local governments, the "civil" organizations and the small business clubs and tainted the mindset - we have a great deal of work ahead of us.