OSHA Complaints
February 17, 2005
Reported by Shelley Brown
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, says it has five days to decide whether to do an on-site investigation of Manhattan Construction's L'Auberge du Lac Hotel and Casino project. The IBEW Union 861 filed the complaint after getting reports of unsafe and unhealthy working conditions at the site.
"I have worked all over the country, and I haven't ever seen anything like this," said Terry Mudd, local IBEW Union steward. Seventeen IBEW local union workers, including Mudd have filed complaints with OSHA against Manhattan Construction, claiming the L'Auberge job site is filthy and dangerous.
"There is no other way to describe it, but just disgusting," said Jeff Spears, another IBEW Union worker. Mudd said, "the toilet paper, as soon as they put it out there, somebody takes it off so there's no toilet paper, there are no toilet seats, and they don't clean them enough. Mudd said 40 toilets just isn't enough for the more than 1200 workers on the project.
"I felt like I was a foreigner to where I was just supposed to be happy with a hole, no toilet paper, just be happy, dig a hole in the ground, squat over that, and call yourself happy," said Spears who believes using an office bathroom is what got him fired. Other workers who wanted to remain anonymous in fear of losing their jobs said, "since April, the hotel hasn't been sealed and water has been getting into the hotel. About an inch of water collected on one floor, causing mold to grow. One worker developed a staff infection on his arm and spent a week in the hospital."
Harlan Duhon, business manager for the local IBEW Union said, "we have photographs that will confirm what these guys are saying has happened on that job." Duhon said he filed the complaints Tuesday, after repeated efforts to work out the problems.
Kerry Andersen with L'Auberge emailed us this statement: "while I appreciate your effort to reach the company regarding the story KPLC-TV is currently researching, L'Auberge du Lac Hotel and Casino, Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. and Manhattan Construction have no comment on Mr. Duhon's alleged complaints."
Meanwhile, several of the local IBEW Union workers said today that since these 17 complaints were filed to OSHA on Tuesday, Manhattan workers have basically been scrambling to get the place cleaned up. According to another worker, just today, some of the Manhattan workers were in high gear, trying to get things straightened up. He said they were on the phones saying 'let's get this place cleaned up.'
OSHA says they'll decide within five days whether they will do an on-site investigation.
One more problem workers told us about: they say when Manhattan employees were spraying fire retardant insulation, they were in protected suits to protect them from the chemicals, but the workers say they were left unprotected. That's another issue mentioned in the complaint sent to OSHA. Local pipe fitter and plumber union workers at the site say they have also voiced concerns about some of the same issues.
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