Keeping the heat on OSHA

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/11/keeping-heat-osha/

U.S. House panel to review agency’s safety standards on industry

By Alexandra Berzon, Lisa Mascaro

Sun, May 11, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Washington — Citing the deaths of 10 workers on the Las Vegas Strip, a House panel will hold a hearing to review construction safety standards and the conduct of government agencies responsible for overseeing workplace safety.

California Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey said the workforce protections subcommittee she leads plans to hold a hearing this summer to investigate the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulations of the construction industry.

“What’s happening in Las Vegas and other major cities, including New York ... there’s this need to move faster” so that the buildings are completed by deadlines, Woolsey said. “It’s taking its toll and it’s killing or injuring our workers — all so some big buildings can get built quickly.”

The Las Vegas Sun has reported that construction workers on the Strip say pressure to work faster during the current $32 billion building boom forces them and their bosses to take shortcuts, often at the expense of safety. Ten workers have died in Strip construction projects in the past 17 months.

Those deaths and others elsewhere raise a question, Woolsey said. “Do we need to change the regulations or do we need to make sure the regulations are being followed?”

Woolsey’s subcommittee will review the adequacy of OSHA safety standards in the construction industry. Her panel falls under the House Education and Labor Committee led by fellow California Rep. George Miller, a strong advocate of OSHA reforms. The staff of Miller’s committee “has been monitoring the situation in Las Vegas,” a spokesman said.

FULL story at link.