Gary Puleio: 2007/05

Gary Puleio

Gary was killed on the job at a concrete plant on August 15, 2001. He had been employed there only 3 months as a non-union cement truck driver and fell 25 feet to his death, from a cement tower, while shoveling gravel off the hopper to clean it. The company claimed Gary just wandered up there on his own, without wearing any safety equipment, at the end of his driving shift rather than being assigned this dangerous task because he was the “new man”. OSHA accepted this implausible story and after admitting no wrong doing, the company paid a $6000 fine for REPEAT violations for not posting danger signs at a confined space and not implementing measures to prevent unauthorized entry. This company had multiple serious violations issued only months before Gary was killed which were informally settled with reduced fines. Corporations routinely “negotiate” with OSHA to downgrade fines through a process called “abatement. ” Aggrieved families of dead workers have no such access to OSHA, face hurdles in obtaining information under the Freedom of Information Act, have their concerns condescendingly dismissed and ultimately are told that no further action can be taken once 6 months have passed since the “alleged violation”. .

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Henshaw to Specter (re Iverson) 07/26/04

Henshaw assures Senator Specter everything was done right. The fact that it took 6 months to get Shapiro to write to Fairfax and Fair fax to take 5 more months to write back evidently is deemed an appropriate to traet the families of dead workers. Again...heck of a job!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Henshaw to Santorum 07/26/2004

Henshaw assures Senator Santorum every thing was "appropriate" in Gary's case....Even though it took Fairfax FIVE months to act on Shapiro's request.
Heck of a job!!!