Barnestormin

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A while back I blogged arguing that “hardhat” is a slur, and I’ve been second guessing ever since. It got me thinking of years ago when I worked for Laborers Local 1058, and of one particular day.

I n the heartland, Minnesota state legislators are tired of playing patty-cake with contractors. They want to know who’s doing exactly what work in their state and that effort has led to  a new law  that could serve as a model for other states. The law also could bring better compliance with existing

In an effort to save tax dollars and spur business growth, Oklahoma has begun the process of streamlining its workers compensation court system. Employee cutbacks in the system already have occurred, with more planned for the future. They are expected to save hundreds of millions for the state's businesses.

I am writing this piece on names—familiar ones and clichés—because it’s important to remember that depending upon what side of the trades or tracks you hail from, a word might be considered harmless, or an insult, like “college boy.” 

One Delaware worker who was harmed from working around asbestos has learned about the legal ticking clock, through the courts. That former Getty Oil Refinery employee, Paul DaBaldo Jr., worked from 1967 through 2001 at the refinery. He didn’t know the clock was ticking on how long he had to file a lawsuit for injuries from asbestos exposure.

I’ve seen falls happen to people I respected and people I’ve loved. And I’ve had a few falls myself; near misses that have made me think maybe there’s something to this Guardian Angel thing. And so I get angry sometimes when I see firms flouting fall safety regulations as if these lifesaving rules don’t matter, because it’s like they’re saying people’s lives don’t matter.Apparently, some just don’t get the message until they are smacked in the face with it. So, OSHA recently slapped Painting & Decorating, Inc., a Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based contractor, with $460,000 in proposed fines for fall safety violations after inspecting a work site in Mahasset.

 I’d meet Dad in Downtown Pittsburgh for lunch and he’d be standing there under the tall arches formed by the girders of the U.S. Steel Tower Plaza, framed by the beautiful rusty patina of that CorTen Steel. He’d be grinning and dapper in his suit, the U.S. Steel civil engineer meeting one of his many kids, and he’d throw an arm around my shoulder for a bit as we walked across Grant Street and down the brick alley called Cherry Way, to Weiner World (“Home of the Cheese Dog”) or somewhere nicer. Didn’t matter.

Say you’re right in a dispute over a municipal contract on which your company is working and the government authority you are dealing with is pushing you to accept unfair contract terms or payment arrangements. You need the money, but don’t want a protracted legal battle, so what do you do?