Brooklyn coalition demands safety
Immigrant worker's death protested
By Mary
Owen
New York
A coalition of community, labor, religious and
immigrant-rights activists gathered Dec. 2 in the South
Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., for a vigil to demand
safe jobs. The event was held at the site where construction
laborer Eduardo Daniel was killed and 10 other immigrants
injured when a building they were working on collapsed Nov.
23.
Chants of "the people united will never be defeated" rang
out in English and Spanish as vigil participants stood holding
candles on the dark, deserted block of half-completed
buildings. Most were Latino and Latina workers, some with
children in strollers.
Organizers condemned the criminal negligence of construction
contractors who run unsafe operations with no regard for the
life or well-being of immigrant day laborers. "Contractors
often seek out undocumented workers, believing that their
immigration status makes them vulnerable and unlikely to
complain of abuses," one said.
The contractor in this case, who has a history of violations
and has since fled the country, failed to properly support the
upper floors of the residential structure.
The workers plunged four stories to the basement in an
avalanche of wet cement and metal.
Daniel was crushed to death by concrete building blocks,
metal reinforcing rods and other material as the floors above
caved in.
Other workers were rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center for
treatment, including surgery. Some were in critical or serious
condition.
This was the second building collapse on the same block
since August.
Safe jobs are a right
At the vigil, representatives of the Laborers union, the
Coalition for Human Rights of Immigrants, the South Side Fair
Housing Coalition, the Mexican American Workers Association,
New York Jobs with Justice, the New York Labor-Religion
Coalition, and the Mt. Sinai Occupational Health Clinics spoke
out in memory of Daniel. Many other groups endorsed the
event.
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez said violations or criminal
charges would be brought against unscrupulous contractors who
exploit immigrant workers.
Luis Montalvo, organizing director of Laborers Local 79,
stressed: "We need a general amnesty for undocumented
immigrants. Otherwise we have to work for less money and that
allows for exploitation, as with compañero Daniel.
"As long as we don't have amnesty, situations like this will
continue."
Members of the South Side Fair Housing Committee,
represented by a group of Latinas, said the New York City
Buildings Department has done nothing to correct construction
problems in the area. They vowed to speak out when Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani holds a Dec. 9 "town hall meeting" in the
community.
Activists are demanding that the Nov. 23 collapse be
thoroughly investigated, that workers who might testify against
the contractor be protected, that Daniel's family be
compensated, that injured workers' medical costs be covered.
And they demand that a city plan be developed to prevent future
accidents, and that more public funds be allocated for
health-and-safety inspections and worker safety education.
They also called for immediate measures to ensure that all
workers--regardless of immigration status or national
origin--are guaranteed basic rights, including the right to
organize and the right to a healthy and safe work
environment.
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.
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