Orders to 'go back to work'
Did bosses put profits before safety?
By a financial district worker
New York
At 8:48 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 11, a hijacked American
Airlines flight 11 was turned into a missile and flown at high
velocity into the upper floors of the northernmost of the twin
towers in lower Manhattan. It began its journey in Boston and
was scheduled to go to Los Angeles. It was seemingly chosen
because the fuel tanks would be laden in order to complete a
cross-country trip.
The awesome towers of the World Trade Center have been the
first visual confirmation for any travelers approach ing New
York that they were nearing the metropolis.
Some 17 minutes after the first strike, a second commercial
jetliner repeated the act on the second tower. Within an hour
and a half after this second strike, both towers would buckle
under the weight of the top portions, which collapsed from the
effects of an inferno driven by jet fuel. Temperatures of up to
2,000 degrees compromised the structure.
Many people around the world have been glued to their
television sets since they first heard about these events. Many
stories have been coming out from eyewitnesses and workers on
the scene. One thing that happened that morning is illuminating
and worth some examination.
It was reported on several news broadcasts, and then
repeated on the Ananda Lewis Show on CBS-TV on Sept.17, that
shortly after the first hit, as people were trying to get out
of the second tower, an announcement came over the PA system
instructing them to go back to their desks because "the
structure is safe."
It is likely that many people ignored this asinine
instruction. But it is also likely that many obeyed it. We
can't know how many more people could have gotten out of the
building if the announcement had instead aided people with
proper evacuation instructions.
If such a large building is on fire, it is unconscionable to
tell people in it or anywhere near it to keep on working.
Unfortunately for us all, there is no conscience in the drive
for profit.
The bosses are concerned with as much profit as possible at
any cost. The chief concern of whoever authorized that
announcement was the amount of labor that would be lost if
people left their desks, even for safety.
In the coming period, you can look for businesses that were
affected by the events of Sept. 11 to be bailed out with
taxpayers' money. How will the families of the dead be
compensated? We will see. Time will tell.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
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