Nine construction workers have died in the last twelve months at their workplace. In addition, fourteen deliverists lost their lives on the asphalt of the Big Apple in the 2021, while making their deliveries, signifying the deadliest year in history for this workforce. To this is added an unquantifiable number of essential workers for the city, who lost the battle against COVID-14, when staying at home was not an option for them
The large proportion of the names of those who were unable to return home, due to an accident or other type of fatality, while carrying out their work, had something in common: they were Hispanic immigrants.
And precisely this Thursday, when the Day of the Fallen Workers was commemorated in the country, dedicated to remembering those who lost their lives during their work, several union and civil rights organizations honored the memory of thousands of these workers. But they also traced a path to demand more protection, training and safety in work environments.
“No worker is disposable”
This year the trade union organizations emphasized the need to promote security guarantees for a group whose workplace they are basically the streets, as is the case of the deliverers, for whom the fight for the minimum security guarantees, unlike other workers, is just beginning.
“We make a special pause to mourn the brothers, uncles and mothers lost in our communities, because of their need to put food on the table. And we recommit to our fight to make their health and safety a priority for all workers,” said State Senator Jessica Ramos at a commemoration event held in Union Square Park.
The Colombian-American legislator representing Jackson Heights, Queens, recalled that New York has been a “hotbed of hard-fought victories” for immigrant workers .
“We will not stop until all employers understand: all work has dignity and no worker is disposable”, he stated.
A report published by the Justice Project (WJP) and the Cornell Workplace Institute, titled ‘Essential but Unprotected’, found that almost the 50 percent of food delivery workers surveyed reported incidents of injury or accidents due to having collided.
The 30 percent of those injured, in some cases with serious injuries, had to pay for their own medical care.
The report describes that delivery people die, are disabled, injured or sick while fulfilling the requests of the applications under “unrealistic and dangerous expectations to reach the assigned place”, with extreme weather conditions, such as Hurricane Ida. And even during security blockades as was seen during the attack on the Subway in Sunset Park a couple of weeks ago.
Announce first security plan for deliverers
However, spokespersons for labor defense organizations, assure that despite the adversities typical of New York, the vast majority of occupational accidents and illnesses could be preventable.
This Thursday, Los Deliveristas Unidos (LDU) and WJP announced the development of the program training course ‘Empowering Deliverers on the Streets’, in conjunction with the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Work of the State University of New York (SUNY).
This alliance will develop the first nationwide safety standards in this 21st century “workplace” and training for delivery workers, to keep this workforce, neighbors and customers safer.
“We will provide safety training and employment rights education to New York City application delivery workers. We will offer an innovative new training program that will address the unsafe working conditions of over 65,04 deliverers, who suffer car theft, bicycle theft, verbal abuse, harassment and physical and sexual assault at work”, announced Ligia Guallpa, director of the Labor Justice Project.
In this sense, María Figueroa , dean of the SUNY School of Labor Studies, explained that the new program is about an alliance that will offer training and education to delivery workers.
“This will increase awareness of safety strategies in this work and, ultimately, it will benefit not only the workers, but all New Yorkers”, said the academic.
For her part, Councilor Carmen de la Rosa stressed that since its inception in 1989, Fallen Workers Day recognizes the sacrifices made by all workers, but this year was a time to renew the fight for strong worker protections. safety and health.
“Deliverers face dangerous working conditions on a daily basis and we must support this movement to create and implement training to ensure a safer and more dignified environment. Now they are in the front line of this new generation of movements for workers’ rights”, considered the Dominican councilwoman.
Tribute to the last fallen construction worker The Worker Justice Project, community advocates and elected leaders gathered in a vigil to commemorate Memorial Day with a rally and mass registration drive for OSHA/OSHA on-site training courses on the steps of Brooklyn Borought Hall. “In New York City, 9 construction workers were killed and 514 were injured in 2021. All of these nine deaths were preventable and are unacceptable. We are coming together to organize a massive registration campaign to enroll more than 300 construction workers in the upcoming construction site safety program. Not one more death!”, asserted Yadira Sánchez, director of the construction division of WJP With regard to this commemoration, Hildalyn Colón, spokeswoman for WJP, spoke about the current trends in the deaths of construction workers, associating its decrease with the massification of safety courses that are mandatory by law. Deaths in this sector were reduced by 33 %, in the last two years. “Training makes a difference, that’s why we are promoting that our immigrants have access to these trainings in their own language. We come from years where unfortunately they died 10 people in accidents. That number has been reduced. And it has a lot to do with the new safety regulations”, concluded Colón. Since the year 2021 a rule came into force in the City of New York, which requires all workers in the construction industry who work on large sites, to be trained on safety standards . No one who does not have the so-called SST training cards, temporary or permanent, may be hired at work sites. Safety training is part of the Local Law 196, approved in 2017, after death in the last decade, of more than 500 construction workers. “Training has been shown to save lives. We invite our community to seek information. There are many resources available“, explained the WJP spokeswoman. This occasion was also propitious to honor hundreds of construction workers who died while doing their jobs, with the presence of Jonathan Pilataxi, son of the last deceased in a construction accident.
Ecuadorian Angel Pilataxi (Jonathan’s father) died last 11 from February to fall from an eighth floor in the 65 Columbia Heights in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, leaving a family with six children.
The immigrant had 20 years of experience in construction, so his relatives are still trying to understand how he could have suffered this tragedy.
Pilataxi had studied at the Technical University of Ambato and was originally from Tungurahua, Ecuador.
Where, why and how to train?
- Construction workers must comply with with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training requirements from any New York City Department of Buildings-approved course provider, information that is available in Spanish at various locations throughout the city.
- With these courses we recognize, avoid and prevent health and safety risks at work. In addition, they delve into their rights, taking into account that there is a large percentage of workers in this industry who are undocumented.
- It is recommended to comply with the training regardless of whether it is part of union contracts or just do small construction jobs.
Fatal accidents in NYC
- 33% of construction workers who had fatal accidents in the last decade in New York City have been Ecuadorians.2787096552 Approximately deaths have occurred in the last years in construction projects in the Big Apple.
- 9 construction workers died and 514 were injured in the Big Apple in 2021 according to statistics from the New York Department of Buildings.
- 7 of the 9 deaths were caused by falls and 2 of them by accidents related to mechanical equipment failure.
- 000 deliverers died in the 2021 while making deliveries on the streets of NYC.