BREAKING: OSHA Inspected Philly Building Collapse Site, But Did Not Shut It Down

[Omaha Steve]

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/15122/osha_visited_philly_building_collapse_site_but_did_not_shut_it_down/

To old for LBN: Thursday Jun 6, 2013 6:53 pm

By Mike Elk



On June 5, 2013, rescue workers search for victims of a building that collapsed in Philadelphia. (Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)

Yesterday, a four-story building undergoing demolition in Philadelphia’s Center City district collapsed directly onto the Salvation Army store next door. According to Reuters, six people were killed. Already, questions are being raised about whether the building collapse was yet another workplace accident that could have been easily prevented.

So far, reports have focused on whether or not the City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) did its job by properly investigating a number of complaints from nearby workers and passersby about the safety of the construction site. In a press conference earlier today, Philadelphia Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections Carlton Williams said, “No subsequent inspection occurred to indicate there was any unsafe conditions. We did not follow up and we are definitely looking into that."

However, new evidence uncovered by Working In These Times shows that federal authorities may also have also played a role in enabling the accident. According to Pat Gillespie, the business manager for the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, union workers employed at a construction site across the street from the collapsed building called OSHA on four different occasions to report problems at the site.“[The union workers] went and talked to the people on the job who were non-union and they were rebuffed,” explains Gillespie. “So then they called both OSHA and L&I and let them what they perceived to be a hazard."

OSHA tells Working In These Times that it did inspect the site last month, but did not shut it down.

FULL story at link.

[hamster]

1. Thank you for posting, Steve.

[Agschmid]

2. So you made it past 10...

What will your awe inspiring OP be now... Waiting with baited breath. MIRT pay attention.

[hamster]

3. I'm thinking about

Doing one on NSA spying. Nobody's really touched on that yet.

[Agschmid]

4. Oh yah not at all. n/t

[Kali]

5. !

cheerful little feller, ain't he?

[Omaha Steve]

6. What did I miss

I'm lost on this?

[GoneOffShore]

7. And here is more about who and why

Philadelinquecny - a blog

Michael Nutter, I have to say I haven’t been more frustrated with you at any point in your career since I’ve lived in this city until this moment right now. I watched the pressers and your frustration with handling them all day Wednesday. The entire universe for a fleeting moment was focused on tragedy in the urban core of your city, the city you command and control, and it made Philadelphia look like a city in the third world.

What’s the difference between the Rana Plaza building collapse and the, what I shall dub anyway, the Basciano Collapse? The Rana Plaza garment factory collapse has actually led to a worldwide movement to shop for guilt-free clothes. What reform movement will come from the Basciano Collapse?

Nothing.

This should be printed on the front pages of the Inquirer, the Daily News, Philadelphia Weekly, City Paper, Jewish Exponent and The Tribune. But it won't, because they all want to put their own spin on this tragedy and some off them want to suck up to the mayor and council and the blight lords.
I'm now beyond cynical when it comes to this city doing the right thing.

[malaise]

8. But but but I heard it was the crane driver's fault

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/philadelphia-building-collapse-update-crane-operator-had-pot-prescription-drugs-in-blood
<snip>
Marijuana and pain medication were found in the blood of the crane operator at the site of a deadly building collapse, a source at Philadelphia's City Hall with direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Friday.

[treestar]

9. Nothing is perfect

OSHA may not have seen anything wrong. Still does a lot of good. The free market wouldn't have prevented this, and that's for sure.

[mick063]

10. Just shows how far

ALEC has strengthened it's ideology across the entire political spectrum.

Government oversight has vanished because corporations want it that way. The deregulation mantra has reached fever pitch. Rand Paul would take it a step further and just stop the pretense that there is actual oversight. In a sense, he is right. If the government is looking the other way, then why even pay for an expensive bureaucracy for them to do so?

The best answer would be efficient government oversight, but since it is not happening at almost every level, perhaps it is time to dismantle a few government departments.