Vigil held for workers killed on-site.Immigrant advocates, clergy, union leaders, contractors, and families of victims held a vigil vigil (vĭj`əl) [Lat.,=watch], in Christian calendars, eve of a feast, a day of penitential preparation. In ancient times worshipers gathered for vespers before a great feast and then waited outside the church until dawn for the liturgy (Mass). at St. Francis of Assisi Chapel on April 12 in honor of the unprecedented number of construction workers killed in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. over the last year. Organized by Father Brian Jordan "Twenty-nine people, mostly immigrant workers, died on construction sites in New York City last year," said Father Brian Jordan. "Those are 29 families that have been forever changed Forever Changed was a Christian Rock band from Tallahassee and Orlando, FL. They came together in 1999 and broke up in 2006. Dan Cole was the lead singer, a guitarist, and a pianist. Ben O'Rear was the lead guitarist, Tom Gustafson played bass, and Nathan Lee played the drums. ." "The seemingly endless stream of fatalities on construction sites have devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. so many families seeking a better life in New York City," said Father Jordan. "It's bad enough that the city's immigrant construction workers are being exploited with low wages and no benefits, but they are also risking their lives just to feed their families." During the vigil, Father Jordan called on public officials to enact greater and uniform safety measures safety measures, n.pl actions (e.g., use of glasses, face masks) taken to protect patients and office personnel from such known hazards as particles and aerosols from high-speed rotary instruments, mercury vapor, radiation exposure, anesthetic and . He also lambasted non-union contractors who do not offer safety protections to their workers. "While construction fatalities and accidents do not discriminate between union and non-union jobs, we cannot ignore the fact that 86% of deaths occur on non-union sites," said Louis J. Coletti, a vigil participant and president of the Building Trades Employers' Association, the largest unionized contractor association in New York City. "Non-union contractors blatantly disregard city laws, hire unskilled day-laborers, abuse immigrant workers and ignore public and worker safety." Also present at the prayer vigil was Edward J. Malloy, president of the 100,000-member Building and Construction Trades Council. "Being proactive with strong enforcement sanctions will put contractors on the defensive and increase their risk for failing to comply with the law," Malloy said. "Uniform standards should be met by all contractors--both unionized and non-unionized--before they are issued any building permit." Both the labor and management side of the industry will be proposing a comprehensive set of construction reforms in the next few weeks. |
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