EC&M is The Magazine of Electrical Design, Construction & Maintenance. My thanks to Tom Zind for a great article. Tom spotlighted the great work that Task Force Safe is doing, as well as obstacles they face. Great interviews and photos. Well Done!
To get to the article…Click HERE first
Then click “Contents” on the bar across the top
Then click “22 A Killer In The Ranks” It’s 6 pages. Be sure to arrow over. The article is pages 22-27.
Enjoy
Ms Sparky
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has been the first to step up to the plate and lobby for the rights of US citizens working on US Government projects overseas. They recently published this article “IBEW Urges Electrical Safety At U.S. Bases” (pg 3) in their monthly national magazine The Electrical Worker. It has nearly 1 Million subscribers. Woo Hoo!!! Getting the word out!
Most people do not realized that once you leave this country OSHA, NEC and labor laws do not apply. Any implementation and oversight is voluntary. I worked on a US project in China. There was no government safety oversight. It was all up to the contractor. So, you can just imagine how safe that job was.
U.S labor organizations, for the most part, do not have jurisdiction outside the US and Canada. Regardless, the IBEW supports US citizens working for US contractors on US Government funded (your tax dollars) projects overseas. These projects may include the construction and modification of U.S. Military Facilities, U.S. Embassies and U.S. Consulates to name a few. The IBEW feels these US citizens should be afforded the same rights as their Stateside counterparts. They fully understand the importance of workplace safety and worker rights.
This is how I look at it. If it’s important enough for me to have a Top Secret security clearance to work on a specific construction job for the US Government in some God forsaken third world country, then it’s important enough that I have OSHA protection, OSHA oversight, a damn OSHA inspector on site!!!! I would like to have some labor law protection. No more threats to be fire if I don’t shut up about safety violations!! It would be great if the National Electrical Code (NEC) applied and was actually enforced.
I am convinced if these laws had already been in place, electricians and other workers would have had some recourse and the electrical catastrophe in Iraq would be non-existent.
My personal “THANK YOU” to Joe Esmonde at my IBEW Local 48 and to Dan Gardner at the IBEW International Office in Washington DC for their continued support and encouragement to “press on”!
It’s time for other Labor Organizations to get involved. Email me.
Ms Sparky
With current media coverage on the Iraq Electrocutions and tomorrows hearings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform entitled “Deficient Electrical Systems at U.S. Facilities in Iraq” they decided to air my segment of “The Story” today.
Before I give you link….I want to say the “The Story” did and awesome job. My thanks to Jeannette. But I want to clarify one thing. I did not work at the same Palace compound that Ryan Maseth died at. With that said here is the link.
Site link – The Story – July 29, 2008
MP3 – http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_569_Iraq_Electrician.mp3
Ms Sparky
Well…. today was a first. I recorded a session for “The Story” an American Public Media daily national program. I had never been in a recording studio before. Didn’t have a clue what to expect or what to do. The technician John, also a licensed electrician, walked me through the process and got me used to speaking into the microphone. THANK YOU JOHN!
My special thanks the Jeannette from The Story for holding my hand and answering all my dumb questions.
The show was primarily about Iraq and my time there. I stressed how important it is to get legislation approved to protect US workers working for US contractors overseas. The same laws that protect them here…OSHA, labor laws etc, should protect them there.
At times I felt like I was just rambling, but they said they could fix all that. I hope so.
The show is schedule to air on August 5th. I will keep you posted. For times, stations or to listen via podcast, go to their website is http://thestory.org/
Ms Sparky
This is by far the best video out there. Great job ANP! Be sure to use the full screen mode. For some reason some company networks will not show this video. If you can’t see it you may try to view it from another system…home, Starbucks, etc.
The majority of the news media ran the Associated Press Article by Suzanne Gamboa with a variety of photos such as the YAHOO NEWS article “Former KBR Electricians criticize contractors work“. Read the remainder of this entry »
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