Construction Site Injuries Are Up (Again)
A recent report says injuries on work sites are up 25%. But many industry watchdogs believe that's just the half of it.
In the dangerous world of the New York City construction worker, a job that is more deadly than policing, more deadly than firefighting, on-the-job deaths are down from years past, according to the NY Department of Buildings’ (DOB) latest construction safety report. That’s good news for workers, for their families, for insurance companies, and for the city.
But according to the same report, injuries are up. Significantly. And that’s bad news for all those parties listed above. The numbers are stark. Work-related injuries rose 25% from the previous year. There were 841 building construction-related incidents reported resulting in 692 injuries. In a troubling trend, this is the third year in a row that the injury report has ticked higher from the year before.
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of these statistics is that many watch dog groups believe these numbers are severely under-reported, given the proliferation of non-union contractors operating here.
Why Non-Union Doesn’t Report Injuries
As we have documented ad nauseum on this site, the primary aim for many non-union contractors is to make as much profit as possible, and many of them cut corners on safety and training to accomplish that goal. But getting caught violating safety rules can bring increasingly heavy fines as the New York legislature works to clamp down on the practice of putting workers in unnecessary danger for the sake of higher take-home pay for wealthy managers.
Another reason these numbers may be less-than-actual is insurance rates. There’s a measure in the construction industry that’s called the Experience Modification Rate. It’s a fancy term with a very clear impact. EMR is a calculation of the number of safety incidents that occur under a company’s management. More safety problems create a higher EMR. And a higher EMR drives insurance companies to charge that company higher premiums.
In this way, EMR rating directly impacts a construction company’s financial health and reputation in the industry. So non-union managers may be especially hesitant to report worker injuries.
“Construction workers on any project deserve to work in a healthy and stable environment, and safety is and should remain the top priority on all job sites.”
Labor Law 240
A third reason that may prevent non-union managers from reporting injuries is Labor Law 240, which was enacted in 1938. Known as the Scaffold Law, 240 places strict liability on contractors and construction companies for injuries and accidents involving falls from ladders, heights, and scaffolds. In doing so, the law absolves workers of comparative liability, making the company managing the jobsite completely liable for such incidents. Given their penny pinching habits, many non-union contractors opt to not report worker accidents.
Why Non-Union Workers Don’t Report Injuries
The non-union workers may also not want to go on record when they’ve been injured on the job. Many workers employed by non-union contractors are undocumented immigrants—over 40% according to the Center for Migration Studies of New York. Because of their tenuous status, these people are wary of drawing attention to themselves.
They are also very vulnerable to the whims of their bosses because being fired can mean being deported. So they want to keep their bosses happy and keep their heads down. Reporting injuries accomplishes the exact opposite.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that because neither non-union management nor their workers want to report injuries, the actual number of incidents is probably double what is reported each year. That would mean there was more like 1,700 on-the-job construction accidents in the past year. An unacceptable number.
Unions and Safety
It’s well known that construction unions place safety above all else, and it shows. On average, union contractors boast EMR rates well below industry standard and far below that of non-union contractors’ average.
Not only does the lower EMR reduce the insurance costs to union builders, it’s also the result of union sites being much safer. OSHA says that union job sites experience far fewer safety violations, injuries, and deaths than non-union sites do, and that union sites are five times safer.
Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC) of Greater New York weighed in on the accident report. “Construction workers on any project deserve to work in a healthy and stable environment, and safety is and should remain the top priority on all job sites.” He added, “There is still improvement to be made to ensure that all tradesmen and tradeswomen throughout the city have the opportunity to pursue the middle class and return home safely to their families at the end of each workday.”
Amen.
How Are We Doing?
We need to know if we're changing the way you think about New York City construction.