Safety Articles and Tips from Safety Services Company

The Safety Blog

August 19th, 2008 at 8:03 pm

New Lead in the Window Washing Accident

Authorities are still working on the investigation of the recent window washing accident in New York City. It involved two men losing their lives when a cherry picker tipped over and sent them plummeting 40 feet to the ground.

But a new jigsaw piece vital in the puzzle was found lately. One fellow worker at the World Financial Center said he saw fluid leaking from the cherry picker a week before the accident.

The two men, who were also cousins, were identified as Darin Fabrizio, 37, and Robert Fabrizio, 35. While one was employed by Total Building Services of Linden, NJ, the other was a retired window washer.

To Be or Not to Be Unionized

Industry experts say about 95 percent of window washers across the country are non-union workers. They make about $7 an hour on average.

In New York, unionized window washers are members of Local 32BJ of the Services Employees International Union. Having about 600 members, it is considered the largest group of unionized window washers in the country. About 800 or more window washers work independently, not only having lower pay, but also lacking formal safety training.

According to union spokesman Matt Nerzig, no New York union worker has been involved in a lethal accident in 25 years. Non-union workers, though, have had about 200 accidents in that span of time. Of these accidents, 70 were fatal.

Looking for More Jigsaw Pieces

Right after the recent window washing accident, Department of Labor spokesman Leo Rosales said, “”We’re going to be looking at the equipment itself, the mechanical parts, talking to witnesses.”

Both the federal Occupational Safety and Heath Administration (OSHA) and the New York State Department of Labor have investigators working on the case to know more about the cause of the accident.

Let’s just hope that, while this puzzle gets solved, more employees and companies will follow the right standards in staying safe in the workplace.

Helpful Links:

Safety Services Company provides Construction, Manufacturing, and General Workplace Safety Programs and Training to over 100,000 clients across the United States and Canada. Read with confidence, we are a 2008 Inc 5000 Honoree. For more information on a Safety Solution, Click Here.