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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445 Likes: 3
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Bill, the true meaning of those two statements is that, in the end, you're on your own. Do not expect anyone -especially a government agency- to come to your aid, or to care a whit about you.
No one ever said life was fair, or easy. Sometimes it seems you get to "choose your injury"- do I take it in the body or the wallet?
This is not simple cant on my part; I've had to make this sort of choice before. Indeed, making hard choices seems to be part of 'growing up.'
Remember- as a journeyman, you are paid to exercise your judgement as well as handle tools.
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 827 Likes: 1
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GOROSSI46, I just read your post about your brother working for the same company. If it's unsafe, it's unsafe for everyone left working there. I would drop a dime on them in a minute , but I would warn them first. How would you feel about it if someone that was working up there with you fell to his or her death? I would gladly risk being unpopular if I could save 1 life in the process. If OSHA drops in and they're in compliance, no problem. If not, they force them into compliance. So I would think about, pray about it, sleep on it, and do what needs done come Monday morning. I believe that if you do it out of love for your fellow man, and not revenge (doesn't sound like you), that you will be much blessed. Joe
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443 Likes: 3
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Remember- as a journeyman, you are paid to exercise your judgement as well as handle tools. John, that's it, I couldn't have said that any better!. On the other hand, apprentices learn from the judgement of thier supervisors, this guy hasn't had a good start. The guy that this fella has been working for sounds really dodgy and these are the sort of people that should be weeded out of the industry, it gives those that do things properly a bad name. If you are in a place where the Boss says jump and you ask "How high Sir?", it's time to find a new employer. And to think that there are people out there getting away with this, it really cuts me up!. GRRR.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3
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There is something that I have learned and have passed down to my apprentices in the type of work that I do, and that is to NEVER cut corners. Once you start, you play hell trying to break those bad habits until, one day, they reach up and bite you in the rear! You have professional contractors, and then you have your rat contractors. Unfortunately, sounds like this employer is too much of a rat contractor to care about the safety of his employees. Would they still be willing to pay you and bring you a paycheck while you are laid up in the hospital after a good 40' fall? I doubt it. If anything, you would just be an expendible item, kinda like a drill bit, in their eyes. If it breaks, just replace it. You did right by refusing to do an unsafe act.
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 2
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Yes, you did right. I agree with Gopanel, you should file the complaint immediately. Under the OSH Act, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace.
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 23
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I'm curious how the rest would feel about the OP improving the situation himself. Perhaps bring up an extra plank or two, or whatever other objects might help him feel safer?
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 984 Likes: 1
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It'd not the employee's job to make the worksite safe if the employer doesn't want to.
Ghost307
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,382 Likes: 7
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Hopefully, something worked out for the OP in the last 11 years since this thread was active.
IMHO, safety has improve substantially during this time period.
John
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443 Likes: 3
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I hate to bring this thread up again, but I learned quite a few new things on my last safety at heights course. Over here, if you work at any further in the air than 3 metres (9')you are required to have some sort of a fall-arrest system at the very least. It is very simple and cost-effective to install a temporary system to cover this sort of thing. Think of the cost of rehabilitating a guy back to a certain standard of health and mobility, after falling from an elevated position. WorksafeNZ, says doing nothing, is not an option. If you are working up in a roof void as the OP was, it would be very simple to install a temporary safety and rescue line tied off to say a couple of vertical beams and then everyone uses them to attach their harness via say a shock-absorber that will only allow you to fall 600mm (2') at the most and you can move anywhere along them lines. The rescue line attaches to the back of your harness and it uses a rope slip method to bring someone down to floor level in a controlled fashion when a fall does occur.
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Posts: 46
Joined: March 2013
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