The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-01-07
Accidents on Construction Work
and Workmen's Compensation

ing of scaffods. Illinois has the guarding of
scaffolds and in addition also the guarding OF
floor openings, hoist and the provision of signal
systems for hosting apparatus. Michigan has
nothing but a regulation providing temporary
toilers on the job. Only six states and the Dis
trict of Columbia have enacted codes to safe
guard building trade workers. State of Wash
ington has some safety standards-that employ
ers continually violate the law is generally known
Something About Responsibility.
Mr.. Davis, former secretary of labor, had some
thing to say about industrial accidents Ia the
U.S.A. In an article in the carpenters monthly
he states among other things-that the workers
are also to be blamed for not learning the les
sons of safety He blames workers for IL per
cent Of industrial accidents
But while touching the IL per cent for which
he puts the blame on the workers. Mr.. Davis
fails to mention the causes and blame of the
other 89 per cent. And in this manner he as a
true agent of the bosses government, is doing
his service to the bosses in withdrawing their
guilt.
AS a building trades worker, it is not hard
for me to bring a life picture about this II per
cent of the accidents-how they really occur.
Speed-up, the general hustling and bustling on
the job is their direct cause.
in some instances even the architect or engineer
are watching the movements of the workers on
the job and are speeding them. The results are:
a plumber rushes with pipes and breaks the
feeble guards on the elevator opening. The car
penter who rushes by and notices it is busy in
performing a days work besides, he has no
order to fix in another guard. Meantime la
borer is called in hurry. The call sounds,
Ca damn, hurry up quick!' The laborer rush.
eS right into the elevator opening and drops to
death. carpenter who has to lay certain
number OF beams in day must walk fast ON the
walls of building and it happens that he loses
his balance drops down and breaks his head.
In rushing, it is to be expected that brick or
stone may drop from a scaffold and injure
passerby who is not even employed ON the job.
Such is tie nature of these IL per cent accidents
Now. in this crisis, when the building industry
is hit the hardest and the majority of the work.
ers are unemployed, the workers on the job are
less careful, they are more afraid to lose their
job, face the wolf at the door. Speed-up is the
only way not to get fired at any hour. Just
now the report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
puts the accidents per cent above 1929-l930
in spite of the fact that there are now about
20 per cent less employed than in 1929.
Our union officials in the building trades, in
their collaboration with the bosses, established
the ethics OF an honest days work and the
right to hire and fire at the bosses will. And
it is surely the boss who determines what is an
honest days work The union officials even
signed agreements inserting the clauses: THAT
there shall be no limitation as to the amount of
work man is to perform during his working
day."
To fight speedup Is not in the line Of these
ALL unions. Fighting speed-up in thc building
constructor 2duatry, IS in shc lire With The p-o-
gram and tactics of the Building Construction
Workers Industrial League and it is for our
building trade rank and SjIe workers to realize