Construction Work Was Already Dangerous. Coronavirus Is Making It Worse.

LOADING ERROR LOADING A week ago, Dave, a union painter in New York City, was on a job painting school buildings with a city-contracted company. “I’ve never heard of anyone that was told to self-quarantine at all,” he said of his fellow construction workers. But in many communities, workers in hard hats continue to stream onto construction sites, buzzing around cranes and scaffolds, because many state, municipal and county governments have deemed the building trade an “essential” business. “We’ve taken the position that the health and safety of your family and yourself is way more important than continuing to work in what could be an unsafe environment.” Yet, because the union brokers employer contracts, “we can’t tell not to go to work.” But for those who keep working despite the risks, Williams added, the union will “continue to represent our members and will pull them out of harm’s way at all costs. “There’s not enough pushback and not enough consequences for running operations that aren’t safe or healthy for workers.” Dooley said the huge variance in local and state policies on construction work underscores the need for consistent guidance from policymakers and public health authorities on what construction work, if any, should continue while the pandemic rages.