Look around you, University of Massachusetts – behind the fallen tree branches, inches of snow and windswept students, you’ll find a campus under construction. Behind the Integrated Science Building, a new natural sciences building is being built. Near Dickinson Hall, new dorms for Commonwealth Honors College students are underway. Parts of Southwest, of course, are always being worked on, and a new permaculture garden is currently being built for Berkshire Dining Hall.
The contractors who build on UMass are hard at work nearly year round. While construction work is typically a seasonal job, with the majority of work being completed in the summer, UMass and its contractors work deep into the winter in order to get the work done as quickly as possible for students. These past few years they’ve worked until the snow made it impossible to do so. For this, both the University and the contractors, right down to the lowest worker, are to be applauded.
But UMass is not the picture-perfect employer to these men. Surprisingly, contractors who build on UMass are exempt from OSHA regulations, a set of federally mandated health and safety standards.
OSHA stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It is an agency of the United States Department of Labor, a department of the executive branch of the federal government. Created in 1971, its aim is to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities by forcing employers to comply with certain standards for working conditions.
As with any federal agency or program, there are exceptions made to the rules it sets. OSHA typically only applies to private-sector employers, for starters, and UMass is of course a public university. What is perhaps more surprising is that the very liberal state of Massachusetts is one of 26 states that do not have any sort of state OSHA plan. While this does not necessarily mean “anything goes” when it comes to treatment of workers, it nevertheless is disturbing that the construction workers of UMass do not have OSHA to protect their health and safety.
Given the difficult working conditions and extended working time here at UMass, the University owes it to its workers to ensure them OSHA regulations. Though it is likely that no higher entity (like the state government, for example) will compel the University to do so, it would set a good example for other public employers for the University to willingly lead the charge in volunteering to comply with the regulations.
Though the average UMass student may be annoyed when construction in Southwest wakes them up at seven in the morning, or weary of the eyesore of cranes behind ISB all the times, these are no reasons not to support the workers themselves in their pursuit of rights. These workers are, after all, just doing their jobs, and they are doing them for the benefit of students. In fact, it is for that very reason that it behooves UMass students to support the workers as they ask for OSHA regulations.
This issue was brought to the attention of the UMass student body by the Responsible Employer Campaign, which held a rally and marched in front of the Student Union last week. It was almost appropriate that there was a light drizzle during the rally, reflecting the dreary working conditions UMass construction workers trudge through all the time in order to fix this campus up.
The Responsible Employer Campaign raises several other interesting issues, including seeking higher environmental standards for buildings. In light of UMass’ first ever “Sustainability Week” this past October, it would seem the University is ready and eager to seek these standards as well. The permaculture garden outside of Berkshire is a step in the right direction; in the spirit of staying local, growing foods on UMass’ own campus is about as local as you can get.
But the University can always do more. There are wide open spaces on the tops of nearly every building, including residence halls. Some organizations have utilized this space to build solar panels and thus powered their buildings through solar energy. This could be used to counteract the common student observation that many buildings on UMass are unnecessarily lit 24/7, a waste of both energy and money.
President Robert Caret was officially inaugurated yesterday, and the University is well underway in its search for a new Chancellor. The University’s new leadership can make their mark on the University in a very positive way by ensuring the health and safety of UMass workers. Furthermore, a healthier and happier workforce can be utilized to make this campus more ‘green.’
Think about it, UMass. The potential exists for a Bartlett Hall that is not only no longer crumbling in every corner, but a modern, green building. With the support of the University, the workers on UMass’ campus can make that happen.
Billy Rainsford is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]
