Vegas Strike Aimed at Improving Safety

June 9, 2008 • Work has resumed on a Las Vegas, Nev., project after workers walked off the jobsite to protest safety conditions. A Las Vegas Sun article reported that workers on the MGM Mirage's CityCenter began the strike at midnight Monday and were back on the job Tuesday afternoon when officials representing the union workers reached an agreement with Perini Building Co. concerning improved safety measures.  

 

Six workers have died working on the $9.2 billion project and 11 workers have died on the Las Vegas strip in the last year and a half, the Sun reported. The May 30 death of Dustin Tarter, a 39-year-old operating engineer prompted the strike. Tarter died after he was crushed when he got stuck between the counterweight of the crane and the track of the crane.

 

According to Sun reports, union leaders had demanded that Perini agree to pay for additional safety training for workers, allow national union researchers to examine root causes of safety problems on the site, and allow union leaders full access to the work site.