Masonry Magazine June 1994 Page. 6
FROM THE PRESIDENT
By L. C. PARDUE, JR.
President, Mason Contractors
Association of America
Holding Congress Accountable
CONGRESS-the laws it passes and the agencies that it oversees-has a substantial impact on our businesses. Although established to be accountable to the people it serves, our Congress has run rampant over our lives. It has unleashed agencies, such as OSHA and the EPA, which have become more obsessed with fining contractors than working with them to regulate a safe and profitable jobsite.
If Congress has its way, OSHA fines will increase drastically, its powers and oversight will substantially expand and contractors can receive actual jail sentences for repeated violations. What concerns me the most about all of this is that OSHA has become its own cop, judge and jury with little recourse, and now they're are becoming our jail.
We've all heard the horror stories of unfounded violations from over zealous OSHA inspectors. At times it seems that they've scraped the bottom of the barrel of violations just so they don't have to leave our jobsite empty handed. What scares me is that this same overzealous inspector will be able to send us to jail if he finds repeated violations. This same inspector, who never laid brick or block in his life, who has little or no idea about our industry, can send us to jail.
A new approach being instigated by OSHA regarding complaints is to contact the employer by mail or phone and have the employer investigate and respond. If he responds that there was in fact a violation, I would assume fines and jail time could follow without an inspector even setting foot on the jobsite. Looks like we are getting into fifth amendment territory to me. The biggest problem with OSHA in my opinion is that they do not hold the employee accountable for his actions. I would venture to say that if this were the case you would see a lot fewer injuries and violations.
They might as well lock me up right now, because if we don't end up in jail, our businesses might go under because of the increased fines the inspector can hit us with. If you don't think that this can happen, read some of the bills your elected officials may pass soon. I have read these bills and what an eye opening experience it was. When I read some of them, I got a sense of helplessness.
Thank God for groups like the MCAA Legislative Committee and the Associated Specialty Contractors, a group your membership dues help support. They have been working hard to help defeat these potential laws. They have monitored these bills, tried to educate our elected officials about the ills of these possible laws and they have tried to get us involved.
How can we help make Congress accountable? It helps to understand that most congressmen have little idea what is in some bills they vote on. In many cases they rely almost entirely on the correspondence and calls that come into their offices and vote accordingly. By responding to the MCAA Legislative Alerts that the MCAA Committee and its chairman Paul Clements sends us, we can inform our congressmen where we stand.
We all recently received a Legislative Alert on Striker Replacement and OSHA Reform. Did you write or call your congresssman or senator? If not, you're part of the problem. If you called or wrote, then you're part of the solution.
I've heard all of the excuses for not contacting our elected officials. The most often used excuse is that "I didn't have any time. I'm too busy." Well, our time is running out! It's time to become part of the solution. We need to become vocal and active. The little effort required to write or call our elected officials has a tremendous impact on how they vote. We must hold them accountable.- Lenny C. Pardue, Jr.