Subcontractor accused of unsafe practices

Members of the Iron Workers Union gather daily in a passage
leading to the Life Sciences building to protest the alleged
violation of Occupational Safety & Health Administration safety
regulations by Ghonim Steel, a subcontractor working on LaKretz
Hall.

The construction site is located between the Bombshelter
cafeteria and the Life Sciences building.

For the past six weeks, soon after Ghonim Steel began to work on
LaKretz Hall on March 20, four to six members of Iron Workers Local
Union 433 have been standing in front of the construction site with
signs saying “Ghonim Unfair to Iron Workers.”

The Local Union 433, representing about 4,400 men and women
steel workers in Los Angeles, is a branch of the national Iron
Workers Union.

Matt Thompson, Ghonim Steel’s foreman for the LaKretz
site, said the charges are not true.

Based on observations of construction and photographs taken,
Robbie Hunter, president and agent of Local Union 433, said he
believes Ghonim Steel is violating safety regulations.

One alleged violation is working over 30 feet above the ground
without a floor between the ground and work area and no perimeter
cable, Hunter said.

Another is the lack of at least one piece of X-bracing, which is
supposed to be installed before a bar joist is released from a
crane. Bar joists are the framework for the floors of the building.
X-bracing connects the parallel bar joists and ensures that if a
construction worker walks on bar joists, he or she does not
flip.

Hunter said, “We are documenting these violations so that
they can be shown to OSHA,” which sets and enforces health
and safety standards.

In response to these charges, Thompson said OSHA sent out a
representative about a month ago and found no violations.

Hunter said a non-OSHA violation practiced by Ghonim Steel could
endanger students studying in LaKretz. He is concerned about the
workers welding beams out of sequence. Beams support the walls of a
building when their columns are connected, and welding ensures
stability.

“When you weld both sides of the beam at the same time,
there is too much stress on the beam,” Hunter said, adding
that in case of an earthquake, the beams may crack.

As their signs say, the Local Union 433 members also question
whether Ghonim Steel is paying their workers the area standard
prevailing wage dictated by California. The standard prevailing
wage for journeymen in Los Angeles is approximately $44 an
hour.

Thompson mentioned that his construction workers make $44.15 an
hour and do not have to pay union dues, which constitute $30 a
month.

California also dictates that all state-funded projects use an
Approved Apprenticeship Program that Ghonim Steel is not using,
Hunter said.

LaKretz Hall is not a federally funded project, but it is
sponsored by gift funds, said George Conde, the project director of
Capital Programs in health sciences. Therefore, it does not need to
use an apprenticeship program.

Conde said he is not aware whether the union protesters have
contacted Capital Programs at UCLA.

In an attempt to resolve the situation, Hunter said he arranged
meetings twice with the president of Ghonim Steel, who canceled
both times, he said.

Of the union protesters, Thompson said, “They won’t
talk to me.”

He also met with Glen Fichman, member of the Campus Council, on
Monday to talk about the situation.

“There are certain things that we are able to check out.
Certain (ones) are hard to investigate,” Fichman said.

Among violations that UCLA cannot investigate on its own are
possible wage violations, Fichman suggested. These violations need
to be investigated by the Department of Industrial Relations.

Both Hunter and Thompson mentioned animosity between the
demonstrators and the workers of Ghonim Steel.