Viaduct Removal

Seattle’s Battery Street Tunnel to be Filled

As part of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Removal Program, the Battery Street Tunnel will be decommisioned and filled to effect the permanent closure of the tunnel. With the Alaskan Way Viaduct closed, SR 99 no longer runs through the Battery Street Tunnel. Like the viaduct, the tunnel was built in the 1950s and is seismically vulnerable. Any new or continued use of the tunnel would require prohibitively expensive renovations. Closing the Battery Street Tunnel also allows WSDOT to rebuild the three-block stretch of Aurora Avenue at the tunnel’s north end, improving east-west mobility in that neighborhood.

Contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West Co., began demolishing the Alaskan Way Viaduct on Feb. 15. Over the course of approximately six months, they will use large machinery to crunch, munch and cut the structure into pieces to be hauled away by truck. When the viaduct is gone, the City of Seattle will begin work on a new surface street and public open space along the waterfront.

The work of filling and sealing the Battery Street Tunnel began on on Feb. 12, 2019 and is scheduled to be complete in late 2020. The major elements of this work are:

  • Decommissioning and removing the tunnel’s utility and mechanical systems.
  • Removing hazardous materials from the tunnel.
  • Filling the tunnel and sealing its entrances.
  • Street restoration along Battery Street, including sidewalk improvements, new curb ramps, street lighting and other pedestrian improvements.

The tunnel will be filled in two phases, with material brought into the tunnel both from its south entrance and through grates along Battery Street above. Crews will partially fill the tunnel with viaduct removal rubble and then will pump in low-density cellular concrete from above to complete the fill.

Questions? Call the 24/7 program hotline at 1-888-AWV-LINE (298-5463) or send an email to viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.

Image credit: WSDOT

Colman Ferry Dock

What is Ahead for the Colman Dock Project

One way to beat the snowy cold weather is to dream of balmy days on the waterfront. Here’s a look ahead at mid-2019 when the project will reach some major milestones, like opening a portion of the new terminal building and the new passenger-only ferry facility! There’s still a lot of work to go on this complex project that will be complete in early 2023. While there continues to be changes throughout the project, full ferry service will be maintained during construction.

Inside design rendering of the passenger-only ferry facility

Starting in early summer, the new passenger-only ferry facility will open at the south side of the dock, complete with a new weather-protected queueing area. The King County Water Taxi and Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry will run their service out of this new facility.

Map layout of Colman Dock this summerLater on in the sunshine season, the ferry service will move into part of the new terminal building and demolish the existing building. Temporary elevated walkways will connect the Marion Street Bridge to the new building.

Photo/Image credits: Washington State Department of Transportation

Plant Closure

Jeld-Wen to Close Yakima, WA Location – 179 Jobs Lost

Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, has notified WA State that they are closing their Yakima location effective April 5, 2019, terminating the employment of 179 workers.  Jeld-Wen has indicated they have a policy to assist employees who wish to transfer to their other locations. 

On their website, JELD-WEN notes that they employ approximately 21,000 people worldwide and have manufacturing, distribution and showroom locations across the United States and in 24 countries, located primarily in North America, Europe and Australia. Although 179 jobs is a small amount in that context, it is a lot of people losing good jobs in Yakima.

Photo credit: Jeld-Wen

Longshore Act

Increased Penalties Under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act

Industry Notice regarding increased civil monetary penalties under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act)

The Department of Labor promulgated a final rule on January 23, 2019 adjusting penalties under the Inflation Adjustment Act.  The rule makes the following adjustments to penalties assessed by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act:

  • Section 14(g) of the LHWCA: Failure to Report Termination of Payments.The penalty amount has increased from $285 to $292.
  • Section 30(e) of the LHWCA: Penalty for Late Report of Injury or Death.The maximum penalty amount has increased from $23,426 to $24,017.
  • Section 49 of the LHWCA: Discrimination Against Employees Who Bring Proceedings. The penalty amount has increased from a $2,343 minimum and a $11,712. maximum to a $2,402 minimum and $12,007 maximum.

Industry Notice 171, which is available on the OWCP, Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation (DLHWC) website at https://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/ outlines the adjustments in detail. The new amounts apply to penalties assessed after January 23, 2019.

 

Photo by Dan_Vel on Foter.com / CC BY

Worker Safety

Agriculture Safety Event in Eastern Washington

Agriculture is one of Washington’s largest industries. Unfortunately, it continues to have one of the highest injury rates. The state is working to change that with upcoming workplace safety events geared specifically toward agricultural workers and management.

To meet the growing safety and health training needs, Washington’s 2019 Agriculture Safety Day events will be held in two locations.

This year, for the first time, the Kennewick conference was held at the Three Rivers Convention Center on Feb. 5. It returns to the Wenatchee Convention Center Feb. 27. Registration is now open online for the Wenatchee event.

Reducing hazards is good for workers, and it makes good business sense. The one-day meetings promote workplace safety and health.

The topics covered during the safety day events are specifically geared to hazards that employers and workers say are the most important. The training is cosponsored by the Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Advisory Board and the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).

This year’s agenda features sessions on tractor and ATV safety, confined spaces, machine guarding, hazard awareness, sexual harassment prevention, distracted driving and more. Many workshops will be in both English and Spanish.

Some classes qualify for pesticide recertification credits. Check the registration web page for details. Several health and safety exhibitors will also be there with educational booths, product displays and demonstrations.

Online pre-registration is $75 per person or $65 for groups of five or more. Students and apprentices get a discounted rate of only $35. Admission at the door is $85. The registration fee includes the conference and lunch.

Register now for Wenatchee 2/27/2019: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/376831

For more information, contact Conference Manager Rebecca Llewellyn at 1-888-451-2004.

Photo by ILO in Asia and the Pacific on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Worker Safety

WA Farm Worker was Severely Burned When a Drum Exploded

The Washington Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program* has published a new Injury Narrative. The new narrative describes an incident where a farm worker was severely burned when a drum exploded. 

For your convenience, this narrative is also available as a Slideshow intended to be used as a group discussion and training tool.

These are one-page reports that summarize work-related injury incidents and list some requirements and recommendations that might have prevented the incident from occurring. We are focusing on theagriculture industry. These narratives provide preliminary information about the incident to the interested community, similar to OSHA’s Fatal Facts and MSHA’s Fatalgrams. We hope that they are used for formal or informal educational opportunities to help prevent similar incidents.

*The FACE Program is partially funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH grant# 5 U60 OH008487-11) and the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program at the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. The contents of the Fatality Narratives are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH.

 

Photo by 10b travelling / Carsten ten Brink on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Worker Safety

Multiple Asbestos Violations Result in Nearly $800,000 in Fines

Improper and unsafe handling of asbestos at a Seattle area home-flipping site put workers and neighbors at risk, and has left two business owners and their companies facing numerous citations and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines from the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).

James Thorpe, Northlake Capital & Development, 3917 Densmore LLC, and Chris Walters have each been cited for 11 willful and serious violations. In total, the fines for the four separate investigations add up to $789,200.

“These two men endangered their workers and people who live nearby this project, including children,” said Anne Soiza, L&I’s assistant director for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “On top of that, they tried to avoid responsibility by creating a legal web of confusion over who was responsible. I hope this sends a strong message that we take worker safety and public health very seriously.”

L&I opened the inspection following a complaint from an alert neighbor living near the residential renovation project on Densmore Road in Lynnwood. Several workers were improperly removing exterior asbestos tiles from the home over a weekend. When a neighbor confronted Chris Walters, the man who said he was the homeowner, Walters promised to remove the asbestos correctly. However, two neighbors took videos that showed the workers committing several violations.

An extensive investigation by L&I revealed that Walters was actually part of a complex corporate partnership created to renovate and flip the residence.

The home was initially purchased by Seattle company Northlake Capital & Development, owned by James Thorpe. Northlake is a real property company that primarily focuses on house flipping. After the purchase, Thorpe created 3917 Densmore LLC and established Walters, a Northlake employee, as the sole member of the new corporation, claiming that Walters was the homeowner, and that he intended to live in the home.

During parts of the investigation Walters and Thorpe shifted responsibility from LLC to LLC and from person to person. Eventually, L&I cited both men and the companies they oversee for the same violations. The fines vary, primarily due to the number of workers each entity was responsible for. Thorpe and Northlake each received $214,100 in fines and Walters and 3917 Densmore each receive $180,500.

The violations included using uncertified workers to remove asbestos; not using a certified asbestos supervisor; and not obtaining an asbestos good faith survey prior to beginning work. They were also cited for not using water and not keeping the shingles intact during removal (the workers were breaking the tiles with hammers); for the lack of proper personal protective equipment for workers; not monitoring the air during removal; and for not having a written accident prevention program.

Asbestos is extremely hazardous and can cause potentially fatal diseases like asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. Only a certified abatement contractor that follows the specific asbestos related safety and health rules may remove and dispose of asbestos-containing building materials.

An employer has 15 business days from the time a citation is received to appeal, and each of these citations is currently under appeal.

Penalty money paid as a result of a citation is placed in the workers’ compensation supplemental pension fund, helping injured workers and families of those who have died on the job.

For a copy of the citations, please contact Public Affairs at 360-902-5413.

Uncategorized

Chase for Talent Pushes Tech Giants Far Beyond West Coast

Today’s post was shared by Jon L Gelman and comes from www.nytimes.com

The current Apple campus in Austin, Tex. The company is planning a new 133-acre campus there that will initially have 5,000 workers. Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — This generation’s biggest technology companies — including Apple, Amazon and Google — have long been tied to their hometowns. Now these giants are increasingly outgrowing their West Coast roots.

Driven by a limited pool of skilled workers and the ballooning cost of living in their home bases of Silicon Valley and Seattle, as well as President Trump’s shifting immigration policies, the companies are aggressively taking their talent hunt across the United States and elsewhere. And they are coalescing particularly around a handful of urban areas that are already winners in the new knowledge-based economy, including New York City, Washington, Boston and Austin, Tex.

This eastward expansion accelerated on Thursday when Apple said it would build a $1 billion campus in Austin, expanding its presence there to over 11,000 workers and becoming the area’s largest private employer. The decision followed Amazon’s highly publicized selection of Queens and Arlington, Va., last month for new offices that would house at least 50,000 employees. Google, too, is shopping for more real estate in New York that could enable it to more than double its work force of 7,000 in the city.

“They’re expanding out,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at…

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Trucking Safety

Trucking Tips – A Kit to Fit a Freezin’ Season

Information provided by the Keep Trucking Safe program. TIRES is a project of the Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) program of the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. TIRES is supported in part by CDC/NIOSH grant# U60 OH008487. For more information and free training resources visit KeepTruckingSafe.org

Fog, ice, wind, rain, and snow make winter driving hazardous and slow. But with careful preparation you can keep safe and warm in any situation. To avoid the weather’s frosty grip, pack a survival kit for your trip. Pack a kit with items in the following list:

  • Warm socks, hat, and gloves. Waterproof gloves cost more, but keep your hands from freezing and going numb.
  • Sleeping bag or blankets.
  • Non-perishable foods such as dried fruit, nuts, granola.
  • Extra medication. Check expiration dates.
  • Bottled water.
  • Foldable or stowable shovel.
  • Flashlights and batteries.
  • First aid kit.
  • Jumper cables.
  • Tool kit: Screwdrivers (both flat-head and Phillips) Pliers. Box knife. Small selection of wrenches. Duct tape.
  • Spare bulbs for either the marker lights or headlights.
  • Extra fuses.
  • Chains.
  • Windshield de-icer and scraper.
  • Emergency flares.
  • Charged cellphone with emergency contact numbers. If you don’t have your emergency contacts memorized, then keep a paper copy as well in case you need to borrow a phone.
  • Small section of tarp or other such material to lay on for installing chains.

 Photo by TruckPR on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave has Arrived

Washington Employment Security Department has been working hard to build the entire Paid Family and Medical Leave program from the ground up, and as of January 1st the program has officially begun!

Employers from every corner of Washington are ready for Paid Family and Medical Leave – and the work is just getting started. ESD is continuing to build the program and get the word out to Washington employers and employees about this great new program.

WA employers on why paid leave is good business

Washington employers talk about why Paid Family and Medical Leave is good for their business

 

Here are a few samples of Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave in the news:

Seattle Times: Workers start paying for Washington’s new paid-leave law next month. Here’s how it works. 

KOMO: Wash. to implement best paid family & medical leave in America in 2019

AP: Premiums for new paid family program start next week

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (Op-Ed): Washington families will benefit from state’s paid leave  

www.paidleave.wa.gov

Published by Causey Wright