By
MOLLY CHARBONEAU
Local 376 member Archie Tyler, 43, drowned in the
Bronx on March 4 when rushing water pulled him down a drainage pipe in the Jerome
Park Reservoir.
At the time, Mr. Tyler, a Watershed Maintainer, and co-workers
were working to prevent West Nile virus outbreaks. They were clearing debris from
the pipe opening so a football-field sized accumulation of 2-foot-deep water would
not become a breeding ground for infected mosquitoes.
DC 37 dispatched
a delegation to the site as soon as the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP)
notified the union of Mr. Tylers death.
Local 376 President Ed
Bennett, DC 37 Deputy Administrator Zachary Ramsey, Blue Collar Division Director
José Sierra, DC 37 Rep David Catala and Russell Johnson of DC 37s
Safety and Health Unit rushed to the Bronx to offer support to shaken union members
and Mr. Tylers family and loved ones.
The fact that his co-workers
were unable to save the mans life is a tragedy in itself, said Mr.
Catala. They tried to hold onto him, but the force of the water was just
too great.
The union is now pressing the states Public Employee
Safety and Health (PESH) unit to investigate why DEP apparently failed to have
the proper safety measures and training in place to prevent this terrible fatality
the third death of a District Council 37 member at DEP in a little
over two years.
Watershed Maintainer Archie Tyler was working to prevent
West Nile virus outbreaks when he was killed. His death, the Dept. of Environmental
Protections third on-the-job fatality in two years, has renewed union pressure
for safer working conditions.
If you saw the drain and the water,
you really wouldnt expect that cleaning the drain could put your life at
risk, said Mr. Bennett, whose local also represents Construction Laborers
and Highway Repairers. Still, DEP had a responsibility to evaluate the job
for any possible hazards, which could have prevented this tragedy.
After interviewing members and inspecting, Rebecca Porper of the Safety Unit concluded
that the site was an accident waiting to happen.
Ms. Porper
said members faced risks even before they reached the 20-inch diameter drain where
Mr. Tyler lost his life. She pointed these out to PESH and DEP at a March 12 conference
opening the states fatality investigation. The most glaring problem
was that the drain opening itself had no grate or cover in place to prevent someone
from falling in, she said. DEP had issued ice rescue suits that
were not designed for the work they were doing, so the footing was poor on the
algae-clad reservoir bottom. The agency also failed to provide a secure tripod
or other fixture near the pipe opening where workers could attach protective harnesses.
An overriding issue is that DEP has still not implemented good, strong
safety procedures for our members who work there, and the agency wont do
anything unless it is pushed, Local 376 Deputy Administrator Bill Fenty
stated. Our blue collar members in this agency do extremely dangerous jobs,
and the agency refuses to recognize this.