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Public
Employee Press Road crews call
for workzone safety
Members of several DC 37 locals
helped the Federal Highway Administration kick off its national Work Zone Awareness
Week campaign in New York City April 19. The opening ceremony featured photographs
and personal stories from families of highway workers killed in work zones by
motorists, including the family of Local 376 member Nick Antico, 35, who was killed
in 2005 while repairing a road on Staten Island.
The families spoke out
and shed tears over loved ones senselessly killed on the job.
It
is important to focus attention on the safety of the workers who perform their
duties on our roads and highways, said DC 37 Blue Collar Division Director
José Sierra at the ceremony, which included FHA Administrator Victor Mendez
and acting New York State Transportation Commissioner Stan Gee.
This
campaign focuses on the daily risks our members in Locals 376, 983, 1157 and 1506
take to keep the citys roads, bridges and highways safe for drivers,
Sierra said. The lives of these workers depend on whether motorists are careful
as they pass work zones, and he asked people to take it easy and obey the
traffic signs when driving through work areas to show appreciation for the vital
jobs these workers do.
This years theme, Work Zones Need
Your Undivided Attention, urges drivers to keep their eyes on the road and
slow down near highway workers doing their jobs.
The campaign uses Web
sites, videos, brochures and posters to highlight the dangers highway workers
face daily and includes the No Phone Zone pact publicized by Oprah Winfrey.
In
2008, 720 people died in highway work zones in the United States, including highway
workers, drivers and their passengers. These deaths are preventable,
said Mendez. For more information, visit www.workzonesafety.org.
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