Councilors Flynn, Breadon, and Flaherty to Hold Hearing on Safety at Construction Sites 

See Press Release Below:

BOSTON – Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn, Liz Breadon, and Michael Flaherty will hold a hearing to discuss the existing safety procedures and precautions at construction sites due to tragedies, accidents and fires in recent years that have impacted workers, neighbors and pedestrians. This hearing aims to discuss how the city can ensure that construction workers and construction sites are safe, that the vetting process for construction companies are thorough, and ways that the City can ensure the protection and well-being of our workers and residents as we continue to be in the midst of a pandemic. The hearing will be chaired by Councilor Julia Mejia in the Committee on Small Business and Workforce Development, and will be held virtually on Monday, September 20, at 2pm.

In March, there was a tragic accident on High Street in Downtown where two workers were unfortunately killed on a construction site. In recent years, the City of Boston has been experiencing an unprecedented building boom, with large scale construction sites in various neighborhoods. These sites have heavy machinery, tall cranes, and the equipment that is in close proximity to their workers, as well as our residents, our workforce, pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists. Construction workers are often at high risk of suffering occupational injuries and fatalities, and according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 20.7% of worker fatalities were in the construction industry in 2017.

Aside from the tragic incident on High Street, we have unfortunately witnessed several accidents in recent years of injured or even killed construction workers. It is critical that we ensure the safety of our construction workers, as well as our residents and workforce. We need to make sure that safety procedures and precautions are adhered to at these worksites, and that there is a thorough vetting process for construction companies. As we are also still dealing with the pandemic, we also need to ensure that our construction workers are provided with the adequate personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while on the job.

“Construction workers are a critical part of our workforce in the city, and we need to ensure their safety and wellbeing at their worksites,” said Councilor Flynn. “It is also important that our construction sites and equipment are secured, and that there are strict measures in place to prevent any accidents that can harm workers, pedestrians, neighbors and motorists. We need to make sure that unscrupulous construction companies are held accountable, and that they are properly vetted. I look forward to having this discussion at the hearing, and to work with city officials and safety advocates on this issue.

To watch the hearing, you can go to boston.gov/city-council-tv. To submit written testimony or request to testify at the hearing, please reach out to Cora Montrod at [email protected]. For more information on the hearing, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].

###