Ever wonder how those flyers end up on your front doorknob? The ones advertising lawn care services or house painters? No, they are not express delivered by fairies or gnomes. Advertising companies hire day laborers---“walkers”---to go door to door. Ten miles of “door to door”, for a daily wage of somewhere between $40 and $50 dollars.
How do the day laborers get to suburban neighborhoods, the ones with no public transportation system? They are brought in by bus. Not big city buses. Little van type buses. That’s what James Saddler, 52 of Fort Worth was riding on March 4. He and other “walkers” were crowded in the back of a cargo van with no seats and no seatbelts, when the vehicle blew a tire, left the road----
I expect Mr. Saddler’s memory of what happened after that is pretty fuzzy. He ended up in a hospital ICU in a coma. Saddler was lucky. Three of the “walkers” died.
Oh well, at least it was an on the job injury that left him disabled. Workers get compensated when stuff like that happens---maybe. In Mr. Saddler’s case, the employer, Paul Reed of Reed Distributing “filed for bankruptcy, claiming all the victims as unsecured creditors” and then re-opened his business.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/11/27/3553787/shlachter-co-injured-laborer-finds.htmlWhat’s a mom and pop firm to do? Even if they crack open their piggy banks, they could not come close to burying three dead and paying the medical bills of those injured. Not with the proceeds of a business that brings in a mere $500,000 to $1,000,000 each year---
http://www.manta.com/g/mm58436/paul-reedBut with revenue like that, you would think the company could afford to install backseats and seatbelts in its vans. You would think. But you would be wrong.
Under Texas law, as in most other states, seat belts are not required for adults in a cargo van that has no seats. And while the Econoline owner's manual warns of potential serious injury or death for anyone riding in the cargo area, there's no state or federal prohibition against carrying adults in the back, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Because there are no seat belts, restrictions on capacity don't apply. And because no one is charged for the transportation, the contract workers who drive the vans are not regulated either.
"Tragedies such as these are a reminder that more needs to be done to protect the rights and safety of workers," said Pablo Alvarado, director of the Los Angeles-based National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "Day laborers, like those who lost their lives, go to great risks to humbly provide for their families. Employers must be responsible for their safety during and en route to work."
Neil Donovan, executive director for the National Coalition for the Homeless, said he has tried to prevent unsafe cargo vans from cruising for day laborers.
"When I operated a shelter in Boston, we would run off vans that came by," Donovan said from Washington. "It's a pervasive problem. I don't think there's a community that doesn't have exploitation. Where there are people who are in need, there are people who take advantage."
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/26/2951098/unsafe-rides-are-just-part-of.htmlThat last line bears repeating.
”Where there are people who are in need, there are people who take advantage.’Let’s hope the Reeds sprang for liability insurance on their vans. And that the policy was large enough to cover three deaths and three injuries. If not, Mr. Saddler will probably remain on the federal disability rolls for the rest of his life. He will be held up by right wing pundits as a “parasite” getting rich off the tax dollars of others, with no mention of the company that caused his disability and then tried to shift the burden onto the federal government.
Thanks to the Fort Worth Star Telegram for their excellent reporting.
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