Unions Call for New OSHA Law at Sentencing of McWane, Inc. Executives

Responding to the sentencing of the first of four NJ executives of the Birmingham, AL-based McWane Corp. in Federal District court, Change to Win Health and Safety Coordinator Eric Frumin urged Congress to make "fundamental changes in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act" that created OSHA in 1970.

"Like too many other heartless and negligent employers, McWane managers believed they could kill their workers, lie to inspectors, obstruct federal investigations - and get away with it," said Frumin. "At least for McWane's managers, those days should finally end today."

McWane's former NJ Plant Manager John Prisque was convicted in 2006 on six separate counts, with a maximum imprisonment of 41 years. "We hope Mr. Prisque's fate is a warning to all other unscrupulous managers - even with the serious gaps in the OSHA law, you too can suffer severe consequences when you flout the law," said Frumin.

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