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Austin workers call for better conditions after deadly construction accident

Oct 30, 2009 | Rebecca Taylor | Keyetv

Just days after three men fell to their deaths from a high rise being built in Austin, construction workers gathered outside City Hall to call for better working conditions.

They brought with them 142 pairs of workers boots -- designed to symbolize the 142 workers who died in construction accidents in 2007.  More workers died in Texas in 2007 than in any other state, according to a report from the Workers Defense Project in Austin.

WDP spokeswoman Cristina Tzintzan says many workers are forced to endure unsafe conditions and work in temperatures up to 112 degrees without breaks.  She said better safety standards and enhanced harness training could prevent scaffolding accidents like the one that killed three men at an apartment building being built last week. 

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating what caused the scaffolding accident.  Two men died at the scene after plummeting more than 100 feet to the ground.  A third man died at a local hospital after he was rescued from a roof on the seventh floor.