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 city’s 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 year’s 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.