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Major BC construction player Kiewit fined for worker death in California

Kiewit, a multinational construction giant and major player in B.C., was fined by California's safety regulator for its involvement in the death of a worker, Adolfo Figueroa, on a highway project there last fall.

The U.S.-based firm, which constructed the 196-megawatt Toba Inlet power plant for Alterra Energy and partnered in the construction of the Port Mann Bridge, has piled up safety violations.

An NDP MLA told The Tyee he may raise the issue of Kiewit's record in the legislature next week.

California state regulators issued two citations and fines in early April totalling $36,000 against Kiewit Infrastructure West Company, listed on Kiewit's website as the firm's northern California division.

In its report, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health blames Kiewit for failing to secure steel "I" beams on a flatbed trailer, where one 3,000-pound beam fell off and instantly killed Figueroa last October in West Los Angeles. Additionally, the report claims Kiewit did not correct an unsafe work practice of allowing employees to work within a designated exclusion zone.

As reported in earlier Tyee stories, Kiewit and joint venture companies to which it belongs have been cited for safety violations in a number of worker deaths across North America, including that of Sam Fitzpatrick, a young B.C. rock scaler working on the Toba Inlet power project in 2009.

Fitzpatrick died, crushed beneath a boulder knocked down a steep slope by heavy equipment his employer had ordered to work above him despite a similar rock fall the day before. His father, Brian, has called for Kiewit to be banned from further government contract work for the province.

B.C. NDP Transportation critic Harry Bains may challenge BC Liberal Labour Minister Shirley Bond about the province's ongoing business relationship with the firm next week during the legislature's review of budget estimates.

"Worker safety has to be paramount," Bains said in a telephone interview. "It would be serious if any company was found to be non-compliant with provincial health and safety regulations."

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transportation, which has placed millions of dollars in contracts for infrastructure work with Kiewit and associated joint ventures for decades, told The Tyee that the ministry has confidence Kiewit is doing a good job in the province.

"The ministry works only with companies that are registered and in good standing with WorkSafeBC," the spokeswoman said in a July 15 email.

"Kiewit has a successful history of delivering safe transportation projects in B.C., including the Sea-to-Sky Highway project."

Tom Sandborn covers labour and health policy beats for the Tyee. He welcomes your feedback and story tips at [email protected].


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