| Guenther Mechanical, Inc., Issue No. 3 |
December 2000
|
The Contractors Critic
Guenther Mechanical, Inc. Reporting on Safety, Productivity, and Honesty in the Construction Industry.
|
Safety Violations &
Deceit
|
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS Reveal Troubling Safety Record
A Freedom of Information request has revealed some of the details behind
Guenther’s non-compliance history with OSHA regulations. These documents reveal
that at some job sites, Guenther: "Committed serious, life-threatening
violations of trenching rules," "Lacked competent personnel to survey excavation
areas," "Failed to keep legally required records of accidents and injuries,"
"Used homemade, inadequate safety equipment," "Failed to have a first aid kit on
site," and "Scores of Guenther workers, about 20% of their work force, suffered
on-the-job injuries over a three-year period."
|
August 29, 2000: Two
Serious OSHA Citations, Assessed, $3,250 Fine on medina, ohio job
OSHA finds that Guenther violated regulations regarding job site inspections
for dangerous conditions, rules regarding flammable dangers, operation of
excavation equipment and hazardous materials warning. OSHA issued these
violations recently regarding Guenther’s breaches of safety rules at a private
industry job site. The Contractor’s Critic will bring you more details on this
breaking story as soon as OSHA honors a Freedom of Information Act request.
|
BLACK river School District sued Guenther &
Others over Defective Construction Job
Problems and defects, including "cracking and settling in floors and walls,
defective doors, leaking roof and windows, problems with the heating and cooling
systems ... improper and inadequate final grade and landscaping" have beset this
project.
When Black River School District voters approved a bond issue for a new K-8
school, they expected a new building in return for a 25-year obligation to pay
extra taxes. Instead they got a construction project that ran far behind
schedule, went over budget and needed tens of thousands of dollars in additional
repairs. The district was left with little recourse except to file suit against
Guenther and others that worked on the school.
|
Guenther Enlists Ohio Governor, State Legislator and ABC to attack LASER and the
Contractor’s Critic
|
A few months ago, the Ohio Governor’s Office responded to a letter from
LASER with praise for LASER’s worthy goals. That response met with vehement
anger from Guenther Mechanical. Guenther enlisted their state representative,
Bill Harris who wrote to the Gover-nor attacking LASER for possibly being a
supporter of prevailing wages.
The governor’s office re- sponded by asking LASER not to quote the letter,
even though LASER had accurately cited the correspondence. The Associated
Builders and Contractors (ABC) put in their two cents, too, with a letter to
Guenther, stating the startling discovery that LASER’s President, James Wilson,
had worked for a union ten years ago. It doesn’t bother LASER that Guenther was
a union employer and a union member because LASER is impartial in its goal to
promote safety, honesty and productivity in the Construction Industry.
Guenther then drafted an anti-LASER letter to distribute to their customers,
which boasted of their fine OSHA compliance record and work history. Guenther
failed to mention that just two weeks earlier OSHA nailed Guenther for three
more serious violations and a $3,250 fine. Guenther also failed to respond to
LASER’s articles regarding Guenther’s toxic spill near a drinking water well at
the West Holmes School job in Millersburg, Ohio. In addition, Guenther did not
respond to complaints by the Medina City Schools about the malfunctioning
thermostats and the problems with a lien on a Guenther job, also at the Medina
schools. | | | | | | | |
