IUE-CWA Members Demand Explanation for “Death Trap” at Workplace in Massachusetts

Members of the Marblehead (Mass.) Municipal Employees Union (IUE-CWA Local 81776) are speaking out about extremely hazardous working conditions at the town’s transfer station.

Although voters approved funds for a permanent building over six years ago, employees are still working in a decaying, rodent-infested trailer. According to a story in the Salem News, employees have fallen through the floor of the trailer, and there is a rusted electrical box in a corrugated steel enclosure that is part of the complex with exposed, live wires that carry enough voltage to instantly kill someone.

Local 81776 President Terri Tauro described the facility as a “death trap” at a Board of Health meeting. The local has filed a formal grievance with the town’s Health Department and has built a coalition with local residents to draw attention to the problem and demand an explanation for where the money for the new building went.