JUST ONE OPINION…

In the largest commercial construction job in the history of the United States (32 billion dollars) there has been much ballyhoo and even a cable special on the state of the art construction techniques employed in order to meet the deadlines established. The MGM Mirage CityCenter project in Las Vegas stands as testimony to the competitive resort business and the “we will build it bigger” mindset of Casino corporations. It is a fiercely competitive market and bragging rights play into marketing which translates into dollars for the resort and gaming industry. That is all well and good, competition in a free market society has been good for all of us, but we need to look at the big picture before patting ourselves on the back for this crown gem of Las Vegas.

In what can only be described as a total lack of concern for human life, 12 workers died on the CityCenter project in 18 months time. Twelve funerals, twelve holidays with a loved one missing. The question has to be asked” HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? How in this day and age of OSHA could 12 fatalities be tolerated, be considered an acceptable cost of doing business? The answer is polemic but I am of the opinion that everyone was responsible. Government, management, and labor unions alike dropped the ball while workers died. Since the public received notice via a series of Pulitzer Prize winning articles in the Las Vegas Sun, there has not been one fatality on the site, proof that these deaths could have, and should have never happened. THINK!