President Donald Trump is hoping to have his latest Washington, D.C. renovation project complete in time for the United States’ 250th anniversary on July 4, but in doing so, may be putting workers’ safety at “risk,” one union leader warned Sunday.
The Trump administration is racing to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and selected a Virginia-based company that previously worked on a swimming pool at one of Trump’s golf clubs in a controversial no-bid contract that bypassed the normal competitive bidding process.
Given the hurried deadline the Trump administration has imposed on the company, however, Herbert Zaldivar, the director of organizing for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, expressed concerns that those working on the project might be exposed to enhanced risks.
“The chemicals are hazardous. My concern is usually the level of risk when it’s rushed,” Zaldivar told The Guardian in its report Sunday. “Are workers taking the rightful steps to protect themselves?”
According to the Guardian, Zaldivar unsuccessfully tried to speak with those working on the project to gain a better understanding of the measures taken to ensure their safety.
“They are afraid to touch the subject, although I will continue to come and try to have conversations with workers,” Zaldivar told The Guardian. “With this project, they are trying to rush on a timescale that is most likely to leave some liability with the contractor.”
A spokesperson for Interior Department – the agency overseeing the project – fired back at Zaldivar’s comments, insisting they carried “no merit,” while also delivering a slight to the Obama administration.
“Like every federal agency, we follow all laws and regulations designed to ensure fair treatment and safety in the workplace,” the spokesperson told The Guardian. “Unlike Barack Obama’s over $35m, 18-month long failed effort to fix the reflecting pool – which failed immediately, President Trump is an expert builder and will get this job done for many generations to come.”
Initially billed by Trump as a $1.8 million project, its projected cost has since ballooned to $13.1 million.
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