All of us at IBEW Local 98 send our deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in yesterday’s tragic building collapse in Philadelphia. We also ask that you keep in your thoughts and prayers the dozens of others who were seriously injured, so that they may recover quickly and completely.
Yesterday’s horrific building collapse, though tragic, was preventable. Although the finger of blame should point directly at the slumlord owner, the scab demolition contractor with a criminal record, and the middle-man “expediter” who never set foot on the job site yet somehow was able to pull the permit, much of the blame also should be directed at the Nutter administration for their lax oversight and dereliction of duty as it pertains to the construction industry in the city. FOR THE RECORD THE CONTRACTOR, THE EXPEDITER, AND THE CITY AGENCY OFFICIAL WHO SHIRKED HIS OR HER RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD ALL BE CHARGED AS CO-CONSPIRATORS IN THE DEATHS OF SIX PEOPLE.
The shame of all this is that I have personally handed Mayor Nutter countless documents and reams of evidence that show how these carpetbagger developers and contractors routinely cheat the system, ignore licensing requirements, rob the city of taxes and other revenue, and make our city unsafe. And Nutter’s response? NOTHING. He and his people simply don’t care. Licenses and Inspections hands out permits like people hand-out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. There’s no oversight and no follow-through. And now, six more innocent people are dead.
The only ones who deserve credit for their actions yesterday are the on-site volunteers and our great firefighters, paramedics and first responders for their incredible work yesterday. I find it bitterly ironic that Nutter went out of his way to praise the firefighters and paramedics for their heroic efforts, yet continues to deny them the arbitration award they won nearly five years ago. After watching Nutter’s shameless press conference today, I’m more convinced than ever that he’s a fraud.
It’s also interesting to note that a huge deal has been made out of the proposed take-over of Traffic Court. Instead of worrying about a state take-over of Traffic Court, maybe we should be talking about a state take-over of Licenses and Inspections. I don’t recall the last time someone died because of a decision made at Traffic Court.
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY AT 22ND AND MARKET WAS A SAD METAPHOR FOR THE COLLAPSE OF THE CITY’S OVERSIGHT OF THE ENTIRE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN PHILADELPHIA. This kind of reckless, scab construction work and development is happening all over the city. It’s become the Wild West and the bad guys are doing whatever the hell they want with no fear of consequences. Oh, by the way, has anyone seen the 15 to 20 workers on that job site who scurried like rats when the building came down? I’ll bet you anything they’re laying low, hiding from Immigration and Naturalization Services.
THE BOTTOM LINE: UNLESS AND UNTIL THIS ADMINISTRATION WAKES UP AND DOES SOMETHING TO STOP THESE THIEVES, MORE TRAGEDIES LIKE YESTERDAY’S WILL CONTINUE TO OCCUR.
-John J. Dougherty
