This is the last time you will hear about this from me. On March 1st, Local Law 196 goes into effect and workers on construction sites overseen by the NYC Department of Buildings are required to have Full Site Safety Cards. If you are caught on the site without the card there are fines up to $5,000.00 for employers and permit holders for each worker without the required training. If you are unemployed and don’t have the card, you will be deemed unavailable for work and that will affect your eligibility for your medical coverage. Additionally, just because you may be working on a site right now that doesn’t require it, doesn’t mean you don’t need to complete this training.
The JIB records indicate there are about 2,800 members in construction that have not yet fully completed the online training. Even crazier is that nearly 100 members haven’t even completed the picture and voice print recording in order to do the training. Times up and the system will probably crash if everyone waits until the last week. I’m not sure the Safety Department can even handle the volume over the next four weeks because some members have ignored this requirement. March 1st is only 27 days away.
I appreciate the fact that most members are in compliance. I’m sure that if you’re in tune enough to have signed up for this Rank & File, then you’ve probably completed the requirement. Be sure to spread the word about this deadline to those you work alongside who may not read this message. We have known about the requirement for sometime and the start date has been moved back more than once. But for the members who have ignored the mandate, I have no sympathy. It’s irresponsible, and if you get laid off or if you lose your medical I can’t help you. It really makes me wonder, how do you explain it to your family when you lose a $4,000-a-week job because you were too lazy or too busy to register and complete the course. Pretty sad.
