Unions Call for New OSHA Law at Sentencing of McWane, Inc. Executives for Conspiracy...

Unions Call for New OSHA Law at Sentencing of McWane, Inc. Executives for
Conspiracy and Obstructing OSHA Enforcement

TRENTON, N.J., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the sentencing of the
first of four NJ executives of the Birmingham, AL-based McWane Corp. in
Federal District court, Change to Win Health and Safety Coordinator Eric
Frumin urged Congress to make "fundamental changes in the federal Occupational
Safety and Health Act" that created OSHA in 1970.

"Like too many other heartless and negligent employers, McWane managers
believed they could kill their workers, lie to inspectors, obstruct federal
investigations - and get away with it," said Frumin. "At least for McWane's
managers, those days should finally end today."

McWane's former NJ Plant Manager John Prisque was convicted in 2006 on six
separate counts, with a maximum imprisonment of 41 years. "We hope Mr.
Prisque's fate is a warning to all other unscrupulous managers - even with the
serious gaps in the OSHA law, you too can suffer severe consequences when you
flout the law," said Frumin.

Federal District Court Judge Mary L. Cooper began sentencing hearings today
for Prisque and the three other former McWane managers convicted in 2006 on a
total of 31 federal felony counts, including conspiracy, obstruction of
justice and multiple violations of the Clean Water Act. The conspiracy charge
alone carries a maximum 5-year sentence.

"These convictions have also shown how weak the OSHA law really is," said
Frumin. "Killing workers and lying to inspectors is still only a misdemeanor
under the OSHA law - compared to serious felonies under the laws used by OSHA,
EPA and the Justice Department in this case."

The US Congress will soon consider new legislation to close the severe
loopholes in the OSHAct, with hearings beginning next week in Washington, DC.
"We call up on the Congress to quickly take up this legislation, and give OSHA
the tools it needs to really hold employers accountable. Right now, unless
there's an environmental problem, OSHA is shooting blanks when it wants to
prosecute the really bad actors like McWane and Mr. Prisque."

McWane Corp. is one of the world's largest manufacturers of steel pipe.
According to David Uhlmann, who as Chief of the Justice Department's
Environmental Crimes Section led the multi-district prosecutions of McWane and
its corporate officials, McWane was "one of the worst and most persistent
violators of our nation's worker safety and environmental laws.

"McWane and its plant managers treated workers as if they were expendable and
the environment as a dumping ground for their wastes. The punishment should
fit the crime, and there is no disputing that these were egregious crimes."

Uhlmann also urged the Congress to address the loopholes in the OSHAct: "Why
should prosecutors have to search for felonies under our environmental laws
when employers commit knowing violations of the worker safety laws that kill
or maim their employees? We need to fix this injustice now."

A 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by the NY Times and PBS Frontline
of massive OSHA and environmental violations at McWane plants in five states
revealed some of the worst examples of criminal employer misconduct in the
35-year history of the OSHAct as well as multiple environmental laws. The
resulting federal investigation sparked a 33-count indictment at McWane's
Phillipsburg, NJ subsidiary Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe.

"OSHA's inspectors in NJ worked diligently to uncover this conspiracy, get to
the facts and make sure that workers are protected," said Frumin. "But their
job shouldn't be this difficult - workers in NJ and across the country deserve
the same protection as wildlife and natural resources."

SOURCE Change to Win

Greg Denier, +1-202-486-2365, or Noreen Nielsen, +1-202-721-6047, both of
Change to Win