The Forgotten Worker

Why subcontractors are the last to know in a jobsite emergency.

On any given day at a major construction site, hundreds of workers from dozens of different companies move through a maze of steel, scaffolding, and uncertainty. Some are long-term employees of the general contractor. Others are subcontractors: welders, electricians, framers, concrete finishers, working under a different company name, often for just a few days or weeks. But in the event of an emergency (a gas leak, a structural collapse, or a sudden weather threat), who gets the message first? The troubling answer: It’s almost never the subcontractors.

Read More