“The Fish Stinks From The Head”
There is a saying that “the fish stinks from the head” and never was that more apparent than at the Senate hearing on the mold-infested St. Thomas IRB building last night.
After months of public discourse on this issue and apparently years of evidence collected by experts, there was finally an official forum for these obviously ill employees to make their case. They told stories of degenerating health, loss of pay, and the physical and emotional hardship of being forced to work in a toxic environment. At times it was difficult to listen to their heartbreaking testimony.
But perhaps the most horrifying moment in the long evening came from IRB Director Claudette Watson-Anderson, who took a moment from filing her nails to deny her responsibility for this situation by stating she wasn’t director when the problem started.
The fish stinks from the head.
There’s plenty of blame to throw around – the Government blames the landlord, the landlord blames the government, it goes on and on. Where was the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) when this issue came to light? Where was the Department of Labor when employees were denied leave and pay for their illnesses? What more could the unions, normally so aggressive, have done to force attention to this issue before it reached a crisis point?
The fact is this problem was documented and the information withheld from employees who were already seeking medical attention for a condition they could not diagnose. We will never know the true scope of the medical damage this situation has caused but someone must be called to account. There should be consequences for this level of moral negligence and criminal indifference.
But the most immediate need is to get those employees out of that building, now. Find the money and take action.
The price tag on the damage to these lives gets higher every day.
I attended the Million Father March on Friday night at Emancipation Garden, and only a handful of men showed up. I wonder if it is because they are turned off by the recent behavior of some of our government officials.
Maybe Crucian In Focus should do a follow-up on “The Legacy of Act 6905.” Let’s see what happened to the arcitects of the controversial bill, and where they are now.
TUNE IN TO RADIO ONE 1000 AM! SAM TOPP IS DISCUSSING THE SITUATION AT IRB!
While watching the hearing on the Racino Bill, it occurs to me that they need to be cautious of former senator Wattlington’s testimony. He is benefitting from unregulated VLT’s in St. Thomas, and he seems to be suggesting an unregulated racino for that district.