July 12th, 2005

Members of a carpenters’ union have been picketing outside the Las Vegas Hilton hotel for several weeks, claiming that asbestos is being mis-handled as part of a renovation project being carried out there by construction crews. Picketers state that a number of violations have been spotted, and that they pose a danger to both workers and people in the area.

One spokesperson for the carpenters’ union stated: "There are a lot of safety violations. The workers don't even know that they're working close to asbestos. When I told one what asbestos was, he was very concerned." Picketers also claim that the workers have not been provided with the necessary safety gear and equipment for asbestos handling.

The local paper has also been shown pictures of asbestos waste dumped in the public dump, which picketers have stated happened at least once. In addition, containment areas have been left open despite having hazardous waste in them, and a number of other violations have been noted by picketers and union members.

C & W Enterprises, the contractor working on the project, has stated that no write-ups have been received. In fact, the vice president of the company went as far as to say: "Tell the union that they're full of shit."