Local Roundup Retired Brother Don Green March 2023 31 Back in the day some mechanics didn’t want to teach all they knew because they were afraid of someone slipping into their place and potentially taking their job. Those mechanics were very few from my experience. One thing I have heard many times from knowledgeable older mechanics, and I’ve shared often is, “Teach your apprentices very well, share all the knowledge you have, support each other and build their foundations strong because they will be supporting each of us one day, when we retire.” This fact is true and it puts things into perspective. Look at this handsome fella. I caught Retired Brother Don Green out and about the day after Christmas. He had a smile on his face and spring to his step. I thought Santa must have been really good to him, but more that after many years at Otis and all his hard work, to retire in comfort and to do what he wanted when he wanted to do it must feel really good. That is exactly what we’re all working for. Don, retirement looks good on you and it was good seeing ya. Dates to remember: St. Patrick’s Parade: 3/11/23, meet about 10 a.m. Monthly meeting: 3/16/23, 5:00 p.m. at the Hall Mike Buckner retirement info: 3/25/23, 9:00 a.m. at the Hall Mike Buckner will be coming in to go over retirement information for the members. Please stay safe. Safety—Solidarity—Skill Your sister, Michelle mhubert11@embarqmail.com 513-405-8465 LOCAL 12 • Kansas City, Missouri Greetings from Local 12. On August 7, 2016, at a local water park, a 10-year-old boy was instantly killed by an injury so gruesome that it does not need to be described in this article. Caleb Schwab was descending a 168-foot water slide in a raft at a water park called Schlitterbahn in Kansas City, KS, when the raft became airborne, and he flew out of the restraint system striking a rigid bar securing a safety net. There was no oversight on the water slide’s design, which was modified and tweaked multiple times until the rafts with test dummies no longer became airborne. The design flaws and the lack of routine inspections shattered one family’s life. While it may seem off topic to mention an amusement park ride accident, the Verruckt water slide incident gave Kansas Citians, and KS lawmakers an extreme and horrific insight into what happens when there is a lack of engineering oversight, inspections, and employee training. Kansas had no regulation covering amusement park rides, and until very recently had no regulation covering elevators and escalators. I draw this parallel because when the public rides an elevator, an escalator, or even an amusement park ride they have every expectation that they will be unharmed at the end. Prior to the first ASME code governing elevators, in the 1920s, accidents involving the public and elevator workers were frequent. In the early 1900s a city like New York may have experienced dozens of deaths per year involving the riding public and elevators. These early years shaped elevator safety code continued on next page LOCAL 12
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTkwNjkyNg==