President Shoshana Bookson's Letter

NYSTLA
© The Buffalo News Inc.
Shoshana Bookson
Published on August 22, 2004

President Shoshana Bookson's Letter to The Buffalo News

State laws aim to protect the average New Yorker

In its editorial arguing against two state laws, The News failed to grasp the importance of these laws to the average New Yorker.

Although car leasing companies take enormous tax deductions for owning leased cars, at the same time they seek to avoid the financial responsibilities of ownership when those cars are involved in an accident. Those tax breaks added up to a staggering $1.1 billion in 2002.

The News also seeks to abolish the Scaffold Law, which mandates safety equipment at construction work sites. This law is the reason why New York construction sites are the second safest in the country.

The suggestion that OSHA can solely protect workers would be laughable if the stakes weren't so high. Simply put, OSHA is underfunded and understaffed and any real examination of its record would show this. OSHA's own data shows inspectors miss many sites, particularly smaller projects where violations are more common and where non-union workers lack the ability to negotiate for safety. When violations are cited, penalties are so light that they are viewed as a cost of doing business.

A catastrophically injured auto accident victim and the widow of a construction worker deserve the justice that these laws provide.

Shoshana Bookson

President,
New York State Trial Lawyers Association