9 deaths at Perini jobs stir questions
Framingham builder defends safety record
Perini Corp. made its money and reputation by tackling big, complex construction projects and finishing them on time, even under the most ambitious schedules. But a rash of construction deaths at Perini jobs in Las Vegas has raised concerns that the Framingham construction firm may be doing too much too fast, and compromising worker safety along the way.
Nine men have died at Perini sites on Las Vegas's famed Strip within the last two years, including six at the massive CityCenter development, an $8 billion complex of hotels, a casino, condominiums, and stores billed as the largest privately financed construction project in US history. Officials at Perini, the 114-year-old builder of projects as varied as the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension, the Prudential Center tower, and a section of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, stressed the company's emphasis on safety. They said they found no systemic reason for the deaths, adding that each occurred under different circumstances, which included poor judgment by the workers.
But families of workers who died believe a different factor connected the deaths: unrelenting pressure from Perini to finish quickly. "It was always hurry up," said David Rabun, whose 30-year-old son, David Jr., was fatally injured in November at the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino project, a Perini site. He fell four stories down an elevator shaft and lived long enough for his father to watch him die at the hospital.
"It's the worst thing in my life," said Rabun, 61, of Las Vegas. "I [had] pleaded with him to find another job."
Ronald Tutor, Perini's chief executive, said his company has strict safety policies in place; for example, at CityCenter, workers who fail to follow safety rules are fired. Perini has increased training, brought in safety consultants, and increased the number of safety engineers, Tutor said.
Tutor added that many of the jobs are inherently dangerous, performed high above ground, where a misstep or lapse of concentration can lead to death.
"CityCenter is the largest project in America by far, with the most amount of man hours jammed into a very tight site on an accelerated schedule," Tutor said. "It's not something you should expect or accept, but if you put enough man hours in, somebody gets hurt. The only way you keep your conscience clear is you do everything in your power to run a safe site."
Four workers died at Las Vegas projects run by other contractors within the last two years. State and county lawmakers are considering whether new laws are needed to protect workers, such as a limit on hours at projects on the Las Vegas Strip, where construction goes on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "They are building at a different pace and different scale," said Chris Giunchigliani, a county commissioner in Clark County, Nev., which includes Las Vegas. "There are pressures brought to bear on workers, and when you're under pressure, you can miss something."
The string of fatalities is the most serious, but not the only, challenge facing Perini in Las Vegas, where the company reinvented itself about a decade ago. Reeling from the real estate bust of the 1990s and a series of ill-timed investments, Perini turned to high-end, high-margin, specialty construction, and found a niche in the casino-building business. It rode boom times to earn record profits and a reputation as the builder of the biggest and best resort casinos, including the $380 million Trump International Hotel and Tower in Las Vegas, the $950 million Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and a $510 million expansion of Foxwoods Resort Casino, also in Connecticut.
But the boom is over. Las Vegas's tourism based-economy is taking a beating from rising energy costs, falling home prices, and slowing consumer spending. So is Perini's stock. Visitors, gambling revenues, and hotel occupancy have fallen significantly over the past year, and casino projects worth billions of dollars are being postponed or delayed. Perini's share price has fallen by nearly two-thirds since October, to less than $25 from almost $67.
"They are very tied to the Las Vegas gaming and hospitality cycle," said Avram Fisher, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets in New York, "and that's going away, or at least slowing."
Perini officials said the plunge in the company's stock is driven more by perception than reality. Despite the downturn there, City Center and its other projects in Las Vegas remain on track, they said. Perini, with contracts around the world, recently reported another quarter of record revenues and profits, and a $6.8 billion backlog of projects.
In addition, Perini officials said, the company is expanding its reach, targeting more than $5 billion in education, healthcare, and transportation projects, and billions more in international markets, such as Dubai in the Middle East. A recent merger with Tutor-Saliba, Tutor's privately owned construction firm, should further diversify Perini's business, company officials said.
"We have an extraordinary low stock price for no reason or basis, because as you can see, our earnings remain strong," Tutor said.
So far, the deaths at the Las Vegas projects have not hurt Perini's prospects, Tutor said, although he has to satisfy customers about Perini's commitment to safety. Four of the nine workers killed at Las Vegas sites worked for subcontractors who are directly responsible for their safety under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency responsible for enforcing worker safety regulations. As general contractor, however, Perini has overall responsibility for the safety of its work sites.
Nevada OSHA officials declined to comment on Perini's record.
George Cole, a retired Las Vegas ironworker, said Perini shares responsibility for the death of his brother-in-law, Harold "Rusty" Billingsley, a 46-year-old ironworker who was working for a steel subcontractor. Billingsley fell through a 3-foot-by-11-foot hole in the decking, and with no net or temporary floor below, he plunged nearly 60 feet to his death.
"Perini is the controlling contractor. They control the job, and they put a lot of pressure on the subs," Cole said. "But all they do is try to cover their butts and not take care of the things they should. Because of the almighty schedule."
Perini officials said they don't comment on individual incidents.
The most recent death on a Perini site, and the sixth at CityCenter, occurred at the end of May, when a 39-year-old operating engineer was crushed while oiling a crane counterweight. A few days later, some 6,000 workers walked off the job over safety concerns. They returned the following day, after Perini finalized safety initiatives negotiated with labor unions.
Perini agreed to pay for 10-hour OSHA safety training for all workers at CityCenter, including those employed by subcontractors. Perini said it had already required its own employees to complete the OSHA training. Perini also agreed to give a union safety organization, Center for Construction Research and Training, access to the site to assess conditions.
Greg McClelland, a safety official with the Ironworkers Union, said Las Vegas presents unique challenges to construction worker safety, and it is difficult to find a single factor behind the deaths. Among the challenges: extreme temperatures, topping 100 degrees and falling below freezing; complicated projects; an influx of workers from other areas; and a city where all-night bars and casinos lure workers who should be getting sleep.
"Perini was the first large-scale general contractor to sit down and develop an action plan to make things safer in Las Vegas," McClelland said. "It's real easy to beat up on the big guy, but Perini has learned some lessons."
Robert Gavin can be reached at rgavin@globe.com. 