Posted on October 31, 2018

It happened fast. In May of this year, a team of construction workers remodeling a building for Tandem Management Company in Portland, Oregon brought a concern to their boss: they thought they had found asbestos in the building.

Thomas Clarey, president of Tandem, visited the site. According to The Oregonian, he began yelling that there was no asbestos,” the workers contest, demanding “that they all needed to get back to work.” If only they had been able to. Within days, three of the employees had been reassigned to a different project, then promptly fired.

Two lawsuits are now pending, charging not only that these workers were fired as an act of retaliation, but that their employer – Tandem Management Company – has actively participated in a coverup of the asbestos discovery.

Khataun Thompson, Alyssa DeWeese, and Jason Eaton, all former employees of Tandem, have brought one set of charges. Thompson, who was assigned to the project to replace the previous whistleblowing employees, reports that Tandem never informed him of the potential asbestos exposure risks before he began working. Eaton charges that he was fired merely for cooperating with an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation.

The second suit, brought by former tenant Shana Maurer, levies even graver accusations.“They didn’t say anything to any residents,” she told a local news channel. “As if there was nothing going on. As if there was nothing in the air that could kill [us].”

As reported by KOIN, a CBS-affiliated outlet in Portland, the evidence is mounting against Tandem. Recently obtained emails from an officer at OSHA reveal that Tandem is “aware that we found a positive result for asbestos. They are aware that there will be violations.”

John Newquist, CSP, 29 years with OSHA, commented: “OSHA remains concerned about any exposures to airborne asbestos, especially since the CDC has documented tens of thousands of asbestos work-related deaths.”

Just as the danger faced by these construction workers is nothing new, the behavior of this management company is par for course for an asbestos-affiliated stakeholder looking to avoid regulation and fines.

In a country that sees approximately 40,000 people die of asbestos-linked illnesses each year, it is nothing short of reckless to dismiss claims of potential exposure. In our increasingly de-unionized domestic labor landscape, it is despotic and oppressive to silence disenfranchised workers. In a field where asbestos endangers not just employees, but also their friends, family, and neighbors via “deadly hugs,” it is simply inhumane to respond in this way to a situation of this kind.

While ADAO is committed to maintaining a federal and even international focus on asbestos safety, we will never forget that this carcinogen is still impacting individual people in cities and towns all over the United States. It is just as important to confront irresponsible management companies as it is to hold Senators accountable for their voting records. If you think Tandem Property Management’s behavior is unacceptable, we encourage you to use your voice and let them know. When we fight at every level, we get that much closer to banning asbestos for good.

We encourage you to sign our petition that urges the Environmental Protection Agency to do their job and ban asbestos now without any loopholes or exemptions. If the EPA bans asbestos, we will not face situations like this, and we will save hundreds of thousands of lives.

Unity. Unity. Unity.

Linda Reinstein
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