Cintas blames fatal Tulsa accident on worker

Who better to blame than a dead man. What about the person's arm that was broken two weeks earlier, or the other injuries at this plant? And OSHA's directive to put more guards on the belts, was that a dead person's fault also? Cintas is just one of the many sweat shops in Tulsa whose bottom line is careing more for dead presidents than living people!

your ignorance of the fact are obvious. The machines had all the working gaurds in place. When a worker does not follow simple rules accidents happen.

Maybe if the worker in Wash hadn't put his arm in a working washer without shutting it down he wouldn't have hurt it.

It is far left ignorant people like yourself who think people are not responsable for their own ignorance and lack of personal safety that surely there must be someone else to blame.

Maybe it was just a freak accident that could have been prevented if very simple precautions were taken like shutting of the conveyor.

Just so you know I read the OSHA directive and it was for the 1 plant in NY that did not have the proper guards in place. It did not list any other plants not in compliance.

Get your facts staight before you speak you idiot.

Just J wrote:

your ignorance of the fact are obvious. The machines had all the working gaurds in place. When a worker does not follow simple rules accidents happen.
Maybe if the worker in Wash hadn't put his arm in a working washer without shutting it down he wouldn't have hurt it.
It is far left ignorant people like yourself who think people are not responsable for their own ignorance and lack of personal safety that surely there must be someone else to blame.
Maybe it was just a freak accident that could have been prevented if very simple precautions were taken like shutting of the conveyor.
Just so you know I read the OSHA directive and it was for the 1 plant in NY that did not have the proper guards in place. It did not list any other plants not in compliance.
Get your facts staight before you speak you idiot.

I see you are one of the many people who have never worked in an unsafe factory. Walk a mile in the shoes of someone who has worked in unsafe sweat shops before you climb on your soap box dear!

I have 12yrs this July. This industry is not unsafe. I don't claim to know all nor have I been in the wash area at the cintas plant.

But from my years in this very industry I find it very hard to believe the story the media is putting out. If that company had faulty machines or was guilty in any way OSHA would be all over the mgt and the plant and maint mgr would have been hauled off to jail by now.

Don't get me wrong I would love to see 1 less competitor in town but this is not the way to run a company into the ground. I believe there has been no other death's related to this type of machine EVER.

That leads me to think the company was right in it's statements.

As for the soap box issue maybe you need to read your post again. Calling a company a sweat shop without first working there or having any proof this location is a sweat shop is getting on a pretty big soap box yourself.

The company I work for is identical to that one and we have very happy people working for us with many years of dedicated service. Any industry could be called a sweat shop.

My opinion has always been that this is America if you don't like your job or you don't like your pay find another

Maybe your right, maybe i'm right, either way I think if OSHA had found anything wrong on the companies end this would have came out by now

I just want to set the record straight about my accident. I followed cintas' procedure by turning the machine on manual to stop the tumbler from spinning, but the machine did not stop like it was supposed to. So all I got to say to Just J is before he sticks his foot in his mouth ant farther than it all ready is he should get the facts first.

Like I said earlier If you hadn't put your arm in a moving washer/dryer whichever it was you wouldn't have been hurt.
It all goes back to common sense and aware of the machines you are working around. I am just curious if the machine hadn't shut down properly why would you place your arm into the machine without first getting facility maint to lock-out tag-out the machine and fix the problem?

I know if I put my route truck into park and it is still rolling forward im not going to step out of the truck anyway. Im going to apply the emergency brake wait for it to stop and call our fleet maint and have it fixed before I get back in.

Just some simple advice for anyone who reads this. If you have to put your arm into a machine make Damn sure the machine has stopped before you do so. And if it is not stopping the way it should or you have any doubts don't put your arm in the machine.

I know this seems harsh but I am sick of people blaming companies for their lack of common sense.

Tabacco cases are a prime example of pure stupidity. I have known since the late 70's that smoking causes cancer I never once heard any different but because of one stupid judge and a jury of complete idiots they had to pay billions of dollars to stupid people who CHOOSE to smoke those nasty things but feel it is someone else's fault they got cancer.

Don't worry Just Alice im done riding this pony. People will only change their way of thinking when they are held responsable for their own actions.

Im sorry you were hurt Wash worker and im sure you weren't thinking it would end up like this but things happen and sometimes it isn't anybody's fault just try to be careful in the future. Just J

Well Just J i just thought that you would like to know that I didn't stick my arm in the machine, as a matter of fact the clothes were hanging out of the machine when they wrap around my arm and pulled me in the machine. I guess if you had ever worked in a wash room you would know some of these things. So now you can pull the other foot out of your mouth and come up with another excuse .

I've worked in safe shops and unsafe shops. The bottom line is this:
Safety is the responsibility of both the employer and the employee. If an employee is asked to work under unsafe conditions, the employee should refuse until the unsafe condition is made safe. If the company refuses, the employee needs to report it to OSHA. I was once asked to operate an electrical machine while standing in 4 in. of water (broken water pipes). I refused. That company violated several safety requirements and was eventually fined several thousand $$$ and almost shut down.
The company I work for now is very safety oriented. We have monthly safety meetings. Safety procedures are written and given to each employee. Anyone not following safety procedures is written up.

Well Washington man Maybe you need to look at my previous post. I do work in this industry going on 12 yrs this July.

I don't think I am making excuses. An excuse would be me trying to justify my actions. Accident's do not need excuses just a reason so it can be avoided in the future

When I was hired I trained for 2 weeks in the wash room and many other area's of the plant. Maybe our wash rooms differ from that of Cintas but im pretty sure they are close to the same since our Corp office sent safety compliance managers to all of our facility locations. After the Cintas tragedy in Tulsa. Thank God they found no violations.

But if your washers are the same as ours very large doors open up machine raises up dumps clothes onto a conveyor takes to dryer and dumps in then you must have been standing close to the opening when the clothes were dumping. Which should violate your safety training im sure of that.

Or maybe you were using a small manual washer that you unload by hand into a basket. It really doesn't matter I don't think I would try to unload clothes while the machine was still turning. And I know darn good and well that the machine didn't start up and start turning so fast you couldn't pull your arm back in time.

But rest assured my friend I will search the media and OSHA sites to find out if your company was fined because of your accident. I am pretty sure I won't find anything but I better check it out for myself because I am running out of FEET.

Try not to be so defensive im not saying it was all your fault I would just like for people to stop blaming companies for everything that happens to them. It only makes it harder for employees who work safe on a daily basis and have to go thru the redundent training that accompanys every accident.

Be good and stay safe. I hope your recovery is quick and you have no lasting effects from your accident. Just J

Injured Washington worker I think I sent your sister a message about how I'd like to talk to you. She has my information, you can call or send me a message. I hope you are healing well.

I am a OSHA compliance officer. I've investigated 77 fatal accidents in my career. I've issued millions in fines and I've sent some company managers to prison. Just J, you sound a lot like the criminals I've sent to jail. If it were you or a love one having to be picked in pieces from a machine I would hope you would want justice if in fact the accident was due to company negligence. I don't believe the company is at fault all the time, just most of the time. Greed kills.

Just J wrote:

Like I said earlier If you hadn't put your arm in a moving washer/dryer whichever it was you wouldn't have been hurt.
It all goes back to common sense and aware of the machines you are working around. I am just curious if the machine hadn't shut down properly why would you place your arm into the machine without first getting facility maint to lock-out tag-out the machine and fix the problem?
I know if I put my route truck into park and it is still rolling forward im not going to step out of the truck anyway. Im going to apply the emergency brake wait for it to stop and call our fleet maint and have it fixed before I get back in.
Just some simple advice for anyone who reads this. If you have to put your arm into a machine make Damn sure the machine has stopped before you do so. And if it is not stopping the way it should or you have any doubts don't put your arm in the machine.
I know this seems harsh but I am sick of people blaming companies for their lack of common sense.
Tabacco cases are a prime example of pure stupidity. I have known since the late 70's that smoking causes cancer I never once heard any different but because of one stupid judge and a jury of complete idiots they had to pay billions of dollars to stupid people who CHOOSE to smoke those nasty things but feel it is someone else's fault they got cancer.
Don't worry Just Alice im done riding this pony. People will only change their way of thinking when they are held responsable for their own actions.
Im sorry you were hurt Wash worker and im sure you weren't thinking it would end up like this but things happen and sometimes it isn't anybody's fault just try to be careful in the future. Just J

You must be a Democrat. That would be the only reason I could think of for labeling me a criminal because I think more workers should be more safety aware and do what they are trained to do.

I would bet 10 to 1 that the washington worker in the above post was trained how to operate the washer he was unloading. And I would bet 1000 to 1 that nowhere in that training he was told to stand in front of an open washer with the tumbler still turning and unload clothes.

But still he choose to do that. Now Mr. Osha compliance officer how would that be a companys fault. The company hires, trains and has maint employee's on hand to fix faulty equipment when told about it.

Now if that company official seen Mr Washington trying to unload clothes while the tumbler was turning. And then fired Mr Washington on the spot for violating a saftey procedure without 10 prior reprimands to support their case.

Mr Worker finds a 2 bit attorney to file a wrongfull termination lawsuit against said company for not giving him several warnings prior to terminating him. But is all over blaming them when something happens.

Then yes Mr. Oshaman you can label me a criminal. Because I am sick and tired of all the cry babies in the work force today that think they have no part in their own safety.

If a company is running an unsafe work site and they are doing it with at least partial knowledge that what they are doing wrong. Than by all means string them up for. And fine the hell out of the company and the manager.

But I find it odd that I have spent countless hours in my down time just out of pure curiosity. And I have not found 1 shred of evidence that these 2 incidents were anything other than a lack of focus on either of there parts.

Yes it is tragic that a man died. But at the company I work for we use the same wash system and there is no way that man could have got caught on that conveyor like the media is reporting and dragged to the top and dumped into the dryer.
Unless he climed up there for reasons unknown and accidently fell in.

Which brings us back to the first point. Why the hell was he on a moving conveyor without turning it off first?

????????? I quess we will never know. But I can assure you of this if it was the company's fault They wouldn't have been back up in running the next day. And we would have had 1 less company to compete against.

If you can prove me wrong on any of this Mr. Oshaman I would be open to your schooling. Peace Just J

I want to say just J is right. People need to use common sense. We all know why this is in the media so much and I don't think OSHAMAN really works for OSHA. He is just another a-hole who thinks he knows what happened.

Boy! I have not been called a-hole in a long time.
What person would actually admit to working for the agency, if they did not? I'll tell you what, tell me where you work. I'll make sure your boss hears from me and then you'll be able to confirm. And to respond to your common sense "quote". Folks are trying to keep a job, so they're going to obey their boss or get canned. The worker has to be protected from the workplace, not the other way around.

Tired of hidden agendas wrote:

I want to say just J is right. People need to use common sense. We all know why this is in the media so much and I don't think OSHAMAN really works for OSHA. He is just another a-hole who thinks he knows what happened.

No, Just J I'm actually a Republican, and have been for 25 years.
You have a point on the labeling-I apologize.

Actually, Cintas operates 300 or so industrial laundries but many of them are obsolete. There are about 150 are so that are fully automated with with shuttles. I've walked up to the robots and they will whack you like you're not there. There are no safety eyes, presence sensing, or guarding. So go ahead and say what are you doing there? Well, because my job is to enter the wash alley to make adjustments.

Just J wrote:

You must be a Democrat. That would be the only reason I could think of for labeling me a criminal because I think more workers should be more safety aware and do what they are trained to do.
I would bet 10 to 1 that the washington worker in the above post was trained how to operate the washer he was unloading. And I would bet 1000 to 1 that nowhere in that training he was told to stand in front of an open washer with the tumbler still turning and unload clothes.
But still he choose to do that. Now Mr. Osha compliance officer how would that be a companys fault. The company hires, trains and has maint employee's on hand to fix faulty equipment when told about it.
Now if that company official seen Mr Washington trying to unload clothes while the tumbler was turning. And then fired Mr Washington on the spot for violating a saftey procedure without 10 prior reprimands to support their case.
Mr Worker finds a 2 bit attorney to file a wrongfull termination lawsuit against said company for not giving him several warnings prior to terminating him. But is all over blaming them when something happens.
Then yes Mr. Oshaman you can label me a criminal. Because I am sick and tired of all the cry babies in the work force today that think they have no part in their own safety.
If a company is running an unsafe work site and they are doing it with at least partial knowledge that what they are doing wrong. Than by all means string them up for. And fine the hell out of the company and the manager.
But I find it odd that I have spent countless hours in my down time just out of pure curiosity. And I have not found 1 shred of evidence that these 2 incidents were anything other than a lack of focus on either of there parts.
Yes it is tragic that a man died. But at the company I work for we use the same wash system and there is no way that man could have got caught on that conveyor like the media is reporting and dragged to the top and dumped into the dryer.
Unless he climed up there for reasons unknown and accidently fell in.
Which brings us back to the first point. Why the hell was he on a moving conveyor without turning it off first?
????????? I quess we will never know. But I can assure you of this if it was the company's fault They wouldn't have been back up in running the next day. And we would have had 1 less company to compete against.
If you can prove me wrong on any of this Mr. Oshaman I would be open to your schooling. Peace Just J

OSHAMAN wrote:

I'll tell you what, tell me where you work. I'll make sure your boss hears from me and then you'll be able to confirm.
<quoted text>

I'll tell *you* what. If you do indeed hold the position you claim to hold, tell us *your* name and we'll see how your superiors feel about your use of such veiled threats.

Personally, I think you're blowing smoke too. If you want, you can report me to the US Attorney's office.

Injured Wash. Worker have you contacted or e-mailed uniformjustice.org ? Sounds like it could be helpful.

OSHAMAN, don't listen to Just J and keep up the good work.

Injured Washington worker wrote:

Well Just J i just thought that you would like to know that I didn't stick my arm in the machine, as a matter of fact the clothes were hanging out of the machine when they wrap around my arm and pulled me in the machine. I guess if you had ever worked in a wash room you would know some of these things. So now you can pull the other foot out of your mouth and come up with another excuse .

#1 What I do from home is my business. My superiors can't say a damn thing to me. I'm not using taxpayer money to talk to a33holes like you so what of it? I have an opinion just like you do. So, to answer your question politely. The names you are requesting is classified. No, I'm serious.

Backseat Attorney wrote:

<quoted text>
I'll tell *you* what. If you do indeed hold the position you claim to hold, tell us *your* name and we'll see how your superiors feel about your use of such veiled threats.
Personally, I think you're blowing smoke too. If you want, you can report me to the US Attorney's office.

OSHAMAN wrote:

#1 What I do from home is my business.

Oh, really? You mean you can smoke pot and such as that ... as long as you're home?

I'm not using taxpayer money to talk to a33holes like you so what of it?

So you're saying that you can threaten people that do not agree with you personally with intrusive inspections and such, even with no evidence of a violation, as long as you're not 'on the clock' at the time? That seem a bit corrupt to me.

So, to answer your question politely.

Personally, I didn't think your reference to 'a33holes like you' was very polite.

The names you are requesting is classified.

Oh, I see. Top Secret, huh? Spy stuff and all that. How convenient.

Backseat Lawyer wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh, really? You mean you can smoke pot and such as that ... as long as you're home?
<quoted text>
Yes. It's called the first amendment.

So you're saying that you can threaten people that do not agree with you personally with intrusive inspections and such, even with no evidence of a violation, as long as you're not 'on the clock' at the time? That seem a bit corrupt to me.
<quoted text>
Actually, I have not been too intrusive lately, managers have been very nice. That's until they get those evil little citations, then all hell breaks loose and some of them cry like babies for their day in court. Then they get their day in court and still lose. My favorite, and you'll really appreciate this is " I'm a small employer, I didn't mean to get the guy/lady killed, we were just in a hurry to make a profit, everyone has deadlines you know." I took this from an actual interview of a company president.
So the moral of the story is while you think saving a life is intrusive, there is a worker out there that is sure happy I am intrusive, and making employers do what they're legally and morally required to do.
Personally, I didn't think your reference to 'a33holes like you' was very polite.

<quoted text>Neither was yours? See your earlier post.
Oh, I see. Top Secret, huh? Spy stuff and all that. How convenient.

Well that's Uncle Sam we love our secrets.
Stay Safe.