Gulf Shore union members are advocating for the creation of worker safety and security measures on future offshore wind energy jobsites.For 14 years, Zachary Zahn worked in the offshore oil and gas industry on the Gulf Coast, but he grew tired of what he said were unsafe working conditions and spending long stints of time away from his home., I was not on the job when it happened, but that is a good example of the dangerous situations that us workers are put in,” says Zahn.
Zahn recently joined this group, alongside other local union members from 25 labor unions in the Gulf Coast Region, to provide public comment to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management about their concerns amid the Bureau’s Proposed Sale Notice of a lease that would bring offshore wind energy to the coast.
Workers comp is typically provided by employers to cover medical costs, lost wages, illness or injuries that occur on the jobsite and compensation for families of workers that are killed on the job. “In these jobs, workers can be thrown out to the wolves on a jobsite and no person should be pushed into a difficult offshore environment without feeling safe or being properly trained, that is my biggest concern,” Zahn said.