The Brief
- A San Leandro company took center stage at a California hearing after 3 workers have died there.
- State Assmb. Liz Ortega wants to create a law to hold employers more accountable for worker safety.
- A KTVU investigation revealed Alco Iron and Metal had the most number of worker deaths at a California metal scrap company.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The deaths of three workers at a San Leandro company in the span of eight years – first exposed by KTVU – took center stage at a California hearing, where state lawmakers questioned government workplace agency leaders and vowed to make changes to increase employee safety.
“In my own district, there is a scrap metal company called Alco Iron and Metal,” Assemblywoman Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro) said. “Three workers have died there in the last [eight] years.”
3 workers die in 8 years
A KTVU investigation in April marked the deaths of Luis Guerrero this year, Ray Alfaro in 2022 and Alberto Anaya in 2017, all of whom were employees at Alco Iron and Metal. They were crushed by a forklift, crushed by a bundle of copper wire, and a collapsed screw conveyer.
The investigation found that the scrap metal company has been fined more than 60 times since the 1990s for various safety violations and has possibly the worst safety record of any similar company in California. Cal-OSHA fined the company nearly $160,000 for those three deaths. But in each case, the fines issued were either significantly reduced or are still pending, years later. …