5-06-09, 9:03 am
My brother, Gary, was killed on the job, at a plant called Meadville Redi-Mix. His family, his friends, his future was robbed when he fell 25 feet to his death. Sent to clean and shovel gravel in his final hour, all alone at the top of a concrete tower. On a dangerous loft without being tied off, with no safety equipment or warning signs up. And when the OSHA man came, the Company claimed, they didn’t send him up there, they weren’t to blame.
(Chorus) Two 9-11’s, 6,000 a year, so much injustice, so many tears; Who will rise up and wipe away their fears, so my brother did not die in vain? A steelworker’s son who knew right from wrong, he worked hard and lived in quiet dignity. From the school of hard knocks at the bottom of Mckees Rocks, he took good care of his family. He got a job close to home to look after his sons, he did it with love, whatever had to be done. And though the job wasn’t safe and the pay wasn’t good, he wanted to help them out all that he could. To always be there, for his family and wife; they were the light , the love of his life.
(Chorus)
From the time I was born, he took me under his arms, made me feel like we were a team. He protected and taught me, through school he brought me; he was the ultimate little sister’s dream. He bore his burden like a saint without any complaints; a finer father, a finer husband a finer brother there ain’t. He was my knight in shining armour, my hero, my friend. A giant among workers, a good union man What I am, I owe it all to him; I owe everything I am to him.
(Chorus)
After OSHA inspected they blindly accepted that he wandered up there all on his own. The game was the same, the victim’s to blame; the fix it was on once again. And though this Company was fined on past numerous times, for safety violations of all serious kinds, It’s just a ‘Class B’ misdemeanour, a travesty still, when a worker on the job gets injured or killed. It’s negotiate with the devil to downgrade the level, the Company gets a voice, the victims family no choice. And after the ‘Abatement’, OSHA issued their statement: A six-thousand dollar fine for not posting a sign. Another white-wash, another criminal gets off; Another worker, another brother is lost.
(Chorus) Two 9-11’s, six-thousand a year, so much injustice, so many tears. Well dry your weary eyes, wipe away your fears. His body’s in the grave, his spirit’s still here. I found my salvation, my mission is clear. I’ll fight for the rights of those injured and maimed. Their cause in my heart will remain – my brother did not die in vain. My brother, Gary, did not die in vain.
Words & music by Mike Stout, March 2009
Mike Stout (http://www.mikestoutmusic.com) is an artist, a community leader and activist and a true spokesman for the working class who justly deserves his title “the World’s Grievance man’”. He has toured Europe and the US, and has produced many CD’s delivering his message of solidarity through his music.
Mike performed this song ’’My Brother Did Not Die in Vain” at Workers’ Memorial Day in Pittsburgh, on 4/28/2009. This song is especially important to me because it’s about my brother, Gary Puleio, who was killed on August 15, 2001 due to unsafe working conditions. Gary was killed on the job at Meadville Redi-Mix concrete plant He had been employed there only 3 months as a cement truck driver and fell 25 feet to his death, from a cement tower, while shoveling gravel off the hopper to clean it. The company claimed Gary just wandered up there on his own, without wearing any safety equipment, at the end of his driving shift rather than being assigned this dangerous task because he was the “new man”.
OSHA accepted this implausible story and after admitting no wrong doing, the company paid a $6000 fine for REPEAT violations for not posting danger signs at a confined space This company had multiple serious violations issued only months before Gary was killed which were informally settled with reduced fines.
