Comments on: U.S. Oilfield Deaths Skyrocket With Demand

High Prices Fetched By Gas, Oil, See Roughnecks Working Longer, Harder, Dying More Often

[usclimey]

If the moron lib-Demos had their way with OSHA and passed laws to make oil drilling ''''safe,'''' the price of gas would go to $10 per gallon. Would you like that? Would you like the lost jobs it would create? Do you like to see people unemployed?

Posted by whatwhy001

Spoken like a true office worker.

If the jobs were safer, maybe you wouldn''t have to pay 23-yr-olds $40 an hour to work them. Companies insurance would go down. It''s a total fallacy that safety costs money.

[usclimey]

To zoopster and the other GOP trolls out there - everyone in this this country deserves to have a job where the success of a days work is not measured in how many fingers you have left. Sure, some jobs are more dangerous than others, so the safety precautions on those jobs need to be more intense then on others. OSHA isn''t worth a lick since Bush and his cronies got onto it - we need to ramp up safety not drop it altogether.

[rozinante2]

Corporations maximize their returns to shareholders subject to the ENFORCEMENT of regulations - not the regulations themselves. So if OSHA is understaffed, and the fines are piddly, the regs may as well not be there. And relying on young guys who are trying to make money to oppose the boss over safety issues is a stupid idea - wimps get fired off of oil rigs.

I''ll tell you what gets the attention of drilling companies - trial lawyers!
SUE, BABY, SUE!

[hangelle]

Die in Iraq for oil. Die in oilfield in Texas for oil. Doesn''t make a *** bit of difference to these right wing nut jobs, including John McCain, who think that DRILL BABY DRILL is the answer to everything. Disgusting!

[zoopster1]

Yeah, the author of this article is not impressing me at all. Oil is just as crucial to this nation as is law enforcement and fighting fires. Yet nobody is concluding that we need to phase out police or firemen because some die in the line of duty.

The best things in life are NOT free sir. Any work that truly matters, comes with risk. We as a society have already accepted this. So go preach on some other street corner please.

[thevicar1]

the Hispanics are hard workers but lack knowledge of the oil field ------------------------------------------------------ Posted by jmagarotz


Stick a pipe in a hole, spin it around, and when the black stuff comes up, put it in a barrel...
Yeah, thats real Rocket Science...way beyond what any Hispanic guy could understand.

[upto007]

More BS so the oil people can make more money.

[jmagarotz]

Bush has gutted the OSHA, so that it can no longer do its job effectively. Bush has tried to stamp out labor unions which would give workers say-so in working conditions.

This comment is "BDS". This comes from an Oklahoma oilfield worker with 30 plus years of experience. One of the reasons for the high injury rate in the South Central US is the influx of Hispanic workers who do not have a good working knowledge of our language and they have trouble understanding some of the reasons for "safety" due to the "language barrier" (for lack of a better word).
He also states the Hispanics are hard workers but lack knowledge of the oil field. He also said the reason the companies hire Hispanics is they will WORK for $40 an hour where most 20 something white kids won''t. Go figure.

[thevicar1]

So what, they are expendable ------------------------------------------------- Posted by gop_will_win



Small price to pay to keep gas in my pick-em-up truck. That stuff dont grow on trees, ya know!

[tootall10142]

A lot of people from the cherokee nation work in the fields in oklahoma. Last month the senior drillers told thier companies four in the area. If they didnt stop sending them idiots and children to baby sit ? all the indians were going back to the tee-pee and would and can get a job in south america before morning.The companies set up a screening process where two drillers and two chemical handlers screen the new applicants.They still hire unexpierenced help but they are placed ih a area of the rig that best suits thier capabilities.The injury numbers dropped from 18- 20 a month to 6-9.The peole who run the rigs do the hiring not a secratary in the office.Every person who haqs hiring power must work or a least observe a working rig for one month before hiring any one .drug tests are performed on a rig to rig basis in a prtable lab bought bu the drilling company.Insurance dropped 38% the firsr4 year.

[gop_will_win]

So what, they are expendable.

[msimamaji]

Bush has gutted the OSHA, so that it can no longer do its job effectively. Bush has tried to stamp out labor unions which would give workers say-so in working conditions. Bush has pushed "guest worker" programs which import cheap labor and displace American working people. Far from being a maverick, McCain has rubber stamped every one of these decisions. He''s virulently anti-union.
Obama, on the other hand, has made it very clear that he stands side by side with the working man. Since I am an honorary member of USW, I get their magazine. USW endorses Obama, so does ALF-CIO. Furthermore, Obama wants to jump start a whole new green technology industry worth trillions of dollars, and generating a new generation of high quality green-collar jobs. Obama offers us a vision and a future. If American working people want a future at all - they need to vote for Obama.

[godhelptheus]

My husband is a derrickman on a land rig and yes, his job is very dangerous, but he takes every safety precaution he has learned through the years very seriously. He is a TRUE christian man and doesn''t smoke, drink alcohol or abuse drugs in any form or fashion. He makes the hour and 15 minute drive home every morning/night to be with his family, in other words, he is not what one considers to be "oilfield trash." These other very young men he works with; however, are a different story, they do go out drinking & partying at night, sleep a couple of hours and then go to work operating very heavy machinery and recklessly taking other people''s lives into their immature hands. These oilfield companies are hiring these 18-21 yr old BOYS to do the job of a man and they are too immature to handle the pressures of putting in long hours and extremely hard work. I pray every single morning/evening when my husband walks out the door for his safety and protection during his workshift and during his drive to/from the jobsite. My husband is a shining example of who needs to be working on these rigs and who you would want your son/husband working alongside, I am very proud of him.

[jckbrn-2009]

Life is about "balance" -
If there is a truck accident, shall we outlaw trucking?
If there is a death from gunshot, shall we outlaw guns?
If there is a death from drug overdose, shall we outlaw medicines?
Death is a part of life - hardship is a part of success - experience is the greatest teacher.
How can we simply say nobody should ever have to pay for anything? The 1st third of life is learning, the 2nd third of life is applying what we learned, and the final 3rd of life is reaping the rewards of the first 2/3rds - and that process doesn''t change - ever!

[slim1h2o]

An influx of new workers hired to operate all those rigs. Many of the newcomers are young, inexperienced and speak little English.



And illegal to boot!

Get ICE to Texas at once!

[oneworldusa]

I notice Exxon didn''t sponsor this article. Hmmm...

[chyenna-2009]

There are a hundred angry things I could say about this article. But I won''t. I want to address the "speed" these workers take inorder to work those long, hard hours that sounds totally insane. There is a drug called "Provigil". I don''t remember what schedule drug number it is but anyway this drug was being prescribed for patients with narcolipsy mispelled (inability to stay awake). Then it was found to be a great drug for individuals that work 12 hours or more a day, day after day. This drug was tested on monkeys. The monkeys were taking cocaine and then switched to Provigil without withdrawals. The prescribed amount would last 12 hours and then the employee could go home and get a goodnite sleep. Maybe these oil companies should send these guys to doctors, prescribe the drug then after 12 hours the med should be out of their system and then they could have a few brewskies to unwind (be sure to ask doc about drinking after drug out of system). The doctors can explain this drug better than I can, but I was on it and it was awesome. And legal. And no jitters or ching chinging like when you take coke.