June death at Cat plant was third in 30 months there

About 5 p.m. on June 6, Daulton Simmers, 28, of West Peoria, died in an accident at Cat foundry within the corporation’s Mapleton plant 13 miles southwest of Peoria. It was the third fatality there in about 30 months.

Seven weeks later, Democratic House members in Washington introduced a measure “aimed at bolstering protections for America’s workers and ensuring accountability for employers who flout labor and employment laws.”

Their Labor Enforcement to Securely (LET’S) Protect Workers Act was introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) — ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce — and House Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), and Steven Horsford (D-Nev.).

The measure would increase penalties for health and safety violations and would close a loophole letting employers avoid penalties for not keeping records. The group noted workplace injuries, wage theft and union busting by employers that “know that even if a resource-starved Department of Labor catches a violation, the penalties are a mere slap on the wrist.”

Simmers, a supplemental worker who’d started at Cat less than two months earlier, was trying to transfer molten metal from a furnace into a smaller container when the super-heated material spilled and engulfed him. Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkin she died instantly.

The Peoria office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened its case on June 6 and continues to investigate.

Earlier fatalities include Cat worker Steven Dierkes, a 39-year-old Peorian, who in June of 2022, died in a fall into an 11-foot pot of iron heated to more than 2,000 degrees. OSHA reported that about 11 that morning, Dierkes, who was new to the job, was on a melt deck using a tool to collect an iron sample when he lost his balance and fell into the vat.

OSHA investigated and determined that Caterpillar had not installed required safety measures. Federal safety regulations require employers to install guardrails and restraint systems, or to cover or otherwise eliminate the hazard to protect workers from falls into dangerous equipment.

“Caterpillar’s failure to meet its legal responsibilities to ensure the safety and health of workers leaves this worker’s family, friends and co-workers to grieve needlessly,” said Peoria’s former OSHA Area Director Christine Zortman then. “We implore employers to review the agency specific regulations to protect workers from falls into equipment in industrial settings.”

Citing Caterpillar for a willful violation, OSHA proposed fines totaling $145,027, but the agency’s Inspection Detail report is not closed, indicating the employer is contesting the fine.

 “A worker’s life could have been spared if Caterpillar had made sure required safety protections were in place, a fact that only adds to this tragedy,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Bill Donovan in Chicago. “Producing more than 150,000 tons each year, Caterpillar’s foundry is one of the nation’s largest and they should be acutely aware of industry regulations to protect workers using smelters and other dangerous equipment.”

Months before, in December 2021, 50-year-old Scott Adams of East Peoria perished in a 20-foot fall at Mapleton, where some 800 people work.

A member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers employed by subcontractor Schaefer Electric (Tegco Inc.), Adams was preparing a bid for a job by lead contractor Illinois Crane, and he stepped off a ladder and fell about 20 feet through a hole to his death.

OSHA cited Illinois Crane with one willful violation for failing to ensure the use of personal fall arrest systems and adequate floor hole covers or guardrail systems, and the agency proposed a fine of $87,016 against Illinois Crane.

Shaefer Electric also was cited, for a serious violation for failing to inspect the job site and evaluate for hazards, and to train workers to recognize fall hazards or take appropriate safety precautions to minimize danger. The agency proposed $10,151 in penalties.

OSHA said Adams’ death was avoidable.

“Our investigation found that the use of required fall protection could have prevented this tragedy,” said Peoria’s former OSHA Area Director Barry Salerno then. “Falls are one of the leading causes of serious injuries and deaths in the construction industry, and too often employees work at heights greater than six feet without fall safety equipment. Employers are legally obligated to follow safety standards and protect workers.”

Initially fined a total of $116,021, the two employers eventually paid a total of $43,508 in a settlement, and the case is closed.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has raised more than $10,000 for Simmers’ funeral expenses and family assistance.

And in Washington, the House Democrats advocating for reforms said, “People should be able to come home at the end of the day — alive, well, in one piece, and with all the wages they worked hard to earn.”