(Washington,
D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate
Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee, sent a letter to Steven Newman,
the CEO of Transocean, demanding copies of legal waivers that surviving crew
members of the Deepwater Horizon were reportedly
forced to sign following the oil rig explosion. Murray called on the
company to increase worker safety and fully respect worker rights in the wake
of these disturbing allegations.
“Reports
of the callous treatment of Transocean’s workers in the hours following the explosion
of their rig make this disaster even more of a tragedy,” Senator Murray said.
“These reports suggest that Transocean put their bottom line above safety
standards, environmental impact and, unconscionably, the well-being of their
workers. Transocean needs to produce the requested documents so we can
get to the bottom of exactly how this situation was handled. Workers everywhere
should feel confident that their employer is putting their safety first and I
am committed to getting to the bottom of these allegations and ensuring that
this company is held accountable for any wrongdoing against their workers.”
In
her capacity as Chair of the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee,
Senator Murray has held hearings looking into worker safety violations in such
operations as coal mines, sugar plants and oil refineries. She has also been outspoken about the need to
protect American taxpayers from the costs of cleaning up this disaster.
The
full text of Senator Murray’s letter follows:
Steven L. Newman
President and CEO
Transocean
P.O. Box 2765
Houston, Texas 77252-2765
Mr. Newman:
The
events surrounding the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon have
become a major concern for myself, Washingtonians and the American public. While
I am extremely concerned by the environmental and economic impact of the
ongoing uncapped oil spill, the treatment and safety of your workers has also
been called into question.
I
have become aware that Transocean may have coerced several survivors of the
Deepwater Horizon to sign legal documents to effectively waive their rights to
future medical care and reimbursement. More specifically, several news outlets
have reported that members of the surviving crew of the Deepwater Horizon were
not allowed to contact or rejoin their families and loved ones until they
signed documents waiving some of their legal recourses against
Transocean.
I
am concerned that these documents were acquired while the surviving crew was
under duress. I have also contacted the Department of Justice to
determine whether any of the aforementioned actions are in violation of any
criminal or civil statutes.
I
am formally requesting a copy of the legal documents that the surviving crew
members of the Deepwater Horizon signed, as well as a full list of your
employees forced into signing such documents. Furthermore, I am
requesting a full account from the crewmembers who signed these legal
documents. The allegations concerning Transocean are extremely
troublesome and are cause for deep concern – America’s workers deserve better.
It
is bad enough that too many of our workers have become subject to unsafe work
environments; it is unacceptable that Transocean has allegedly taken advantage
of these same workers. I expect that your company has significant and
substantive plans to increase worker safety and to fully respect worker rights
in the wake of these disturbing allegations. In the meantime, I appreciate your
cooperation with my request and I look forward to reviewing the requested
documents.
Sincerely,
Patty
Murray
United
States Senator
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