By Arthur J. Miller

Under capitalism the value of a worker's life is measured in the ability to produce profit, consumption for profit and to reproduce the next generation of workers. For the maximum profit in production, the cost of production must be kept as low as possible even at the expense of the safety and well-being of those that do the producing. Even in the union shops of the business unions an injured or dead worker can be placed with a simple call down to the union hall for a dispatch for a replacement.

Down at the local shipyard we were told to go down into two different tanks on a barge a remove some valves. In the first tank the lines contained Caustic Soda, which is highly corrosive. We were told to wear rubber gloves, safely glasses and the spray down the flanges with vinegar water. I asked what the danger was and the foreman told us that if we were to get any on our skin it might burn a little. When I got down into the tank, which was the pump room for the produce, I noticed that there was a full decontamination station. That set an alarm off in my head because why would they have a decontamination station down in a tank if the produce were such a minor danger. The next thing I noticed was that the valves, suction and discharge, were closed at the bulkhead, which meant the produce was isolated from the tanks that held it, and that the valves at the pumps were closed, which meant that more than likely the pipes still had the produce in and it was possible it could be under pressure.