BY GARY BOYERS
DETROIT - Marvin Cosby and John Fox, steelworkers at National Steel's Great Lakes Division, were crushed under 100 tons of metal August 23. The workers, trestlemen at the mill's blast furnace on Zug Island, were killed when a breeze bin collapsed onto the shanty where they were taking a break. Local police and firefighters from the city of River Rouge were summoned at 3:53 a.m., nearly 40 minutes after the accident. The local authorities had never dealt with an industrial accident of this magnitude, and turned the rescue operation over to the steel mill workers. River Rouge police detective Sgt. John Keck praised the rescue effort by steelworkers on the scene.

"There were some real feats of heroism." Steelworkers "responded immediately, trying to find out if anyone was in there in very unsafe conditions," Keck said. The workers devised a plan to get the men out without injuring them further. The detective said "I've never seen a group of guys act with such respect and professionalism when one of their own went down." It took nearly 12 hours to recover the two bodies. Cosby, 32, had just under two years in the plant while Fox, 21, had a year and a half's seniority.

Cosby was the father of three small children, while Fox left behind a three-week old daughter. Members of Steelworkers Local 1299 at Great Lakes donated more than $10,000 to the families of their two co-workers.

Earlier this year, the Michigan Occupational and Safety Administration fined the Great Lakes division more than $10,000 for "infractions" related to the Memorial Day death of James Brillhart in the plant's Cold Mill. Brillhart, a 43- year-old crane repairman, was crushed to death by an adjacent crane while helping to repair an out-of-service unit.

Gary Boyers is a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 1299 at National Steel's Great Lakes mill.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home