Tom Hallman

Philip Nettles

What is the SEC?

The mission of the SEC is to increase

the quality of life for ALL scaffold
professionals across the board.

The Scaffold Erectors Coalition (SEC) is a grassroots movement

dedicated to all scaffold professionals including but not limited to:
scaffold erectors, sales professionals, management, employees,
and the companies themselves.
We are vested in increasing the quality of life for all scaffold
professionals across the board. As an organization we intend to
have our voices heard in all matters related to scaffolding
including but not limited to:

Having the Department of Labor (DOL) recognize the

erection, dismantle, and modification of scaffolding as
a trade rather than consider it a support craft for
other trades as it is considered in the current format.
Lobbying the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) as well as the American
National Standard Institute (ANSI) to increase the
standards for scaffolding.

We will also offer services to our members including but not limited
to discounted safety equipment, discounted tools, upgraded
training programs, site, office, and warehouse safety audits,
quarterly newsletters, webinars, and SEC merchandise.
The SEC has chosen the format of being consider a coalition due
to the definition of a coalition in todays age.
A coalition is a group of people or groups who have joined
together for a common purpose or the action or process of joining
together with another or others for a common purpose.

THE PETITION
SCAFFOLD BUILDERS AND
USERS DEMAND THAT
WE AS SCAFFOLD
BUILDERS BE
RECOGNIZED AS A TRADE

We the professional scaffold builders and

users in America demand that we be
recognized as a trade by the Department
of Labor and all others. We feel if would
be an overall improvement to our working conditions, training, safety
as well as the profession. We as scaffold builders work in some of the
most hazardous conditions. At heights, around line leaks in refineries,
chemical plants, paper mills, and the like. Also in high heat conditions
around coal fired boilers. We work in areas where asbestos, lead
paint and other site conditions make our long term health a
concern. The platforms and structures we build are for other trades to
perform their daily duties as safe as possible. So we demand that we
as professional scaffold builders and scaffold users to be recognized
as a trade .

THE PETITION

SOME COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS FROM THE PETITION

Art Buchanan said: All scaffolders can be Carpenters , but not all
Carpenters can be scaffolders !
Marty Belcher said: Ive been in the scaffold business for 28 years
and we are always the first ones in and the last one out and the
lowest paid! they dont consider scaffold building a craft. Without
scaffold builders how are you going to get to all the places you
cant reach. Scaffold builders put there life on the line every day
so other craft can do a safe and productive job

SOME COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS FROM THE PETITION

Colette Dodds said: Yes they should be recognized as a trade I
worked on scaffolds in my trade and they have to be safe and
you need to know what you are doing So yes this is important to
the other workers
Chris Ferguson said : We are set apart from regular carpenters
and have been for a long time. Our trade takes a special skill and
understanding as well as a special breed of folks. Most carpenters
wouldnt do what we do. We deserve our own trade status as it
has been paid for by sweat and blood and many hard years by
all who are and have been in this trade.

CLICK HERE
TO SIGN THE
PETITION

Although scaffolding has fallen under the carpentry blanket for

many years and was birthed as a discipline of carpentry originating
from wood scaffold in the days of old; we have evolved into
using predominantly steel scaffolding for commercial and industrial
applications. With this evolution little has been done to update the
existing standards.

Having scaffold recognized as its own trade will provide many

benefits for the scaffold erector, company, worker, and user alike.
We will campaign OSHA to review and amend their standards
concerning the erection, dismantle, and modification of
scaffolding providing a way to mandate training and have
certified scaffold erectors instead of just qualified and
competent persons, paving the way to get tighter
regulations enacted on scaffolding.
We will also campaign to mandate upgraded training for the
scaffold user as well.

Having scaffold recognized as its own trade will also

benefit the workers by training that would be proprietary
to the trade. The training that is available would be revised
and updated producing new criteria and modules. The
trade would be able to then mandate and provide
credentials for certified scaffold erectors rather than
have just qualified erectors as in the present time.

Having scaffold recognized as its own trade coupled with

the new training standards would put a stop to other trade
workers taking a class (or in some instances not) and beginning
to build scaffold as the USW workers did on the Capitol
Building Dome Project in Washington D.C. This is not the only
instance where this happens.

Block masons and bricklayers erect scaffolding that is unsafe

and pile hundreds of pounds of mud and brick on the boards at a
time then place men on the boards to work. Insulation companies
have crews erect their own scaffold, insulate, and dismantle the
scaffold in many places.

These are not professional scaffold erectors but yet

tradesman in their respected trade taking a 40 hour
scaffold class, receiving a card, and then being sent to
erect scaffold that they have limited experience erecting.

The SEC member services that we intend to provide will benefit the
member at the individual and the corporate level. Currently we will
be the voice for all scaffold professionals campaigning to have
scaffold recognized as a trade.
We have started working on some and will be adding more shortly
providing an array of services to our members including but not
limited to:
Consultations
Reference Help Desk
Webinars
Site Safety Audits
Discounted Tools
Seminars
SEC Merchandise
Discounted Safety Gear
Podcast
Interactive webpage
Scaffold Industry RSS Feed
Newsletter

The mission of the SEC is to increase

the quality of life for ALL scaffold
professionals across the board.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

SEC WEBSITE
SIGN PETITION
PRINT FILES

Connect with us on social media

Print information to distribute