A vigil will be held tomorrow to honor the life of José Lainez, who died helping build bridges between Highways 183 and 290.
Lainez, who was originally from Honduras, had worked as a construction worker in Austin for the past twelve years. He was 54 at the time of his death, and in reportedly good health.
The deceased’s family contends that his death was caused by heat exhaustion, brought on by a lack of rest and water breaks.
An Austin City Council ordinance, passed in July 2010, requires employers to provide construction workers with water and rest breaks. There is no state law that requires such breaks.
Texas remains the deadliest state in the nation for construction workers, according to the Workers’ Defense Project, an advocacy group that is organizing the vigil.
A recent report, released by the University of Texas and Workers’ Defense project, found that a Texas construction worker dies on the job every 2.5 days, and nearly 16,900 accidents occur annually.
Thevigilwill take place at El Shaddi Church, across the construction site where Lainez worked. The vigil starts at 8:15 p.m.
