President of the New York City District Council of Carpenters, Paul Capurso, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the events of Sept 11, 2001, from his first-hand experience. Capurso also discussed his work with the World Trade Center Health Monitoring Program and the importance of remembrance.
On Sept 11, 2001, Capurso was working on a project inside one of the World Trade Center buildings. He was supposed to be in a meeting but had to leave to visit another site before the meeting. Immediately after the accident, the trades responded along with first responders to provide access and search for survivors. There were several trades, from Carpenters to Iron Workers, that put aside all their plans to do what they could to help.
Capurso works with the World Trade Center Health Monitoring Program and believes anyone involved in the recovery work after Sept 11 should seek the program out for more help. After seeing many members lose their lives due to illness from the disaster, it is one of the most helpful programs for the event survivors. The NYCDCC holds a yearly memorial for the 18 members who lost their lives and are now commemorated on a wall of honor.
Sept. 11 is a time to reflect and improve our reactions to major disasters. It’s not only changed our emergency preparedness and reactions, but Capurso said he believes it’s changed the country for the better. Each day a tradesperson looks at the Sept 11 Memorial, it should serve as a reminder of when the trades worked together to recover from a major disaster, Capurso said.
For more from Capurso, please listen to the show above.