BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Nearly four decades after Connecticut's deadliest construction disaster, workers, union leaders, and public officials gathered to remember the 28 lives lost in the L’Ambiance Plaza collapse and to issue fresh warnings about the consequences of federal cutbacks on jobsite safety oversight.

Chris Michailidi, a former ironworker who witnessed the collapse from a nearby job site in 1987, still recalls the horrifying moment with vivid clarity.

“The next thing I know, it's down,” Michailidi said. “I mean, it happened just that fast. One slab hits the next below, and then it just pancakes right down.”

He estimated that it took less than five seconds for the 16-story residential building under construction to collapse in what would become the worst construction accident in Connecticut’s history.

“I was having a cigarette break nearby,” Michailidi said. “We were watching concrete being pumped out. The sight of it pancaking is something I’ll never forget.”

The disaster not only devastated families and communities—it changed how construction safety is regulated in the state. The lift-slab method used on the project, which involved pouring concrete floors on the ground and raising them into place using hydraulic jacks, was later banned in Connecticut after OSHA determined that a slab slipped during lifting, triggering a catastrophic chain reaction.

“We honor not just the lives lost but the lessons learned,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who spoke at Wednesday’s memorial outside Bridgeport City Hall. “What we're seeing in Washington these days is a neglect of that solemn responsibility. We need to redouble our efforts in the name and the honor of the 28 people we remember today.”

The memorial service, held annually on April 23, has become a solemn tradition and a rallying point for labor advocates who fear that recent federal budget decisions could roll back progress made since the tragedy.

Ed Hawthorne, president of Connecticut’s AFL-CIO, issued a stark warning about the state of worker protections across the country.

“Make no mistake about it, workers' health and safety is more at risk now than it has been in decades,” Hawthorne said. “From the gutting of [the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] NIOSH to proposals to literally eliminate [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] OSHA, the situation is dire.”

Connecticut currently has the third lowest rate of worker fatalities in the nation, which Hawthorne credits in large part to union advocacy and consistent safety oversight. But he cautioned that those hard-won protections could erode quickly.

“Labor unions fought for these safeguards, and they continue to fight to keep them in place,” he said. “Federal cutbacks threaten to undo decades of progress.”

Michailidi, who retired in 2018, said he had only refused to work on two jobs in his entire career—and one was L’Ambiance Plaza.

“I didn’t trust the lift-slab technique,” he said. “Once you raise those floors and weld in wedges, the only thing keeping it up is that weld. If something slips, it’s all over. And that’s exactly what happened.”

As attendees laid flowers and shared memories, several said the anniversary should serve as a reminder that worker safety is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.

“None of these men should have died,” Blumenthal said. “And we can’t let future policy failures create another L’Ambiance.”

Originally reported by Eddy Martinez in Ct Public News.