Five congressmen called for a nationwide investigation of machinery safety hazards at the nation's largest uniform service following the death of a worker who got caught in a dryer at the Tulsa plant.

Cintas Corp. employee Eleazar Torres-Gomez died March 6 when he was dragged by a conveyor into a dryer and became trapped for at least 20 minutes. The dryers can reach a temperature of 300 degrees.

In a letter to Occupational Safety and Health Administration Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke Jr., the congressmen allege the death could have been prevented because a 2005 OSHA memo warned that special protection was needed for the type of equipment used at the Tulsa plant.

The March 9 letter also suggests that Cintas knew about reports of hazards at the Tulsa facility.

The letter was signed by Reps. Lynn Woolsey (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif.; Phil Hare (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill.; Tim Bishop (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y.; Donald Payne (news, bio, voting record), D-N.J., and Carol Shea-Porter (news, bio, voting record), D-N.H. All are members of a House subcommittee that deals with workplace issues.

"It's more important to protect the lives and welfare of your work force than it is to make a dollar," Hare said Tuesday. He said he plans to ask for a congressional hearing on Torres-Gomez's death.

Cintas spokeswoman Pamela Lowe said she has not seen the 2005 OSHA memo. The Tulsa plant is equipped with safeguards from the manufacturer, and the company's safety record is 30 percent better than plants of similar size, she said.

"We have worked closely with OSHA over the years to quickly resolve any issue they identify and will continue to do so," Lowe said.

An OSHA official said Tuesday that the agency was reviewing the letter and referred questions to the Department of Labor. An official there declined to comment.

The death of Torres-Gomez was the second serious incident within Cintas in two weeks, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said. In February, an employee's arm was shattered in a washing machine in Yakima, Wash., the union said.

Cincinnati-based Cintas employs more than 32,000 in 350 locations and makes worker uniforms for various industries, according to the company's Web site.