AFL-CIO: Nation's Workplaces Increasingly Dangerous
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2008
12:01 PM
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CONTACT: AFL-CIO
Rachele Huennekens 202-637-5018
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Nation's Workplaces Increasingly Dangerous, Reports AFL-CIO Death on the Job Study
New Report Released Today to Mark 20th Workers Memorial Day
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WASHINGTON, DC - April 24 - The nation’s workplace safety laws and penalties are too weak to effectively protect workers, according to the new AFL-CIO annual report released today: Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect. There were a total of 5,840 fatal workplace injuries in 2006, an increase from the year before, with significant increases in fatalities among Latino and foreign-born workers.
On average, 16 workers were fatally injured and another 11,200 workers were injured or made ill each day in 2006. These statistics do not include deaths from occupational diseases, which claim the lives of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 more workers each year.
This year’s report examined job safety enforcement in cases of worker deaths, finding that the average national total penalty in fatality investigations was just $10,133. Delaware was the state with the lowest average penalties in fatality cases, with no penalties assessed, followed by Alaska, with $750 in penalties per fatality case, and by Oregon, with $793. The report also found that Oregon continued to have the lowest average penalty for serious violations of the OSHA Act, at $292 per violation, followed by South Carolina at $363.
“$10,000 for a worker’s life is an outrage!” said President John Sweeney. “It’s clear that the workplace safety net has more holes than fabric, and it is costing too many American workers their lives. Our nation’s workplaces have gotten more dangerous, not safer, under President Bush. Congress and the next President must take real action by strengthening the OSHA Act with tougher civil and criminal penalties, addressing increasing risks for Hispanic and immigrant workers, increasing funding for OSHA, and fully implementing the provisions of the MINER Act.”
The report also examined OSHA staffing levels, finding that to inspect each workplace once, it would take federal OSHA 133 years with its current number of inspectors. In seven states (Florida, Arkansas, Delaware, South Dakota, Nebraska, Georgia, and Utah), it would take more than 150 years for OSHA to visit each workplace once. In 19 more states, it would take between 100 and 149 years. The current level of federal and state OSHA inspectors provides one inspector for every 63,913 workers. This compares to a benchmark of one labor inspector for every 10,000 workers recommended by the International Labor Organization for industrialized countries.
Also notable was the finding that workplace fatalities have increased sharply since 2005 for Latino and immigrant workers. The fatality rate among Hispanic workers in 2006 was 25 percent higher than the fatal injury rate for all U.S. workers. In 2006, fatal injuries among Latino workers increased by seven percent over 2005, with 990 fatalities among this group of workers, the highest number ever reported. Since 1992, the number of fatalities among Latino workers has increased by 86 percent from 533 fatal injuries in 1992 to 990 deaths in 2006. Among foreign-born workers, job fatalities have increased by 63 percent, from 635 to 1,035 deaths.
Alaska, Wyoming, and West Virginia had the highest rates of worker fatalities in the last year while New Hampshire and Rhode Island were tied for the best record of workplace safety. Twenty-nine states saw an increase in either the rate or number of fatalities between 2005 and 2006. The construction sector had the largest number of fatal work injuries (1,239, up from 1,192 in 2005), followed by transportation and warehousing (860), and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (655). The mining industry also saw a sharp increase in fatalities, from 159 deaths reported in 2005 to 192 deaths reported in 2006.
The release of the Death on the Job report comes in advance of the 20th Workers Memorial Day, April 28th, which commemorates workers who were killed or injured in the past year. As part of the day of remembrance, community and union members from around the world will participate in hundreds of events to remember local workers and draw attention to the problem of unaddressed workplace hazards.
Also in conjunction with Workers Memorial Day, on Tuesday, April 29th, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a hearing to investigate OSHA enforcement in cases of worker fatalities. Peg Seminario, Director of Safety and Health at the AFL-CIO, will testify before the committee, arguing that the OSHA Act is too weak to protect workers and to deter employers from violating the law. The hearing will take place in Room 430 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 10:00 a.m.
For a copy of the AFL-CIO Death on the Job report, go to http://www.aflcio.org/issues/safety/memorial/.
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