Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglecting Workplace Safety
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
bctgm, bakers union, tobacco union, candy union, food workers, food workers union, grain millers, grain millers union, mondelez, nabisco, snack union,
8902
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-8902,single-format-standard,bridge-core-2.5.9,qode-page-transition-enabled,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode-theme-ver-24.4,qode-theme-bridge,disabled_footer_bottom,qode_header_in_grid,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.4.2,vc_responsive,elementor-default,elementor-kit-9096

09 Oct Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglecting Workplace Safety

Posted at 08:27h in AFL-CIO, Health & Safety, OSHA News by

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, affecting more than 7.4 million Americans, with more than 210,000 deaths in the United States, the AFL-CIO has released its annual Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect report, which contains data showing how the current administration’s failure to act in the past has been a main contributor to the gravity of the current public health crisis.

During a video press conference to release the report, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA) outlined the current health crisis as a product of the Trump administration’s regulatory rollbacks, weakened regulations and resource cuts to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

According to the 29th edition of the report released this week, in 2018, 5,250 working people were killed on the job and an estimated 95,000 died from occupational diseases. Each and every day, on average, 275 U.S. workers die from hazardous working conditions. The job fatality rate remained the same as the previous year—3.5 per 100,000 workers—indicating little progress on making workplaces safer in recent years.

The toll and burden of occupational injuries and illnesses continue to be enormous. Despite these disturbing findings, OSHA’s meager resources kept declining. Currently, federal OSHA has only 746 inspectors—the lowest number in the history of the agency.

Print page