by Shane Henson — June 10, 2013—An employee’s risk of dying on the job due to a lack of safety measures in place and other problems is still unconscionably high, according to a new report just released by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) union.
The report, Death on the Job, should be a wake-up call for managers and anyone charged when ensuring employees’ safety. According to the report, in 2011, 4,693 workers were killed on the job—an average of 13 workers every day. In addition, another estimated 50,000 die every year from occupational diseases—an average of 137 a day, bringing the total worker fatalities to 150 a day.
North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Arkansas had the highest workplace fatality rates, while New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Washington had the lowest. Latino workers, especially those born outside of the United States, continue to face rates of workplace fatalities 14 percent higher than other workers.
The report notes that the job fatality rate had been declining steadily for many years, but in the past three years the rate has essentially been unchanged, at 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Similarly, for the past two years, there has been no change in the reported workplace injury and illness rate (3.5 per 100 workers).
The report also examines the role of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 43 years after its creation. It finds that OSHA remains underfunded and understaffed, and that penalties are too low to deter violations. Because of the underfunding, federal OSHA inspectors can only inspect workplaces once every 131 years on average, and state OSHA inspectors would take 76 years to inspect all workplaces, says the AFL-CIO.
OSHA penalties are too low to be taken seriously, let alone provide deterrence, AFL-CIO adds. The average penalty is only $2,156 for a serious federal health and safety violation, and only $974 for a state violation. Also problematic is that criminal penalties under OSHA are weak, says the AFL-CIO. While there were 320 criminal enforcement cases initiated under federal environmental laws and 231 defendants charged in fiscal year 2012, only 84 cases related to worker deaths have been prosecuted since 1970, the organization says.
“In 2013, it is unacceptable that so many hardworking men and women continue to die on the job,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, commenting on the report. “No one should have to sacrifice his or her life or health and safety in order to earn a decent living. Yet, elected leaders, business groups and employers have failed to provide adequate health and safety protections for working families. At the same time, too many politicians and business leaders are actively working to dismantle working people’s right to collectively bargain on the job and speak out against unsafe, unjust working conditions. This is a disgrace to all those who have died. America’s workers deserve better.”
