Documents American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Washington, DC 15 results

"This 2015 edition of Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect marks the 24th year the AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America's workers. More than 510,000 workers now can say their lives have been saved since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which promised workers in this country the right to a safe job. Since that time, workplace safety and health conditions have improved, but too many workers remain at serious risk of injury, illness or death. Many preventable workplace disasters do not make the headlines, and kill and disable thousands of workers each year."

"This 2013 edition of Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect marks the 22nd year the AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America's workers. More than four decades ago, in 1970, Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising workers in this country the right to a safe job. Since that time, workplace safety and health conditions have improved. But too many workers remain at serious risk of injury, illness or death as workplace tragedies continue to remind us. In 2010, the explosion at the Massey Energy Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia - the worst coal mine disaster in 40 years - killed 29 miners, and other workplace disasters, including the BP Transocean Gulf Coast Oil rig explosion, caused widespread death and destruction as well. And a few weeks ago we witnessed the catastrophe in West, Texas, where a fire at a fertilizer distributor caused a massive explosion killing 15 people, injuring hundreds and destroying blocks of the surrounding town. But most workplace deaths occur one at a time and receive little attention. The toll to individual workers and their families is just as great. In 2011, according to final fatality data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4,693 workers were killed on the job - an average of 13 workers every day - and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. More than 3.8 million work-related injuries and illnesses were reported, but this number understates the problem. The true toll of job injuries is two to three times greater - about 7.6 million to 11.4 million job injuries and illnesses each year."

"Workplaces are much safer today than when the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was passed in 1970, which promised workers in this country the right to a safe job. The job fatality rate has been cut by 81 percent; more than 492,000 workers lives have been saved. But too many workers remain at serious risk of injury, illness or death as workplace tragedies continue to remind us. These tragedies are all preventable. The 2013 explosion at a West, Texas fertilizer plant killed 15 people, most of them volunteer emergency responders, and was caused by an unregulated chemical industry. The 2010 explosion at Massey Energy Upper Big Branch in West Virginia killed 29 miners. The 2010 BP Transocean Gulf coast rig explosion killed 11 workers and caused a major environmental disaster.
In 2012, 4,628 workers were killed on the job in the United States, and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases, resulting in a loss of 150 workers each day from hazardous working conditions. Over the past four years, the job fatality rate has largely been unchanged with a rate of 3.4 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2012."

"Since at least the 1980s, global supply chains of major brands have spread to countries where governments have demonstrated little will or capacity to regulate the many workplaces that enter into business relationships with these brands. In such places, labor laws often are weak or poorly enforced, workers' rights are not recognized and workers effectively are blocked from organizing unions and engaging in collective bargaining with employers to bring wages above poverty level. Basic safety and health standards and human rights at many of these workplaces routinely are violated. Locating production in these most precarious parts of the global supply chain has become a standard means for international brands to maximize revenues and press for an edge on their competitors by driving production costs ever lower.



This report ( English , Español ) digs underneath the façade of social auditing and certification schemes to reveal a deeply disturbing abdication of responsibilities on the part of both governments to protect human rights at the workplace and of companies to respect these rights by exercising due diligence regarding the impact of their business activities and their business relationships."

"Today, immigrant workers in this country face an epidemic of workplace injury and death. In fact, immigrant workers are at far greater risk of being killed or injured on the job than native-born workers. Overall, workplace fatalities among foreignborn workers increased by 46 percent between 1992 and 2002. Fatalities among Hispanic workers increased by 58 percent over the same period. Foreign-born workers are likely to toil in high-risk occupations, work in the unregulated, "informal" economy and often fear reporting workplace injuries. Many are not aware of their legal rights to safety and health on the job and to workers' compensation if they are injured. The AFL-CIO report, Immigrant Workers at Risk: The Urgent Need for Improved Workplace Safety and Health Policies and Programs, examines how these factors contribute to the alarming rates of injury and death on the job among immigrants and discusses the detrimental economic effects of such workplace injuries and death across society."