Death on the Job: Worse than Reported as Latino Job Death Soars

by Mike Hall, Apr 27, 2006

On Tuesday we reported the troubling and tragic new figures on workplace deaths documented in the annual AFL-CIO Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect report, which shows for the first time in 10 years the number of workers killed on the job is climbing. Today, we learned the death toll is even worse.

More workers died in 2004 and the number of Latino workers killed on the job is now the highest since 1992.

The original figures in the 15th edition of the AFL-CIO’s Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect were based on numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which is charged with tracking workplace deaths and injuries.

BLS just released revised numbers and now reports that 5,764 workers were killed on the job in 2004—61 more job deaths than previously reported. The new death toll for Latino workers is now 902, up from the 883 BLS originally reported.

Coming a day before the official observance of Workers Memorial Day, April 28, the sad news that even more workers who were killed on the job must now be remembered in memorial and other services doesn’t change what Death on the Job says is the primary reason more workers are dying:

Very simply, workers need more job safety and health protections. The Bush administration’s lack of regulation and increased attention to employer assistance and voluntary compliance comes at the expense of worker safety and health.

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