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As OSHA Turns 40, A Look Forward
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AFL-CIO Media Outreach Fellow Nora Frederickson sends us this report on a discussion at the Center for American Progress on the future of Americans’ health and safety at work.
Since 1970, workers in every state have counted on workplace inspections, whistleblower protections, and standard safety regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to keep them safe at work. Today, unions and their partners in business are expanding their roles in helping OSHA protect workers today, according to panelists at “OSHA at 40,” a discussion at the Center for American Progress on Thursday featuring David Michaels, Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. In two separate panels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michael laid out OSHA’s plans for the future and talked with representatives from the labor, business and academic communities about how to adapt safety regulation for the changing workplace.
In her remarks, AFL-CIO Director of Safety and Health Peg Seminario highlighted the important role of working relationships between unions, OSHA, and employers in responding to unsafe workplaces and designing preemptive regulations.
When unions bargain with employers, one of the primary focuses is setting standards for safety and health. Unions fought to get OSHA passed in 1970, and when you look at standards set over the years, virtually all of those standards came because unions petitioned OSHA for them. Now, drawing on preexisting OSHA standards, unions and employers do the day-in, day-out work that can’t be covered by OSHA.
Businesses and workers alike recognize the importance of building strong worker safety programs at the workplace. Cathy Stoddart, an SEIU member and staff nurse at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, testified about her involvement an active member of the hospital’s LifeSafety program, a partnership between SEIU and management that provides safety training for nurses and organizes preemptive inspections.
Injuries take experienced nurses away from the patients who need them, and management knows that. Management doesn’t want people hurt on the job, but they recognize that if there aren’t people in the workplace who aren’t trained in safety and health, their new policies don’t go anywhere.
Mike Weibel, a Steelworker with Goodyear Tires in Topeka, Kan., had his first brush with workplace injuries and fatalities shortly after he had started working at Goodyear, when he saw a man crushed by machinery. Now, as a safety and health coordinator for his factory, Weibel works with management to preempt similar tragedies, relying on workers’ observations and expertise to recommend changes to safety procedures. Says Weibel:
Workers’ eyes on the floor are my most valuable tool in adjusting our safety practices.
OSHA’s 40th anniversary celebrations will continue next week. In conjunction with Workers Memorial Day, the AFL-CIO will release, “Death on the Job,” a report comparing worker fatalities and safety protections in all 50 states. The AFL-CIO has also launched a website detailing nationwide events for Workers Memorial Day to commemorate those who were injured or killed on the job last year. Visit the Workers Memorial Day website to find an event near you—and stay tuned for more information next week.
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3 Comments
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My uncle, Ronald McCann, formerly a steel worker, was one of the early OSHA members who helped write many of the laws currently on the books. He and his family suffered terribly under the Reagan adminstration, and he more than once experienced attempts and threats on his life. OSHA may seem like a distant government agency, but these people fight for all of us and our right to be safe in our own work places. The job is far from done, and my uncle (now retired) will be the first to tell anyone that. So, let’s not just celebrate and remember, but let’s move forward in finding out ways to help OSHA and continue to improve worker safety in this country for everyone.
worker safety is not a big issue with teabaggers. watch them target safety in congress and in the state houses
They have already attacked safety in Michigan. The very first week they were in office they voted to repeal the ergonomic laws that were in place. Sound familiar? George Bush signed a law the first day in office to roll back ergonomic rules that Bill Clinton signed just before he left office that put those same rules in place. Business had fought them with everything they had to fight with.The Emperor’s of Business or the Republicans don’t want us to have any of the money in this country and it looks as if they really don’t care if we all end up mangled or dead on the job.