CCDS FORUM & DISCUSSION BOARD

NAME: Frank S. Rosenthal, Ph.D.
EMAIL: Targ@polsci.purdue.edu
DATE: 05/08/2007

TITLE: Workers Memorial Day 2007 (Speech)

Speech presented by Frank S. Rosenthal
Associate Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN

April 28, 2007

Thank you for inviting me to speak at this event. It is a privilege and an honor to be asked to contribute my thoughts to this very important topic of worker safety and health. Worker’s Memorial Day has a spiritual side and a political, organizing side. We remember the dead and the injured – what they meant and mean to their family, friends and to their community. We also try and take stock of why it happens and what we can do to fight for safer and healthier workplaces. Not every workplace accident can be foreseen, but the vast majority can be prevented.

I want to do two things in my talk with you today. I want to tell you about some statistics of death and injury on the job. And then I want to talk to you about what needs to be done to improve those statistics.

In preparing this talk, I was reminded by a quote by Dr. Irving Selikoff, a renowned occupational physician who worked with labor organizations, studying the statistics relating asbestos exposure to lung cancer and other diseases. And he once said: “statistics are human beings with the tears wiped away.” He was not in any way diminishing the importance of statistics in studying diseases; rather he was emphasizing the reason that all these faceless numbers are important.

Let’s look at some statistics to see where we stand.

If you read some news stories and government reports, there was a drop in the number of workplace fatalities in the last reported year -- 2005. However, if you read deeper, you see a different reality. The drop was about one half of one percent. In the previous year the toll increased by over 3%. Overall, despite claims of “progress” by politicians, the worker fatality rate has stayed almost constant for at least a decade. We must ask why it is so difficult for this advanced society to reduce its worker death toll. Let me give you a couple of comparisons that may help to bring this into focus. When OSHA was founded the rate of workplace deaths was more than 4 times what it is today. Yes, OSHA has its problems, but just think -- there was a time not long ago when the right of workers to safe workplace was not even recognized on a national level. Despite the fact that OSHA does not visit a small fraction of US workplaces; despite the fact that OSHA fines were ridiculously low, great progress was made during those initial years.

What about other countries? The U.S.-- a leader in the world economy -- does not lead in workplace safety. Its worker death rate is 6 times that of the United Kingdom. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that in the US there is 1 OSHA inspector for every 54,000 workers, whereas in the UK the numbers is 1 in 2300. By the way, within the U.S., Indiana is not doing so well. Its rate of workplace fatalities is 40% higher than the national average. And if we look at construction workers alone, who are at much higher risk, Indiana’s rate is about 64% higher than the national average.

We get a little more insight if we look at worker subgroups. Hispanic workers still die at about a 20% higher rate than other workers, and when we look at construction workers alone, the disparity is much greater. Deaths for agricultural workers increased last year. Construction jobs continue to account for over 1 out of every 6 workplace deaths, with construction laborers at greatest risk. In the latest available statistics, workplace deaths of youths, under age 19, increased by almost 20%, from 141 to 166. So the basic problem of death on the job continues, with some aspects of it getting worse.

So what do we do about it?

We know what’s wrong. But how can we fix it? What solutions do we have? It is a reasonable question. And over the last few days, I have putting together a list of some very straightforward things that need to be done. So here are a few things for starters…

1. First we have to increase the criminal penalties for worker fatalities. A willful violation of OSHA regulations resulting in a worker death now has a maximum penalty of only 6 months in prison. That should be 10 years. It’s worse than negligent homicide because it potentially endangers many other workers.

2. And we need to bring more of cases these to trial. Of the 170,000 workplace fatalities since 1982, including over 2000 involving willful violations, only 196 were referred to prosecutors. Since the OSHA was enacted, only 16 employers have served jailed time for killing workers. All willful violations resulting in death should routinely be referred to the Justice Department and to the States Attorneys (e.g. Indiana) for review for possible criminal prosecution, which as I understand now is rarely done.

3. We need to issue an ergonomics standard to protect workers from carpal tunnel syndrome, back injuries and other work stress injuries. OSHA spent 10 -20 years working on an ergonomics standard. It went through exhaustive hearings and scientific review and was finally released only to be knocked down – within a few months -- by an unprecedented act of the Republican Congress. At the same time the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are almost 400,000 cases of ergonomic injuries that resulted in lost workdays. It’s time that that the ergonomics standard be enacted. It’s ready to go.

And while we are at it… Let’s break the overall logjam on OSHA regulations. . OSHA during the Bush years has issued less new standards than any other period in OSHA’s history. Only one standard has been issued -- and that one was forced into law by a court order.

4. We need to increase funding to OSHA and NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The programs are pennies in the national budget. But they make a difference. With three days of expenditure for the Iraq War we could double the yearly budget of OSHA and NIOSH combined.

5. We need to put serious qualified people in charge of our safety and health agencies. Let’s talk about Ed Foulke, the current head of OSHA. He comes from a law firm specializing in busting unions. Foulke started his term as OSHA head with a “blame the victims” slide show presentation called “Adults do the Darndest things”. It showed workers in odd dangerous positions misusing ladders and scaffolds. Unfortunately he was not talking about the “adults” who managed those worksites or were responsible for training those workers, or providing them their equipment. . Many people were not amused. And Richard Stickler, the current head of MSHA… His appointment was rejected by a Republican dominated Senate. They sent it back to Bush, expressing concern about Stickler’s dismal safety record at mines he, himself had managed. They asked for another nominee. Bush then sent back to the Senate the same name: Richard Stickler. They rejected Stickler a second time. But now if you look on the Internet, who is the head of MSHA? It’s Richard Stickler! Bush went around the Senate and installed him as a “recess appointment”. It is a case of the fox guarding the chickens. Stickler had the audacity to say, right after the Sago disaster last year, that “no new regulations were necessary”. Fortunately, new regulations were enacted by Congress and the West Virginia State legislature. Instead of these unqualified political hacks, the government should draw on the scores of high level safety and health professionals in this country, who have the experience, the dedication and would be superb for heading these agencies.

6. We need to act on protecting the most vulnerable groups, immigrant workers, youth workers, older workers, e.g. by providing special regulations with targeted training programs to these groups provided at no cost to the workers.

7. We must act to protect millions of workers who are not covered by OSHA regulations, including many public service workers. Legislation acting on this has been re-introduced into the U.S. Senate just a few days ago. It was rejected by the last Congress. Hopefully it will fare better with this one.

All of these things are doable and would probably have a dramatic impact on fatality and injury statistics. Many can be done with the stroke of a pen. But they require the political will to do them. This is where the statistics leaves off and the citizen action and organizing comes in.

Frederick Douglas the abolitionist said “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”. That applies to this as well. Without grassroots and political action, it is unlikely things will change. We get surges of action after disasters, like the Sago mine disaster. But we have to find a way to build up a more continuous movement for health and safety reform. Labor organizations are obviously key. It was labor activism that got OSHA founded 37 years ago. And is the only thing that can make a difference now. Congratulations to those of you who put safety and health high on your union agenda. But we have to be continually vigilant. Health and safety must be a movement within the labor movement. Let’s spread the word to our coworkers and within our organizations. We must hold our politicians, our government, and sometimes even our union leaders, accountable. There are things that can be done to address the statistics and the tears.

Frank S. Rosenthal, Ph.D.

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