Nearly 55 years ago on April 28, Workers Memorial Day, the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect, promising every worker the right to a safe job—our fundamental right.
The law was won because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement, which organized for safer working conditions and demanded action from the government to protect working people. Since then, unions and allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality—winning protections under the law that have made jobs safer and saved lives. But all of that is in serious danger as elected leaders threaten to cut staff, defund or outright eliminate federal job safety agencies.
The situation is dire.
EACH DAY, more than 340 workers are killed and more than 6,000 suffer injury and illness because of dangerous working conditions that are preventable. Job safety agency resources already are critically underfunded: It would take the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 185 years to inspect every workplace once, and Congress only allows the agency to spend less than $4 protecting each worker it's responsible for. Cuts to hazard investigations and coal mine inspectors take us back decades and harm workers.
Many of our hard-won workplace safety and health rights are under threat. Working people have fought for our rights for decades and still do every day—from the shop floor to the halls of government. But now under the Trump administration, new anti-regulatory attacks—such as executive orders and removal of important information from OSHA’s website—threaten the gains we have won, and will prevent OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) from setting needed job safety standards and enforcing the law. Funding and staffing cuts will make oversight on businesses nearly impossible. When no one is watching, many employers fail to do the right thing.
Our job is not finished.
We must protect the rights we have won and keep fighting for safer working conditions. Our nation’s job safety laws are dangerously weak, allowing scores of employers to violate the law without consequence or repercussion. OSHA penalties still are too low to be a deterrent. Employers retaliate against workers who speak out against unsafe working conditions. Workers still cannot freely join a union without retaliation threats from their employers. Black, Latino and immigrant workers are killed on the job at higher rates than others. Heat, workplace violence, infectious diseases and chemical exposures are dangerous and uncontrolled hazards that need to be addressed.
Together on this Workers Memorial Day, we fight for our lives and confront attacks on safety and health agencies that keep our workplaces safe—and we demand action for independent oversight. We hold employers accountable to keep workers safe. We demand more—not fewer—government resources to do this. We demand dignity at work.
Across the United States, workers will organize for strong health and safety standards from employers and governments to improve working conditions. A seat at the bargaining table can be a matter of life or death in the workplace, securing a better livelihood and safer future for workers and our families.
We will fight for our lives in the halls of government and on the shop floor. We will fight to protect our fundamental right to a safe job. Our nation’s strength depends on safe workplaces and workers who can return home to their families at the end of each shift.
