AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s cuts, including terminating nearly 900 workers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):
Every worker should be able to go home safe and healthy at the end of their shift—but the Trump administration is gutting NIOSH, which will have devastating and irreversible effects on workers’ lives. Each year, more than 5,000 workers die from injuries on the job and 135,000 workers die from occupational disease, and millions more are injured. These numbers will only increase now that the government is firing the federal workers who make workplaces safer.
NIOSH is a highly skilled and efficient agency that delivers critical health and safety expertise for both workers and employers—protecting workers in some of the most dangerous industries, like coal mining, firefighting, construction, and health care—and is responsible for providing medical monitoring and services to 9/11 responders and survivors. Firing the NIOSH workforce sets up a domino effect of serious and dangerous consequences: the government will no longer research emerging health hazards, methods to prevent mine explosions, or certify the safety of respirators and other critical personal protective equipment.
This action is a gift to corporations that want to slash worker protections to create more profits. It’s an insult to the workers who put their lives on the line at work every day and their families who wait for them to come home. The Trump administration must reverse this anti-worker, anti-health and safety action. We will fight until the work of this critical agency is restored.
Contact: Prerna Jagadeesh, 202-637-5018