April 28th is Workers’ Memorial Day, a time to remember the thousands of workers killed on the job every year and the tens of thousands more who die of occupational diseases. The AFL-CIO is calling for strengthening of workplace safety laws in a new report: Death on the Job, the Toll of Neglect.
“In 2009, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4,340 workers were killed on the job—an average of 12 workers every day—and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. More than 4.1 million work-related injuries and illnesses were reported, but this number understates the problem. The true toll of job injuries is two to three times greater—about 8 million to12 million job injuries and illnesses each year,” the report states.
While the death rate for workers on the job has dropped dramatically since the creation of OSHA (The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration) 40 years ago, much remains to be done. According the AFL-CIO, OSHA is understaffed at the state and federal levels and penalties for employers who violate the law are too lax.
“Federal OSHA can inspect workplaces on average once every 129 years; the state OSHA plans can inspect them once every 67 years. The current level of federal and state OSHA inspectors provides one inspector for every 57,984 workers,” according to the report. What’s more the median employer penalty for a violation resulting in a fatality was a stunningly-low $5,600.