(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Dina Titus, Education and Labor Committee Member.)Today we celebrate Workers Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have been killed or injured on the job. It is also the 39th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, legislation that has improved the safety of workers on the job. It is with that in mind that the Education and Labor Committee held a
hearing to bring to light the dangers that Americans still face every day that they go to work and to reevaluate the effectiveness of the OSH Act in ensuring worker safety and employer compliance.
The Committee heard some truly staggering statistics about both the number of fatalities and injuries that occur in the workplace and about the weak penalties that employers receive.
Each year, about 6,000 workers are killed on the job and thousands more
are severely injured; it is estimated that on a daily basis 15 workers
are killed and nearly 11,000 workers are injured or made ill.
Criminal penalties are only available if a worker dies; serious injury
is not subject to criminal prosecution. When a tragedy does occur and
a worker is killed on the job, the highest criminal penalty available
is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of just six months. When a
worker dies because of a knowing violation of the worker safety laws,
the maximum sentence should be measured in years, not months. Anything
less sends the wrong message about the value of a worker’s life.
And with only weak criminal penalties available to OSHA, too often
profit is put ahead of compliance as penalties are seen as a “cost of
doing business.” This is not an acceptable cost.
No worker should leave home unsure if his or her workplace is safe, and
no family should have to worry if they will see their loved one again
as they send him or her off to work. Sadly, this happens to 15
families every single day. But I am hopeful that hearings such as the
one held today can prevent such devastating losses.
Today, my heart goes out to all of the workers who have been injured on
the job and to their family members. Particularly in my mind today are
the families in Nevada. In 2008, OSHA conducted 26 fatality
investigations in Nevada. I will continue to press for legislative
improvements that will prevent injuries or fatalities. I also would
like to recognize the Las Vegas Sun for its work in publicizing and
investigating the deaths of workers on the Las Vegas Strip. Alexandra
Berzon, along with editorial writers Matt Hufman and David Clayton,
recently won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for their
investigative reporting, which opened the door to expose the dangers
workers faced on the job when safety was sacrificed for speed and
profit.
On Workers Memorial Day, let us remember those workers who died or were
injured on the job, and recommit to diligently trying to improve worker
safety by strengthening OSHA penalties and enforcement in order to
prevent future tragedies.
The Workforce Protections Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Thursday, April 30 on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Enhanced Enforcement Program.
The Enhanced Enforcement Program identifies high risk employers by their past behavior and targets them for additional scrutiny. However, the U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General’s Office issued a report on April 1 that found the Bush administration did not properly enforce worker health and safety laws used to oversee employers with history of safety violations. It shows that over the last five years, since the program was established, the EEP has failed to effectively deter employers from putting workers’ lives at risk.
To read the Inspector General’s report,
click here.
WHAT:
Hearing on, “Improving OSHA’s Enhanced Enforcement Program”
WHO:
Jordan Barab, acting assistant labor secretary, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Eric Frumin, director of health and safety, Change to Win
Elliot Lewis, assistant inspector general for audits, U.S. Department of Labor
Jesus Royas, stepson of Raul Figueroa, a worker who was crushed to
death as a result of unsafe working conditions, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Jason Schwartz, partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
WHEN:
Thursday, April 30, 2009
10:00 a.m, EDT
WHERE:
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
January 2 marks the third anniversary of the Sago mine tragedy, in which 12 miners died after being trapped by an explosion. Chairman Miller offers his condolences to the miners’ families and promises to work toward improved health and safety for all miners and workers.
The U.S. Department of Labor is failing to effectively enforce the nation’s child labor laws,
witnesses told the Workforce Protection Subcommittee today. According to a study by the National Consumers League, the number of child labor investigations decreased dramatically during the Bush administration: The number of child labor investigations conducted by the Labor Department in 2006 was at the lowest in at least a decade. Meanwhile, research by the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, a coalition of migrant and seasonal agricultural nonprofit and public agencies, indicates that approximately 400,000 children under the age of 18 work in the fields to help support their families. While there are numerous restrictions on what dangerous job functions underage workers may perform, there are few protections if those children happen to work in agriculture. Agricultural child labor rules have remained largely unchanged since signed into law in 1938. At that time, a quarter of all American lived on farms and the majority of the agricultural work was performed on the family farm. Unlike counterparts in other industries, minors working in agriculture are still permitted to log in more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay.
“Children at age 12 [are] not
allowed to work making copies in an air-conditioned office or cleaning
floors at a local store. Yet today in America, children can legally
work in harsh conditions out in the farm fields for wages sometimes
below minimum wage. Exploitation of children, regardless if it’s done
legally or illegally, needs to stop today.” -- Norma Flores, a former
migrant farmer who began working when she was 12 years old.
“Unfortunately,
all the laws and labor protections in the world won’t help if we do not
adequately enforce our child labor laws. It is clear that the Bush
administration is not focused on enforcing the laws already on the
books.” -- Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chair of the Workforce Protections
Subcommittee.
“Much
more can and must be done to better protect our young people from
hazards and dangers they confront in the workplace. Child labor law is
no longer a high priority for the Department of Labor.” -- Sally
Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League.
On Wednesday, September 17, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee will hold a hearing examining the Department of Labor's last-minute proposal that would dramatically weaken future workplace health standards and further slow their enactment. The department has allowed only 30 days for comment on the proposal and will not hold public hearings.
"Secret Rule: Impact of the Department of Labor’s Worker Health Risk Assessment Proposal"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 10:00 a.m. EDT
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued an $8.77 million citation to Imperial Sugar for the fatal February explosion that killed 13 workers and seriously injured dozens of others at the company’s sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia.
This unfortunate tragedy didn’t have to happen. The Chemical Safety Board urged OSHA in 2006 to adopt rules that could prevent more deaths and injuries caused by combustible dust explosions. OSHA ignored those recommendations. The agency tasked by Congress to protect the health and safety of American workers has failed to aggressively address this deadly problem.
It is obvious from these events that existing rules and efforts
by OSHA to prevent these explosions are not sufficient. The agency
should immediately issue an emergency standard to prevent these
explosive hazards. Failing that, Congress will act to ensure that the
agency does its job.
It is clear from OSHA’s report that Imperial Sugar had a
company-wide problem with sugar dust. Not even the deaths of 13 workers
raised alarm bells with the company as proven by the dangerous
conditions exposed at Imperial’s Gramercy, Louisiana plant more than a
month later.
(In April, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosion and Fires Act (H.R. 5522).
The bill, introduced by Chairman Miller and Rep. John Barrow (D-GA),
would require OSHA to issue emergency rules to regulate combustible
dust, like sugar dust, that can build up to hazardous levels and
explode.)
Today, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) fined the operator of Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine $1.85 million for the disaster that was the site of the worst coal mining tragedy of 2007. Pillars of coal supporting a roof burst, sending coal flying and creating enough force to register a 3.9 on the Richter scale. Rubble blocked every exit, entombing six miners somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 feet underground. Three courageous rescuers who attempted to reach them also died in the rescue effort. Crandall Canyon Mine is operated by Genwal Resources Inc., whose parent company is Murray Energy Corp.
MSHA's accident investigation report affirms the conclusions reached by
our own investigation:
Murray Energy should not have proposed the flawed retreat mining plan
and MSHA should not have approved the plan. It is clear that Murray
Energy is an outlaw company that recklessly endangered its employees’
lives. It is tragic that the deaths of six miners and three rescuers
resulted from the reckless actions of a few individuals and inadequate
MSHA oversight.
Especially troubling is MSHA’s conclusion that
Murray Energy misled MSHA regarding bumps that occurred in March 2007.
In April of this year,
I asked the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into this very subject.
The April referral was supported by significant evidence committee
staff uncovered as they reviewed hundreds of thousands of documents,
interviewed many witnesses, and deposed several individuals involved. I
am confident that MSHA’s additional evidence in support of our criminal
referral will provide further assistance to the Department of Justice
in aggressively pursuing this criminal matter.
We will review
MSHA’s investigation report and that of the forthcoming review of
MSHA’s actions at the mine. The agency’s track record, however, leads
me to believe that MSHA is not up to the task of protecting the health
and safety of our nation’s miners. We must ensure that another tragedy
such as this never happens again.
(In
January, the House of Representative approved mine safety and health
legislation that includes provisions to ensure more vigorous oversight
by MSHA of retreat mining plans and activities. More information on the Supplementary Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (H.R. 2768) »)
This morning, the
Washington Post exposed the Bush administration’s latest ploy that could radically change the way health and safety regulations are issued. This secret regulation is a clear attempt by the Bush administration and the business community to fundamentally weaken the scientific process for enacting new regulations that protect American workers.
Today, Senator Kennedy and I demanded that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao withdraw this rule immediately and turn over all communications with outside special interests and other documents relating to proposed rule. You can read the letter
here.
As we state in our letter, it is disturbing that the Department of
Labor is moving this proposal over the objections of career staff in
the relevant health and safety agencies. Such career staff have the
objective, technical expertise and experience to fully understand the
proposal’s implications for workers.
The Bush
administration will stop at nothing to rush through a secret rule that
will tie the hands of health and safety experts when responding to our
nation’s critical health and safety threats.
But, that’s really
no surprise at all. For nearly eight years, this administration has
consistently failed to respond in a meaningful way to the real health
and safety threats workers face while on the job. We’ve seen it when it
comes to failing to protect workers who handle a dangerous artificial
butter flavoring, ensuring that underground miners are sufficiently
protected, and making sure construction workers are able to return home
safe after their shift.