Trump's abysmal record on worker safety and healt

By Phil Neuenfeldt, president, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and

Stephanie Bloomingdale, secretary-treasurer, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO

Through decades of struggle, working people and their unions have improved working conditions and made jobs safer. From the creation of OSHA, to training requirements, supplied safety gear, licensing standards and asbestos regulations, workers and unions in tandem with our government have made strides towards creating workplaces safer for all.

Now, The Trump administration, the Republican majority in Congress and business lobbyists have launched an all-out assault on regulations, workers’ rights and protections. President Trump issued an executive order that requires two existing safeguards be removed for every new protection issued. President Trump has proposed to slash the budget for job safety research and eliminate OSHA’s programs for training workers. Protections against beryllium and coal dust have been targeted for weakening and agency budgets and enforcement programs are on the chopping block.

As we approach Workers Memorial Day on April 28, a day to honor and pay tribute to those who have been killed on the job, we take a look at the current administration’s safety record, and pledge to take action to prevent the future unnecessary deaths of our brothers and sisters.

Trump Administration’s Worker Safety and Health Record

Rollbacks and Repeals

Repealed OSHA rule requiring employers to keep accurate injury records (H.J. Res 83).

Repealed Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule to hold federal contractors accountable for obeying safety and labor laws (H.J. Res 37).

Issued Executive Order 13771 requiring that for every new protection, two existing safeguards must be repealed.

Issued Executive Order 13777 requiring agencies to identify regulations that are burdensome to industry that should be repealed or modified.

Proposed FY 2019 budget that would slash the Department of Labor’s budget by 21%, cutting coal mine enforcement and eliminating worker safety and health training programs; eliminate the Chemical Safety Board; and cut NIOSH’s job safety research by $100 million.

Delaying and Weakening Protections

Reviewing MSHA's coal dust standard to determine whether it should be modified to be less burdensome on industry.

Proposed to weaken OSHA’s new beryllium standard for workers in construction and maritime, after delaying the effective date and enforcement of the rule in all sectors.

Delayed enforcement of OSHA's silica standard in construction for 90 days until Sept. 23, 2017, and full enforcement until Oct. 23, 2017, allowing continued high exposures to deadly silica dust.

Delayed the requirement for employers to submit summary injury data to OSHA and announced the intention to revise or revoke other parts of the electronic injury reporting/anti-retaliation rule.

Delayed MSHA’s mine examination rule for metal and nonmetal mines until June 2, 2018, and weakenedkey provisions in the rule.

Delayed EPA’s RMP rule to prevent chemical accidents for nearly two years, until Feb. 19, 2019, puttingworkers, the public and first responders in danger.

Abandoned work on more than a dozen new OSHA rules including rules on styrene, combustible dust and noise in construction. Suspended work on new OSHA standards on workplace violence, infectious diseases, process safety managment and emergency preparedness.

Abandoned work on new MSHA rules for civil penalties and refuge alternatives in coal mines, and suspended work on new standards on silica and proximity detection systems for mobile mining equipment.

Withdrew OSHA's walkaround policy that gave nonunion workers the right to have a representative participate in OSHA inspections.

Limiting Access to Information and Input

Stopped posting information on all worker fatalities reported to OSHA.

Stopped issuing press releases on many significant OSHA enforcement cases.

Refused to make public employer injury data reported to OSHA, even though similar data has been posted on OSHA's website for years.

Disbanded OSHA's Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health Safety and Health (FACOSH) and Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee (WPAC).

Now more than ever, we have to stand up to protect our hard-won gains and fight to make jobs safer to save lives. We must:

• defend the OSHA and MSHA laws, safety and health protections, and workers’ rights from right-wing and business attacks;

• defend the new OSHA rules on silica, beryllium, injury reporting and antiretaliation, and the MSHA coal dust rule, and push for full compliance with these safeguards;

• fight any attempts to cut job safety budgets or weaken enforcement;

• increase efforts to protect the safety and health of Latino and immigrant workers, who are at much greater risk of death and injury;

• seek new protections on workplace violence, infectious diseases and combustible dust;

• pass the Protecting America’s Workers Act to provide OSHA protection for the millions of workers without it, stronger criminal and civil penalties for companies that seriously violate job safety laws, and improved antiretaliation protections; and

• ensure workers’ right to have a voice on the job, and to freely choose to form a union without employer interference or intimidation.

This Workers Memorial Day, the safety and health of workers and the public are in danger. We cannot and will not let them turn back the clock on workers and destroy the progress we have made to make jobs safer and save lives.

For a list of Wisconsin Worker Memorial Day Services and Commemorations, click here.