In 2015, 4,836 workers were killed on the job and another 50,000 to 60,000 workers died from work-related illnesses, according to the AFL-CIO’s Death on the Job report, released this week in observance of Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28. That means that the fatal injury rate held steady from 2014 at 3.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.
Workplace deaths aren’t evenly distributed. Some states—led by North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana—have higher fatality rates, and some groups of workers face disproportionate risk:
Latino and immigrant workers continue to be at higher risk than other workers:
- The Latino fatality rate was 4.0 per 100,000 workers, 18% higher than the national average.
- Deaths among Latino workers increased significantly in 2015; 903 deaths, compared with 804 in 2014.
- Almost the entire increase in Latino deaths was among immigrant workers; 605 (67%) of Latino workers killed were immigrant workers.
- 943 immigrant workers were killed on the job—the highest since 2007.
Older workers are at high risk. In 2015:
- 35% of all fatalities occurred in workers ages 55 or older, with 1,681 deaths.
- Workers 65 or older have more than 2.5 times the risk of dying on the job as other workers, with a fatality rate of 9.4 per 100,000 workers.
The government doesn’t put the resources in to improve the situation: “Federal OSHA has enough inspectors to inspect workplaces once every 159 years.” And that was in 2015. Things will not be getting better under Donald Trump, who, with the Republican Congress, has already taken steps to weaken workplace safety protections.
● American Airlines is giving workers a raise, and investors are angry that the people who do the work are benefiting.
● Workers and Trump's first 100 days. And Trump’s labor secretary just got confirmed, so now the real fun starts.
● Ha ha ha ha ha.
● Coming soon to a school near you, if Donald Trump gets his way: larger class sizes.
Trump and his Education Secretary Betsy Devos want to completely eliminate Title IIA funds, while at the same time increasing government support to privately-run schools, including charters, parochial and private schools. They claim to be supporting a parent’s right to choose by expanding these options. Yet most parent’s first choice is a well-resourced, neighborhood public school with reasonably small classes, to ensure that their children are provided with sufficient attention and feedback from their teachers. The proposed elimination of Title IIA funds will work against parent choice, by making it even more difficult for parents to access these options – and will undermine the quality of education their children receive, especially those students who need small classes the most.
● In the age of Trump, can labor unite?
● The untold history of charter schools.
● Taking it to the streets in the Twin Cities on May Day.
● Ten reasons not to give big commercial airlines more power by privatizing air traffic control:
7. The airlines are the biggest cause of delays. The airlines are responsible for the majority of all airline delays, as reported by the Department of Transportation. Why would giving them more control by privatizing air traffic control alleviate delays?According to a statement from Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), “Data from the Department of Transportation and reported by Bloomberg reveals airline problems,including technical glitches and mechanical failures, as the leading cause of airline delays, surpassing weather and air-traffic control problems.”
● Something to watch for:
McDonald’s is liable for shortchanging crew members on overtime pay at its corporate-owned California restaurants and must face trial next month on damages that could reach millions of dollars ( Sanchez v. McDonald’s Rests. of Calif. , Cal. Super. Ct., No. BC499888, 4/20/17 ).
● Supply chains will only be reformed when we force corporations to do so.
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● Workers Independent News: