It's criminal what happens to workers who are injured, or
worse, killed on the job, but, according to worker safety advocate Barbara
Rahke, what happens to their employers is not criminal enough.
Worker deaths "are not freak accidents," said
Rahke, 67, director of PhilaPOSH, a worker safety group primarily funded by
labor unions and foundations.
"They were predictable and preventable based on
conditions," she said, "and a lot of time [they occur] just because
of neglect or even violating the law in terms of not providing training, not
providing safety protocols."
Instead of going to jail for acts of commission and
willful omission that lead to worker deaths, employers are merely fined in
civil proceedings, Rahke said.
That's why PhilaPOSH, the Philadelphia Area Project on
Occupational Safety and Health, is meeting with federal officials and district
attorneys to push them to prosecute more cases.
Critics say fines levied by OSHA, the U.S. Department
of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, are too low. What do
you think?
The worst scenario - a misdemeanor with six months in
prison - rarely happens. David Michaels [assistant secretary of labor for
occupational safety and health] has actually testified that there need to be
stronger deterrents.
What about the fines?
They're very small and, in fact, in order to entice
employers to make more abatements or to make changes to other facilities they
might own beyond the one where the fatality occurred, [OSHA] often lowers
fines. So the maximum fine is $70,000. Many times in fatalities, you see cases
where there may be $7,000, $8,000 in fines and that's it.
That's it?
It leaves the families really bitter and angry and
really, I don't think, deters many employers - the bad guys, the ones who
aren't remorseful, who probably knew exactly what they're doing and see this as
just a cost of doing business.
Any workers who are particularly vulnerable?
Increasingly, temporary workers, the new form of
employment that more employers are going to rather than have their own
workforces, are getting killed on the job, sometimes their first day on the
job.
Monday is Labor Day. You used to be an organizer for
the United Auto Workers.
In that job, I interacted primarily with workers who were
nonunion and who were looking for a chance to change conditions at work. I
became increasingly aware of how often they had serious health and safety
issues that were not being addressed.
What do you think most people think are workers'
reasons for joining unions?
I think they think they're after wages and benefits. And
that's not true. Employer polls have shown that health and safety is the
number one issue among workers. Interestingly, I found it particularly true
among women workers, because there are so many single moms working and staying
safe and healthy was very much on their minds.
How would you assess the state of organized labor?
I believe in the labor movement and I believe in unions.
They're the only organizations that are set up only and very specifically to
represent worker interest in this country; the only ones.
Why has membership in unions fallen?
Obviously, unions are in a downward spiral right now,
largely due to a shifting of jobs out of our country and out of bases where
unions had strong density. There's also been an attack, a very concerted
attack, on unions.
Any advice for what workers should do if they find
themselves in an unsafe situation?
Don't tolerate it. Don't get used to it. Don't just
accept this as a condition of employment. Do research. If there's something
you're being exposed to, you have the right to get a copy of the material data
sheet that your employer has to keep. If you're afraid to do that, you can go
online with the chemical name and look it up. If it's a safety hazard and
you're not sure what to do about it, you can call PhilaPOSH (215-386-7000), or
you can call OSHA anonymously.
Source: Philly.com
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