蜜桃传媒 to federal agency: Don't side with big business against worker safety
The 蜜桃传媒 has urged the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to continue efforts to identify and prevent workplace injuries and not to let employers off the hook for creating dangerous work environments.
A new rule proposed by the agency would roll back requirements for employers to report the details of their workers鈥� on-the-job injuries. Proponents of the proposed rule claim it would protect workers鈥� privacy, though workers and their organizations strongly support the reporting requirements.
鈥淭his provision will allow dangerous employers to hide workplace injuries and will seriously hinder OSHA鈥檚 efforts to identify and prevent workplace injuries,鈥� the 蜜桃传媒 wrote in a Sept. 21 letter. 鈥淚t is big business that is opposed鈥� to the reporting requirements, according to the letter, 鈥渘ot workers.鈥�
The proposed rule will affect all large employers, from automobile manufacturers to mining companies. If enacted, it would mean even workers in more dangerous sectors would lose access to injury data which could back up their safety concerns.
Those sectors make up large swaths of the economy, with hundreds of thousands of workers: In 2016, injury incidence rates in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector stood at 6.1 incidents per every 100 full-time workers, . In the transportation and warehousing sector, the rate was 4.6 incidents per 100 full-time workers. In the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, it was 4.4 incidents per 100 full-time workers.
Among those sectors, certain industries are far more dangerous than others鈥攁nd their workers could be affected the most by the rule change.
For years, the 蜜桃传媒 has advocated for better injury reporting as a means to protect vulnerable workers in the poultry industry. The organization revealed in 2013 how workers in the poultry processing industry face a high rate of injury thanks to their grueling work, which includes repetitive tasks with dangerous equipment at a rapid pace.
The 蜜桃传媒 interviewed more than 300 Alabama poultry workers for that landmark report, Unsafe at These Speeds: Alabama鈥檚 Poultry Industry and its Disposable Workers. Nearly three out of four Alabama poultry workers interviewed described suffering a significant work-related injury or illness, such as debilitating pain in their hands, respiratory problems, cuts, gnarled fingers, and chemical burns.
The poultry industry鈥檚 own statistics show that workers are injured at rates almost twice the national average, and suffer illnesses at a rate that is six times as high.
But at poultry plants, if workers speak out about their safety concerns, they may face retaliation from their managers, according to Unsafe at These Speeds.
The federal government has previously admitted there is 鈥渟ystematic underreporting of work-related injuries and illnesses鈥� in the poultry industry. This underreporting could 鈥渕ake it difficult to accurately assess the extent to which poultry workers suffer from work related injuries,鈥� according to a 2014 statement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
OSHA鈥檚 collection of injury data from employers helps solve that problem. With the injury reports, OSHA can better identify patterns of injuries, their causes, and possibly head off emerging hazards.
The agency鈥檚 new proposed rule would do away with this information.
鈥淲ith this proposal,鈥� the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 letter reads, 鈥渢he Administration is siding with big business against worker safety.鈥�
