Lynn C. Woolsey: “But since OSHA was passed in 1970, the job fatality rate has been cut in half and injury rates have also declined…”

“But since OSHA was passed in 1970, the job fatality rate has been cut in half and injury rates have also declined significantly. That ought to be example enough that we do not weaken it. If anything, we strengthen and learn from mistakes and we fix errors and we go forward and make sure that more people are safe than fewer. But Republicans in both the House and the Senate are pushing legislation that will make it more difficult for OSHA to issue protective standards; that will limit OSHA's ability to enforce our current standards, particularly in case of willful or criminal violations. Their legislation would weaken workers' right to know about unsafe workplace conditions, and would make it harder for them to address their own safety concerns within the workplace. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle seem to think that American workers have too many safety and health protections. Last year, 6,112 workers were killed by traumatic injuries, and that is a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure. Another 50,000 workers died, as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) said, from occupational diseases. And that is a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, statistic. And more than 6.2 million workers in the private sector were injured on the job. Thank goodness workers have unions to help them fight the Republicans' effort to turn back the clock on worker safety.”