AFL-CIO Publishes Workplace Death, Injury Report

Death on the Job is the title of a report by the AFL-CIO describing on-the-job deaths and injuries for the year 2000, the most recent studied. According to the publication, on-the-job deaths from traumatic injuries claimed the lives of 5,915 workers, while another 6.3 million suffered workplace injuries or illnesses.

AFL-CIO says inspections and penalties issued by OSHA have declined in recent years. The labor coalition faults the Bush administration for inaction "on dozens of new safety and health regulations, proposed budget cuts in job safety agency programs, and plans to rely on a voluntary approach to protect workers from ergonomic injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome."

The report found that Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana had the highest fatality rates in 2000, while Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire had the lowest. Death on the Job can be viewed or downloaded from:
http://www.afl-cio.org/yourjobeconomy/safety/upload/deathonthejob.pdf.