Union Labor Deaths Increased in 2005

Last week we reported that immigrant labor fatalities were in the rise… but that was only part of the story.

Labor Unions and Workplace Safety Advocates Call for More Stringent Worker Safety Protections and Enforcement to Reduce Workplace Injury, Illness and Death

Work-related deaths in Massachusetts increased from 72 in 2004 to 78 in 2005, according to a new report released this week that calls attention to worker death, injury and illness on Massachusetts job sites and the failure of Massachusetts employers to protect workers and follow federal safety laws.

“It is unconscionable that this tragic loss of life continues unabated in workplaces across the Commonwealth,” said Robert J. Haynes, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “We mourn the 78 workers who lost their lives last year, and we are deeply saddened by recent workplace tragedies including the April 3rd scaffolding collapse in Boston that took the lives of two workers and a passerby, the Easter morning electrocution of a telephone worker in Sharon and yet another scaffolding tragedy that took the life of a construction worker this past Saturday. Clearly more must be done to fulfill OSHA’s promise of safe and healthy workplaces.”

Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.