The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E932 on May 2, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY
______
HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, Workers' Memorial Day, which was observed on April 28th, is a solemn day of remembrance for the thousands of workers who have died--over 5,700 or 16 workers a day in 2005--and a day in which we pledge to do better to protect the health and safety of America's workers.
Since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in 1970, conditions in the workplace have improved and thousands of lives have been saved, but with this Administration's dismal record on workers' safety, many still die and over 4 million are injured or fall ill every year.
OSHA knows how to help workers when it wants to. For example, in 1978 when OSHA's cotton dust standard was adopted, there were 40,000 workers--or 12 percent of all textile workers--12 percent of all textile workers suffered from this deadly disease.
By 2000, and because of the OSHA standard, brown lung was virtually eliminated. OSHA's 1978 standard on lead dramatically reduced lead poisoning, and the 1989 excavation standard designed to protect workers from trench collapses has reduced deaths by more than 20 percent while construction activity has increased by 20 percent. But this administration has one of the worst records of any Administration in the issuance of safety and health standards.
My subcommittee, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, held a hearing on OSHA's record last week where the administrator of OSHA, Edwin Foulke and Eric Peoples, a worker who has lost 80 percent of his lung capacity due to his exposure to a dangerous and unregulated chemical called Diacytel [die-aci-teal] sat side by side.
Mr. Foulke said that his heart went out to Mr. Peoples and his family. But then he told us that there wasn't enough proof to promulgate an emergency standard to protect workers from Diacytel.
What more evidence does he need? Diacetyl is a butter flavoring chemical that causes a deadly lung disease, known popularly as
``Popcorn Lung.'' Workers exposed to Diacetyl work in microwave popcorn facilities and other factories where flavorings are used. Mr. Peoples worked in one of these facilities and became ill within months of starting his job. Mr. Peoples--like many of those with popcorn lung--is so sick that he is awaiting a double lung transplant. Scientists have called the effect of Diacetyl on workers' lungs ``astonishingly grotesque'' and likened it to ``inhaling acid.'' Three workers have died so far.
There has been almost no response from OSHA despite the fact that OSHA scientists have urged the Agency leadership to take broad action on Diacetyl. And sadly, failure to protect workers from Diacetyl is just the tip of the iceberg. The Agency has failed to issue even those standards that are among its priorities, and in 6 years only one significant safety and health standard issued in February 2006, and that was under court order. If OSHA were to inspect every workplace in the country just once, it would take the Agency 133 years.
A recent congressional hearing revealed that OSHA had not done a single comprehenive inspection of any American refinery in the 10 years preceding the devastating 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers. But instead of hiring more inspectors OSHA only wants to increase staffing for voluntary activities with its industry partners.
Meanwhile, millions of public employees and other workers still don't even have OSHA coverage, and OSHA penalties are so low that they are just seen by business as the cost of doing business.
We need to hold this Administration's feet to the fire and that is what I intend to do. And we need to act here in Congress to make health and safety our priority and to truly honor America's workers who have died on the job.
So I hope you will join me by co-sponsoring H.R. 2049, the Protecting America's Workers Act. Senator Kennedy has introduced a companion in the Senate.
This law will bring much needed change by expanding coverage to millions of public employees not covered by OSHA and to other private sector employees who are not currently covered. It will increase penalties in the case of willful violations resulting in death or serious injury and will also protect employees who have the courage to speak out about unsafe working conditions.
And finally, it mandates that the Department of Labor investigates all cases of death or serious injuries, makes the process transparent, and gives workers and their families the right to meet with investigators.
____________________
