Safety and Health
A new report on workplace safety and health says government neglect has allowed many jobs to become more dangerous and allowed the annual death toll to rise. The AFL-CIO labor federation brands the Bush Administration as having the worst record since new worker protection legislation was introduced in 1970.
The AFL-CIO's annual study of workplace safety reveals a worrying climb to 5,840 workplace deaths in 2006, with sharp increases in fatalities among Latino and foreign-born workers.
The fatality rate for Latino workers was 25 percent higher than the figure for all U.S. workers and rose seven percent over 2005 to a record 990 fatalities. More than two thirds of those killed were workers born outside the United States.
The number of fatalities amongst immigrants, at 1,046, was the highest figure ever recorded.
Overall, the figures for all workers showed a daily average of 16 deaths, with another 11,200 injured or made ill by their jobs.
The construction sector had the largest number of fatal injuries (1,239), followed by transportation and warehousing (860), and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (655). The mining industry also saw a sharp increase in fatalities, up from 159 deaths to 192.
As the report makes clear, deaths on the job present only a small fraction of the death toll linked to U.S. workplaces. Each year, occupational diseases claim the lives of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 more workers.
The Death on the Job report was released to coincide with the 20th Workers Memorial Day , the annual commemoration of workers killed or injured in the previous year.
Myths & Facts
Myth: Immigrants are taking over Wisconsin
Fact: In 2006, Wisconsin's foreign born population represented 4.4 percent of the total population - less than 1 in 20 - compared with 3.6 percent in 2000.
Get more of the facts >>
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