The struggle for a healthy and safe workplace is fundamental to the labor movement. It was one of our earliest major demands alongside pay and a shorter work week. It is every union’s obligation to correct dangerous situations. Our goal, as a union, is to force employers to ensure we are all able to get through our workdays safely and make it home to healthy lives.
Workers can spend up to half of their day in the workplace, and workplaces impact health and well-being. It benefits both employers and employees if workplaces are safe and support mental health and healthy behavior. A healthy workplace is more than just safe; it considers health practices, the psychosocial environment, and is supportive of healthy eating and physical activity. Natural light, ergonomics, green space, noise, food choices, exercise, commuting, fairness and flexibility are all important to employees. Employers who provide healthier options at the workplace see benefits such as reduced insurance costs and absenteeism, along with increased job satisfaction, morale and productivity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “while employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and hazard-free workplace, they also have abundant opportunities to promote individual health and foster a healthy work environment.” The workplace can influence healthier social norms. Healthy workplaces support healthy eating and regular physical activity which can prevent obesity and chronic diseases. Furthermore, workplaces can improve their employees’ knowledge of healthier lifestyle choices and be a place for preventative health screenings.
Prior to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in 1970, those lacking a union contract containing strong health and safety language had little to no protection. OSHA was a great step forward, but left out many workers, including independent contractors and public-sector employees on the state and local level. While some states have adopted safety and health legislation to cover their public employees, many states have adopted no protections at all and others have very little enforcement of their own rules. This results in situations where public-sector workers have been severely injured or even died on the job with no penalties faced by their employers. In addition, the Act has historically been broken and underfunded, with infrequent inspections and nominal fines for violations. Under the Trump administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is the sole agency responsible for the evidence-base research that informs OSHA policy, has effectively been eliminated and 11 OSHA offices in states with the highest workplace fatality rates have been closed.
There were 5,283 fatal work injuries recorded in the U.S. in 2023, an 8.9 percent increase from 2021. That means, on average, a worker died on the job every 99 minutes in 2023. Approximately 135,000 workers died from known occupational diseases in 2023. Nearly 3.2 million work-related injuries and illnesses were reported, but underreporting is widespread. The AFL-CIO estimates that private industry is responsible for between 5.2 and 7.8 million workplace injuries and illnesses annually.
Though it is difficult to track causes, suicide particularly affects the working age population and meta-analytical evidence indicates workplace setting is associated with suicide risk, especially among people working in healthcare, construction, production, and agriculture. A multitude of studies have shown that exposure to psychosocial job stressors is associated with elevated risk of suicide ideation, attempts and death. Low job control, lack of social support from supervisors, and harassment are particularly dangerous risk factors.
Fighting against ongoing health and safety issues at Hendrickson Truck Suspension in Kendalville, Indiana has helped UE Local 770 build a strong union in the 28 years they have been affiliated with UE. Stewards are constantly vigilant of workplace safety issues from forklift accidents to supervisors watching videos on their cell phones in production areas, using labor-management meetings, grievances, and shop floor action to address problems the company would rather ignore. Unfortunately, Hendrickson is a long way from promoting a healthy workplace culture. Management regularly engages in workplace bullying, and the extreme disrespect takes a toll. Psychological stress and management’s attempts to delay medical care in favor of productivity when members are sick or hurt at work has led to multiple tragedies in the shop, including the loss of Local 770 Committeeperson and Steward Cain Quarry in January 2025. Members continue to fight for each other on the shop floor to honor Cain’s legacy, and have pulled together to create the social support system Hendrickson lacks.
Most workers in the U.S. and most UE members no longer work on a factory floor. Workers in the service industry have workplace safety issues which are not heavily regulated by OSHA, even if the workers themselves are nominally covered. Office workers often suffer from repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, yet there are no ergonomics standards established by the federal government. Workers in retail, education, health care, and social services often have to deal with customers, students, or patients who threaten their physical safety, yet OSHA has largely been silent on establishing best-practice procedures to deal with these hazards. Workers from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, workers of marginalized genders or who are gender minorities in a given workplace, and workers with disabilities all have different needs which should be addressed to ensure equity in workplace safety.
While only some of the jobs our members perform are recognized as being dangerous, all of us can be exposed to situations which threaten our safety and impact our health. Our obligation is to look after the health and well-being of our fellow workers through the collective action of our union. But we also must force legislators to adequately protect working people through a strengthening of our nation's health and safety laws.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS 79th UE CONVENTION:
- Calls on locals to:
- Make health and safety a top priority both during and outside of contract negotiations;
- Set up strong independent health and safety committees, and ensure training on health and safety for their members;
- Exercise their right to accompany OSHA inspectors on workplace visits;
- Contact the national union before becoming involved with Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP);
- Engage the membership in aggressive struggle to address hazards in the workplace;
- Support local labor-initiated Committees on Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) groups;
- Demand their employers provide access to paid time off for testing and quarantine for all reportable diseases as defined by the CDC, with no loss of sick time;
- Demands Congress expand OSHA to include:
- Coverage for all workers, including those in the public sector and federal contractors;
- Significant rulemaking regarding safe working procedures when dealing with risk of attack from patients, students, customers, or other individuals;
- A better funded inspection process, which includes unannounced and unrestricted inspections;
- Sharply increased penalties on employers, including punitive damages and blacklisting from government contracting opportunities;
- Prosecution of bosses for conditions which lead to death or severe injury on the job;
- Federal heat safety standards for indoor and outdoor employees;
- Supports strengthening workers’ compensation laws in all states, with improved provisions on injuries sustained from physical attacks in the workplace;
- Opposes any attempt to further restrict the rights of workers to sue their employers over job-related injuries, and unsafe conditions;
- Demands the Trump Administration reverse cuts that negatively impact OSHA and NIOSH, and increase funding for OSHA.