Workers Die; Bush Administration Idles. What About McCain and Obama?

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/25/workers-die-bush-administration-idles-what-about-mccain-and-obama/

by Donna Jablonski, Jul 25, 2008

Today adds to the toll of bad news about worker safety and health, and we’ll be posting several items on that topic. You’ll see that workers have been dying while the Bush administration sits on recommended standards to protect us from workplace hazards. But the administration is racing to implement a secretly written rule that could allow us to be exposed to higher levels of toxic substances at work and could prevent future administrations from protecting us at work.

You’ll see that under the Bush administration, federal workplace safety operations have been designed to protect corporations, not working men and women.

Before you read the other posts, take a look at how things could change–or not change–under the next president. Compare the records of Barack Obama and John McCain on workplace safety and other working family isssues.

As a community organizer for a Chicago church-based group, Obama worked to force public officials to deal with asbestos problems in local housing projects. In the Illinois legislature, he voted to require out-of-state construction contractors to carry valid Illinois workers’ compensation insurance.

As a U.S. senator, Obama co-sponsored the Protecting America’s Workers Act to strngthen Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) enforcement; make OSHA criminal violations a felony; and expand OSHA coverage to public-sector workers, flight attendants and others not covered. He has joined with other Senate Democrats this week in calling on Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to issue crane safety rules and step up oversight on construction sites.

McCain, on the other hand, seems to dislike worker safety measures almost as much as he likes free trade. He voted against requiring farms to provide drinking water and hand-washing and toilet facilities for agriculture field workers. He opposed stronger criminal penalties for employers when willful health and safety violations lead to a worker’s injury or death. He voted to allow cost-benefit analyses to shape occupational safety and health and mine safety and health regulations.

McCain worked to block a federal health program to identify and notify workers at high risk of developing occupational diseases. He voted to block protection against ergonomic injuries. He voted against allowing victims of toxic waste and health hazards to sue in federal court those responsible. He supported limiting compensation for workers injured by defective workplace products, and he wanted to preclude injured workers from settling with manufacturers without the employer’s consent.

No one should have to die for a job.

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