02.15.11

House Panel Learns that Republican Spending Bill Slashes Safety, Puts Workers at Risk and Threatens Jobs

WASHINGTON, D. C. – The Republican spending bill being debated on the House floor this week will slash health and safety inspections and even shut down a federal agency’s website, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee learned today. House Republican spending bill proposes to cut the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by 18 percent, which would result in approximately 8,000 fewer workplace hazard inspections and 740 fewer whistleblower discrimination investigations.

“In other words, the Republican spending bill doesn’t just trim OSHA’s budget, it absolutely cripples the agency needlessly jeopardizing safety standards and endangering American workers,” said U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the subcommittee. “OSHA needs the resources to carry out its mission, protect workers, and help businesses at the same time.”

When workplace tragedies occur, they often cause significant property damage and can shutter operations and throw workers out of a job. For instance, some 700 workers will lose their job at the ConAgra Slim Jim plant in Garner, North Carolina following a preventable explosion killed three and injured 67 in June 2009. Instead of rebuilding the damaged plant and keeping these workers employed, ConAgra decided to consolidate operations elsewhere.

“Had there been OSHA regulations banning in-door gas purging, the contractors would have simply taken a piece of hose, connected it to the gas pipe, and vented it outside away from the building,” said Woolsey. “Everyone agrees: had there been such a rule, there would have been no deaths or injuries, and 700 people would still have prized factory jobs.”

The Republican spending bill would also cut OSHA’s ability to respond to dangerous workplace conditions by cutting resources for issuing safety standards, like those to prevent combustible industrial dust explosions. In 2003, Shawn Boone died in a series of explosions at an Indiana aluminum wheel factory as the result of uncontrolled aluminum dust. There was no requirement to control these types of explosive dusts.

“There’s no price tag that can be put on seeing your husband walk your daughter down her wedding aisle, or seeing your son graduate from college, or holding a grandchild,” said Tammy Miser, founder of United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities and sister of Shawn. “The economic disruption to a family who loses a breadwinner is never offset by workers’ compensation benefits. Workplace safety regulations and even-handed enforcement help level the playing field for employers who do the right thing versus those who take the low road.”

In 2008, another dust explosion killed 14 workers at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga. Even though combustible industrials dust dangers were well known and studied, OSHA did not have a standard to help businesses control these hazards. The Republican spending bill would eliminate the ability of the agency to find trends like combustible dust explosions and respond to dangerous conditions.

“That means no more data collection on workplace health and safety trends, which is critical to targeting hazardous work sites. This cut even shuts down OSHA’s website,” said Woolsey.