Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Worker Safety and Health
As Recent Bangladesh Factory Deaths Surpass 1,000, Miller Reiterates Call for Fashion Industry to Sign Enforceable Safety Agreement
05.10.13 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after the death toll from an April 25 Bangladeshi garment facility collapse surpassed 1,000 workers, making it one of the worst industrial tragedies in history. A Bangladeshi woman was found alive today in the rubble after two weeks, and thousands of other workers were injured in the collapse. Miller has a long history of working in Congres… Continue Reading
Levin, Miller Urge Concrete and Coordinated Action on Bangladeshi Worker Rights, Working Conditions
05.01.13 In Letter to President Obama, Request Administration Convene Key Stakeholders to Develop Action Plan WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin and Education and Workforce Committee Senior Democratic Member George Miller today sent a letter to President Obama urging the Administration to convene representatives of the European and American retailers, the Bangladeshi garment industry, garment workers, their unions and the government, the International Labor Organization, a… Continue Reading
Rep. Miller: We Shouldn’t Have to Settle for the Status Quo on Worker Safety
04.29.13 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement marking Workers Memorial Day on April 28, a day to remember those who have been fatally injured or died while on the job. “On Workers Memorial Day, we reflect on the unacceptable price paid by thousands of workers who lose their lives each year and the millions who are severely injured while just trying to make a living. This reflection shoul… Continue Reading
House Dems Ask GAO to Examine Oversight Gaps at West, TX & Similar Facilities Nationwide
04.25.13 WASHINGTON - Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) today requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate gaps in regulatory oversight of the West, Texas fertilizer plant where an April 17 explosion killed 15 and injured more than 200. Miller, the senior Democratic member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and Courtney, the senior Democratic member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, also asked the GAO to catalog similar facilities acros… Continue Reading
GAO: State Workplace Safety Agencies Falling Short in Protecting Workers
04.18.13 WASHINGTON - In a report released today (pdf), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that some of the state-run occupational safety and health programs have failed to meet minimum workplace safety inspection goals, because of state budget cuts, reduced staffing, and policies that limit their ability to retain safety and health inspectors. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a state is allowed to run its own workplace health and safety program if the state’s program is at… Continue Reading
Bill to Strengthen Worker Health and Safety Law Introduced by House Dems
04.18.13 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee reintroduced legislation today that strengthens and modernizes the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 by giving the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tools to ensure that employers promptly correct hazardous working conditions, protect workers from retaliation when they blow the whistle on unsafe working conditions, and hold employers accountable for violations that cause death or serious… Continue Reading
Rep. Miller Statement on Meeting with Survivor of Bangladesh’s Tazreen Factory Fire and other Human Rights Leaders
04.10.13 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after meeting with a survivor of the Tazreen factory fire and other human rights leaders. Rep. Miller met with Sumi Abedin, a survivor of the Tazreen fire in Bangladesh that killed 112 workers in November 2012, Kalpona Akter, the executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, and other international workers' rights leaders. … Continue Reading
Inaction on Mine Safety Is Shameful, say Reps. Miller and Courtney on 3rd Anniversary of Upper Big Branch Tragedy
04.05.13 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, issued the following statement today on the third anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in Montcoal, W. Va. "Three years ago, 29 miners' lives were taken in an entirely senseless and preventable tragedy at the Upper Big Branch mine. While many on Capitol Hill have turned… Continue Reading
House Democrats Reintroduce Miner Safety Reforms
03.21.13 WASHINGTON - House Democrats reintroduced legislation today to bring the nation's mine health and safety laws up to date, give mine safety officials the ability to effectively investigate and shut down habitually dangerous mines, and hold mine operators accountable for putting their workers in unnecessary danger. The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2013 is similar to legislation introduced in 2011. "It's been almost three years since the Upper Big Branch mine explosion. After numer… Continue Reading
ROCKEFELLER, MILLER, MANCHIN, RAHALL CALL ON DOL TO MAINTAIN FOCUS ON MINE SAFETY CASES
03.17.13 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Jay Rockefeller, Congressman George Miller, Senator Joe Manchin, and Congressman Nick Rahall today announced that they are pushing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to maintain a strong focus on mine safety as the agency considers spending cuts. In a letter to DOL's Acting Secretary, the Members pushed back on DOL's sequestration plans that would disproportionately cut the Solicitor of Labor's efforts to reduce the backlog of appeals at the Federal Mine Safety and He… Continue Reading
Bill to Prevent Industrial Dust Explosions Re-Introduced in the House
02.14.13 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), the senior Democrat of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, reintroduced legislation today to prevent workplace explosions caused by combustible industrial dusts. Five years ago, a massive explosion the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga. killed 14 workers, injured dozens and caused millions of … Continue Reading
$1 Million Chevron Fine Insufficient Alone to Assure Change in Safety Culture, Rep. Miller Says
01.30.13 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued 25 citations totaling nearly $1 million against Chevron over significant violations uncovered at its Richmond, Calif. refinery after an August 6, 2012 fire. While there were no serious injuries to refinery workers who managed to escape harm, thousands of residen… Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller: Final Mine Safety Rule Will Better Protect Miners' Lives, But Work Far from Completed
01.17.13 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration finalized a proposal today to close loopholes in the agency’s “pattern of violation” sanctions regulations that have allowed some mine operations to escape tougher penalties and face potential closure orders for a sustained pattern of health and safety violations. “I applaud the Mine… Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller Response to NRA Press Conference
12.21.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after today's National Rifle Association's (NRA) press conference. "To the NRA, gun violence is never about semi-automatic weapons and high capacity ammunition clips. Never. But to a majority of parents across the country, mass shootings and gun violence have everything to do with those types of assault weapons and people who have lost their… Continue Reading
GAO: Federal Workers Disabled in the Line of Duty Face Significant Cuts to Important Benefits Under Pending Proposals
11.26.12 WASHINGTON - Proposals by the Department of Labor and approved by the U.S. Senate as part of a postal reform bill (S. 1789) would reduce wage replacement benefits for work-related injuries far below what workers would have received had they been able to work a full career, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in two reports released today. These provisions include reducing workers’ compensation at retirement age from 75 percent to 50 percent of the worker’s wages, lowering benefits … Continue Reading
Miller: GOP Proposal to Stop Black Lung Protections Outrageous
07.17.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after House Appropriations Committee Republicans unveiled a spending bill that includes language to stop a decades-long effort to modernize black lung protections for the nation's coal miners. "House Republicans' proposal to stop modern protections against black lung disease for our nation's miners is outrageous and should be defeated… Continue Reading
Expansion of Voluntary Protection Program, Without More Resources, Could Impact OSHA’s Ability to Protect Workers
06.28.12 WASHINGTON, D.C - At a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing today, members explored the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), which recognizes employers with exemplary safety management programs and below average injury rates for their industry. The program exempts participants from regularly scheduled inspections, and there are advocates for its expansion. However, the program's efficacy and OSHA's ability to expand the program while also co… Continue Reading
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) Opening Statement for the Hearing on the VPP Program
06.28.12 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the committee hearing entitled, “Promoting Workplace Safety through Voluntary Protection Programs”. *** Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing to examine the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Before we take any ste… Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller Statement after his Meeting with Upper Big Branch Mine Tragedy Families
06.07.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Labor Committee, issued the following statement after meeting today with families who lost loved ones at the April 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion that killed 29 miners. Families were on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers asking them to strengthen protections for miners and increase penalties for mine operators who put miners in danger. It has been two years, two months and two days sinc… Continue Reading
Members of Congressional Monitoring Group on Labor Rights in Colombia Send Letter to President Obama
05.24.12 George Miller, the senior Democratic member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, joined other members of the Congressional Monitoring Group on Labor Rights in Colombia in sending a letter to President Obama last week expressing concern over a number of recent incidents of violence and threats against labor activists in Colombia. With the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement going into force earlier this month, the members emphasized the need for continued engagement with Colombia on its w… Continue Reading