Abolish OSHA? Again?
By Jordan Barab, Confined Space
But take a breath. I’m not very concerned
about Biggs’ bill.
But I am very concerned about the fate of
OSHA.
Why?
Read on…
Biggs’ introduced, H.R. 86, the “Nullify
Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act” on January 3, 2025, the
first day of the 119th Congress. The nickname is the “NOSHA Act”. (Get
it? No OSHA Act?)The entire text of the bill reads “The Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970 is repealed. The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration is abolished.”
Background
This is the third time Biggs has introduced this same bill.
He keeps introducing it because he is incensed that that OSHA has been forced
to crack down on Arizona’s state OSHA program for violating the OSHAct which
requires OSHA state plan states to operate a program that is “at least as
effective” as federal OSHA’s program. Arizona’s previous Republican
Governors, Jan Brewer and Doug Ducey, repeatedly resisted OSHA’s efforts to
ensure that the state complied with the law.
During the Obama Administration, federal OSHA started
enforcing requirements that residential construction workers use fall
protection for heights above 6 feet. After OSHA’s fall protection
standard was issued in the early 1990’s, residential construction was
“temporarily” exempted for feasibility reasons. Fast forward 20 years, that
exemption didn’t make sense (if it ever did), and the requirements were
reinstated. Several states resisted enforcing those requirements, and Arizona
actually passed a law refusing to comply. To force their compliance, federal
OSHA launched a long administrative process to take over Arizona’s construction
sector. On the eve of the federal takeover, the state relented and decided to
protect residential construction workers.
During COVID, Arizona refused to adopt OSHA’s
Emergency Temporary Standard protecting health care workers from COVID-19.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey criticized the
standard as a “federal threat to take authority away from Arizona and the
other states as a ‘political stunt and desperate power grab’ that falls outside
the normal public-comment process for changing regulations.”
Even the first Trump administration came down hard on Arizona for
not following appropriate procedures and guidelines. OSHA accused the state
of allowing the Industrial Commission of Arizona to routinely and
arbitrarily reduce the penalties recommended by Arizona OSHA inspectors.
OSHA ordered the state to stop reclassifying violations and directed the agency
to determine criteria by which the ICA can approve citations or adjust
penalties.
For those reasons and other failures, the Biden
administration threatened to rescind the entire state plan, but relented when
Democrat Katie Hobbs was elected Governor in 2022 and promised to improve the
program.
States’ Rights
Biggs claims that his only concern is states’ rights:
“Arizona, and every other state, has the constitutional
right to establish and implement their own health and safety measures, and is
more than capable of doing so. It’s time that we fight back against the bloated
federal government and eliminate agencies that never should have been
established in the first place. I will not let OSHA push Arizona around with
their bureaucratic regulations and urge my colleagues to support my effort to
eliminate this unconstitutional federal agency.”
Two problems here. First, for all of his rhetoric about
states doing a better job, nothing in the bill requires individual states to do
anything to protect workers.
Second, we’ve tried letting states do their own thing
already — like for roughly the first 200 years of our country’s history. It
didn’t work out so well. During the 1960s, disabling workplace injuries
increased 20 percent and 14,000 workers were dying on the job each year.
Nearly 690,000 workers’ lives have been saved since
the passage of the OSH Act.
We’ve tried letting states do their own thing already —
like for roughly the first 200 years of our country’s history. It didn’t work
out so well. During the 1960s, disabling workplace injuries increased 20
percent and 14,000 workers were dying on the job each year. Nearly
690,000 workers’ lives have been saved since the passage of the OSH Act.
Also, when you let all the states compete for how well (or
poorly) they can protect workers, you inevitably get a race to the bottom:
states compete for new business by offering lower standards and weaker
enforcement. Employers in New Mexico may have a 5-foot requirement for
shoring trenches, while workers across the state line in Arizona will have the
freedom to get crushed in 15-foot deep trenches. Giving each state the “right
to establish and implement their own health and safety measures” simply means more
workers will get injured, sick and killed in states that use their “right” to
let workers die from perfectly preventable causes.
Biggs has also spoken at “Stop the Steal” rallies and
falsely claimed that “we don’t know who won Arizona in the 2020 presidential
election.” And he’s running for Governor of Arizona in 2026.
Why I’m Not Concerned About Biggs
Biggs’ bill doesn’t worry me. He introduces it every year.
Last session he gained one co-sponsor, which is one more than
he has this year so far. He peaked in the 117th Congress (2021-2023) with 9
cosponsors. Bills with a tiny handful of cosponsors don’t get hearings,
much less a vote on the House floor. No one wants to waste their time.
In addition, although I’m sure Trump, Musk, Republicans in
Congress and much of corporate America would love to abolish OSHA and take away
workers’ rights to a safe workplace, a full frontal assault on the OSH Act
is probably not the smartest way for them to do that. Imagine the
embarrassing headlines:
Trump to Abolish Safe Workplaces!
How Many Workers Will Never Come Home Because of
Congressional Move to Abolish OSHA?
Republicans to Workers: Drop Dead! (Literally)
Who needs that?
Biggs bill will not be the way they will destroy OSHA.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not very, very concerned about
OSHA’s fate.
Why I’m Very Concerned About OSHA
If you want to kill or enfeeble OSHA, there’s a much better
way to go about it — through the budget. This year, like several other
years in the recent past, Congress needs to deal with two budgets at the same
time: the unfinished FY 2025 budget (which began October 1 of last year) and
the FY 2026 budget (which begins on October 1, 2025).
And severely cutting OSHA’s budget is definitely on the
table.
The current FY 2025 Continuing Resolution runs out on March
14, 2025 — less than a month and a half from now.
If you want to kill or enfeeble OSHA, there’s a much
better way to go about it — through the budget.
To a certain extent, radical measures like eliminating OSHA
can be tempered by the fact that the filibuster ensures that the Senate
operates on a somewhat bipartisan basis. Sixty votes are need to pass
legislation.
On the other hand, the two upcoming two budget battles
promise to be shit-shows with huge issues to fight over: the existence of the
Department of Education and USAID, abortion rights, immigration, Medicare and
Medicaid, climate change, infrastructure, foreign aid and on and on. Any
drastic changes to OSHA’s budget, or actions like eliminating the Susan Harwood
Worker Training Grants promise to be small potatoes to the media and even
supportive legislators, lost in the fog of much bigger fights.
And unless you’re worried that I’m giving the Republican
ideas that they haven’t already figured out themselves, never fear.
Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced an amendment to this year’s OSHA
appropriations bill to zero out OSHA’s budget.
That didn’t go anywhere then, but this is now.
Of course, all of this budget stuff may just be quaint
thinking from a bygone era. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that we
no longer live in a constitutional republic. I mean who needs legislation or
budget shenanigans or Congress when Elon and his minions can just march into a
government agency, kick out all the employees and declare the agency closed?
What Is To Be Done?
First, don’t freak out about Biggs’ stupid bill. It isn’t
going anywhere. If you’re talking to the press or legislators, feel free to use
the bill as a vehicle to show Republicans’ hostility toward OSHA and workers.
But save your energy for the budget battles (or possible
DOGE invasions) to come.
But that won’t be easy. Donald Trump’s strategy is to “flood
the zone.” Give people so many things to freak out about that nothing gets
enough focus. That will undoubtedly be the Republicans’ strategy in the
upcoming budget battles.
If OSHA’s budget is threatened, it is our job to make sure
that taking way workers’ rights is as close to the top of legislators’ agenda —
and the media’s agenda — as possible. And we need to start NOW. That
means making sure your legislators understand the importance of OSHA, the
importance of being able to call for an inspection if you’re forced to work in
unsafe conditions, the importance of strong standards that employers are
required to comply with, the importance of strong penalties to deter the low-road
employers from killing their employees.
If OSHA’s budget is threatened, it is our job to make
sure that taking way workers’ rights is as close to the top of legislators’
agenda — and the media’s agenda — as possible.
Every week Confined Space publishes The Weekly Toll.
And if you scroll down the right-hand column of Confined Space, you’ll find a
listing of states. You can look up your state and find every Weekly
Toll that includes workers in your state (as well as any other
relevant stories about workplace safety in your state.)
Last week’s Weekly Toll included
a worker decapitated in a wood chipper, workers crushed under concrete slabs
and a collapsed house, a worker who suffocated in a chemical tank and a utility
worker who was electrocuted. And last week was no different than every other
week. Only the names change.
Every time you see a worker killed in your state (or your
Congressional district), download the linked article and send it to your
Congressperson and Senators. We need to make sure that workplace death is front
and center for every legislator. Call them. Go to district meetings when
they’re speaking. Demand that they promise to support a worker’s right to
a safe workplace.
We only have a few weeks before the FY 2025 budget is
finalized. Even a flat budget means a cut for OSHA, when inflation is factored
in. Then we have about 6 months until the beginning of FY 2026 — another time
to do battle.
They aren’t going to let up. So far, the Department of Labor
and OSHA haven’t risen to the top of Musk’s radar screen. Maybe future Secretary Chavez-DeRemer can
temper some of the anti-worker impulses of the Trump administration.
Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet much money on it.
Ultimately, the battle is up to us. Advocates and workers
who want to come home to their families at the end of every shift can make the
difference.
This article first
appeared on Confined Space.
Jordan
Barab, Confined Space. Jordan Barab was Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Labor at OSHA from 2009 to 2017, and spent 16 years running the safety and
health program at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees. He writes regularly at https://jordanbarab.com/confinedspace/