Rhode Island has the lowest workplace fatality rate, but for how long?
AFL-CIO
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Ahead of Workers Memorial Day, the AFL-CIO released its 34th
annual “Death on the
Job: The Toll of Neglect” report, a comprehensive analysis of the state
of workers’ health and safety at the national and state levels. Findings
include:
- Inadequate
workplace safety laws and policies resulted in the deaths of 5,283 workers
on the job in 2023, the latest year of data available, and an estimated
135,304 workers from occupational diseases.
- Black
and Latino workers are still disproportionately dying on the job, both at
rates higher than the national job fatality rate.
- The
report shows 659 Black worker deaths, the second-highest number in more
than two decades.
- The
report also shows 1,250 Latino worker deaths, making Latino workers the
group at the greatest risk of dying on the job among all
demographics.
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| Strong unions make the difference in saving lives |
These cuts include gutting the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the agency that delivers critical health and safety expertise for both workers and employers; eliminating 11 offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in states with the highest workplace fatality rates; eliminating 34 offices of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), which protects coal miners from hazards like black lung disease, in 19 states, while simultaneously pausing a new silica rule that would prevent coal miners from acquiring silicosis; and allowing Elon Musk, whose companies are being investigated for dozens of workplace safety and health violations, to pursue access to sensitive OSHA data through his inquisition into the Department of Labor.
“Every worker has the fundamental right to come home safe at
the end of their workday. But for too many workers, that basic right is under
attack,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “Workers fought
and died for generations for the health and safety laws and protections we have
today, and this year’s report shows we need to do even more. The Trump
administration and DOGE are gutting the federal agencies that hold bosses
accountable for endangering workers, firing the federal workers who monitor and
research health hazards, indicating that they will repeal crucial worker safety
regulations, and giving billionaires like Elon Musk the power to access and
even manipulate OSHA whistleblower records. We can’t bring back the thousands
of workers lost each year, but we can fight to prevent more devastation to
working families across this country and demand that the Trump administration
reverse course.”
“This year’s ‘Death on the Job’ report once again shows
that, as in every crisis, the crisis of worker mortality is hitting Black and
Latino workers the hardest,” said Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of
the AFL-CIO. “It is unacceptable that employers are continuing to fail all
workers, and especially Black and Latino workers, by not providing them the
safety measures and resources they need to stay safe on the job. Enough is
enough. The AFL-CIO is fighting the scourge of workplace mortality, and we will
not rest until the number of workers who die on the job is zero.”
The 2025 “Death on the Job” report comes just before Workers Memorial Day, the annual commemoration of workers who have died on the job and our fight to prevent these tragedies.
The AFL-CIO, its state and local labor
federations, and affiliated unions are raising awareness of the Trump
administration’s threats to worker health and safety with events across the country this
week and next, including a hearing about cuts to worker health and safety
programs that took place on Monday, April 21. At the hearings, federal workers,
union leaders and community members shared their stories about the impacts of
the Trump administration’s actions.
Read the full report here.
