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USA: New AFL-CIO report finds worker deaths on the job continue, will worsen under Trump administration policies

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The AFL-CIO’s 34th annual ‘Death on the Job’ report provides a state-by-state analysis of threats to worker health and safety and policy recommendations for how the government can better protect workers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Workers are dying and being injured on the job, and the Trump administration and DOGE are putting them at greater risk by enacting policies that will create deplorable working conditions, according to a new report released today by the AFL-CIO.

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.

The national job fatality rate was slightly lower in 2023 than in 2022, thanks to strong, pro-worker policies. But the Trump administration’s substantial cuts to—and in some cases, effective elimination of—federal agencies that protect the health and safety of 161 million American workers will likely increase mortality. 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.

AFL-CIO News release

 

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USA: Death on the job report – 14 things you should know

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Death on the Job graphic

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. Workers are dying and being injured on the job, and the Trump administration and DOGE are putting them at greater risk by enacting policies that will create deplorable working conditions, according to the report.

“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.”
Here are 14 things you need to know from the 2025 Death on the Job report:

  1. 385 workers died each day from hazardous working conditions.

  2. 5,283 workers were killed on the job in the United States.

  3. An estimated 135,304 workers died from occupational diseases.

  4. The overall job fatality rate decreased to 3.5 per 100,000 workers.

  5. Workers of color die on the job at a higher rate: Black and Latino worker job fatality rates are disproportionate compared with all other workers and they continue to remain high.

  6. Employers reported nearly 3.2 million work-related injuries and illnesses, a decrease from the previous year.

  7. At least 55 workers died from heat on the job, a 28% increase from 2022; fatal and nonfatal data are an undercount of the real problem.

  8. Workplace homicides continue to be a significant problem, even though they decreased 12.6% since 2022; workplace suicides increased 5.2% from 2022.

  9. Separately, unintentional overdoses at work decreased nearly 5% from 2022 to 2023, due to increased attention paid to and efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

  10. The rate of serious workplace violence injuries has increased to 4.3 per 10,000 workers.

  11. Musculoskeletal disorders from repetitive motion injuries continue to be a major problem, accounting for approximately 28% of all serious work-related injuries and illnesses in private industry.

  12. Underreporting of all workplace injuries and illnesses is widespread—the true toll of work-related injuries and illnesses is 5.2 million to 7.8 million each year in private industry.

  13. Chemical exposures continue to plague working people, leading to debilitating, life-threatening diseases that are totally preventable.

  14. The cost of job injuries and illnesses is enormous, estimated at $174 billion to $348 billion a year—an undercount of the real impact on society, families and communities.

The report also suggests solutions to these problems—actions that can be taken to improve these numbers.

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USA: AFL-CIO Releases 2024 Death on the Job report

On 25 April, ahead of  Workers Memorial Day on April 28, the AFL-CIO released their 33rd annual report, Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect. This annual report serves as a national and state-by-state profile of worker safety and health, offering direction to policymakers and regulatory bodies as they strive to address the scourge of working people facing death, injury and illness at work. Among the report’s startling data are the disproportionate rates of Latino and Black workers at risk of dying on the job. Black workers are facing the highest job fatality rates in nearly 15 years and Latino workers continue to face the greatest risk of dying on the job, compared to all other workers.

The report also sheds light on the enormous cost of job injuries and illness on our society—an estimated $174 billion to $348 billion a year—and the flat-funded budget for job safety agencies to fulfill their growing duties, which do not even keep up with inflation. It also outlines key strategies to address this crisis, including a renewed commitment to regulatory oversight agencies, improved data and transparency, stronger deterrents against employer retaliation, and prioritizing standard-setting and enforcement.

“Despite workers’ hard-won safety and health rights, this report shows the fight is far from over,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “Too many workers face retaliation for reporting unsafe working conditions or injuries, while low penalties fail to deter employers from following the law. The alarming disparities in workplace fatalities among workers of color are unacceptable, symptomatic of deeply ingrained racial inequity and the need to pay increased attention to the dangerous industries that treat workers as disposable. As we honor those who have fallen this Workers Memorial Day, we remain committed to holding corporations accountable so that all jobs are safe jobs—where every worker can return home safely at the end of the day.”

“This report exposes an urgent crisis for workers of color and reaffirms what we’ve long known: When we talk about justice for workers, we must prioritize racial equity,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond. “The fact that Black and Latino workers continue to die on the job at disproportionate rates demands a reckoning with the failure of employers to protect them. We must honor the lives lost on the job with action, as we recommit ourselves to advancing safety, health and equity for all workers.”

This year’s report reveals that in 2022:

  • 344 workers died each day from hazardous working conditions.
  • 5,486 workers were killed on the job in the United States.
  • An estimated 120,000 workers died from occupational diseases.
  • The job fatality rate increased again to 3.7 per 100,000 workers.
  • Workers of color die on the job at a higher rate: Black and Latino worker job fatality rates are disproportionate compared with all other workers and are continuing to increase.
  • Black workers’ job fatality rate was the highest it has been in nearly 15 years—4.2 per 100,000 workers.
  • Latino workers’ job fatality rate increased again to 4.6 per 100,000 workers—meaning they continued to face the greatest risk of dying on the job than all workers, at 24% higher than the national average; the rate marked a 24% increase over the past decade.
  • Employers reported nearly 3.5 million work-related injuries and illnesses, an increase from the previous year.

These sobering findings stress the urgent need for immediate action to prioritize worker safety and shed light on the escalating challenges facing workplace protections. Progress has been hindered by growing opposition from big corporations to workers’ rights and protections. Extremist politicians have also unnecessarily politicized critical issues such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created more challenges to longstanding problems of heat and infectious disease exposure in the workplace, and the lack of funding has left our agencies scrambling to keep up.

And in this critical election year, the stakes are even higher for those who need safe working conditions. The stark difference between the Biden and Trump administrations’ worker safety and health records underscore this significant moment for workers. While the Biden administration has issued strong standards and enforcement initiatives and has tirelessly worked to rebuild and fortify job and safety agencies after years of neglect and erosion, the prior administration’s actions led to severe understaffing, the repeal of essential worker safety laws, restrictions on public access to vital information and weak enforcement against employers who violate the law.

In light of these report findings and obstacles we continue to face, the AFL-CIO remains committed to prioritizing the prevention of injury, illness and fatalities at work, advocating for strong standards and organizing for safer working conditions while supporting leaders like President Biden who champion workers’ rights to a safe job. While there is still much work ahead, our advocacy for policies that protect workers and hold employers accountable remains steadfast. Collaboration with lawmakers, activists and allies will continue to advance workplace safety initiatives, ensuring that every worker has the opportunity to thrive in a safe and healthy environment.

Read the full report here. 

https://aflcio.org/press/releases/afl-cio-releases-2024-death-job-report-ahead-workers-memorial-day

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USA: Safety is a fundamental right

 

The 2023 edition of Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect marks the 32nd year the US national union center AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America’s workers. The publication is a key resource for US union representatives on 28 April, International Workers’ Memorial Day. This year US unions are highlighting the lifesaving role of organizing for safe work, stressing this is now a fundamental right. It notes racial and other social inequalities in occupational safety and health are a major problem.

AFL-CIO says the US Occupational Safety and Health Act, “promising every worker the right to a safe job, has been in effect for more than 50 years, and more than 668,000 workers now can say their lives have been saved since the passage of the OSH Act.

“Over the last 50 years, there has been significant progress toward improving working conditions and protecting workers from job injuries, illnesses and deaths. Federal job safety agencies have issued many important regulations on safety hazards and health hazards like silica and coal dust, strengthened enforcement and expanded worker rights. These initiatives have undoubtedly made workplaces safer and saved lives. But much more progress is needed.”

See the Full Report