Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

SUN EDITORIAL:

Four decades of OSHA

There is still much more work to be done to protect America’s workers

Forty years ago this week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration came into existence with the daunting task of protecting America’s workers.

Before OSHA, workplace safety was governed by a hodgepodge of state and federal laws, which didn’t serve the nation well. The federal law brought much-needed uniformity to the oversight of safety, and in the decades since, the nation has seen many improvements. The annual number of workplace deaths has dropped dramatically. In 1970, there were nearly 14,000 workplace deaths in the United States. In 2009, the latest year for which numbers are available, the total was 4,340.

Although many factors are involved in the decline, including the decrease in manufacturing jobs, it’s clear OSHA played a major role in improving safety in American workplaces. The creation of the federal agency put an emphasis and a focus on the issue that didn’t exist before its creation.

But, as we have noted before, there is still much to be done. Millions of people are injured or sickened each year. An untold number of workers are exposed to some sort of carcinogen or toxin and won’t see the symptoms for years.

There is plenty OSHA could have been doing over the decades, but as the Las Vegas Sun’s investigation three years ago on occupational safety reported, OSHA often hasn’t been given the tools or the resources to do the job.

One underlying problem is that workplace safety is viewed in Washington as a political issue. Congress fought for years over the issue before it created OSHA. Business groups complained about the cost of federal regulation, while labor groups pointed to the very real dangers.

OSHA was crafted as a meek regulator, and the nation’s approach to workplace safety has ebbed and flowed with each new administration. Democratic administrations tend to take OSHA’s mission more seriously and push for enforcing federal rules and regulations. Republican administrations tend to dial back the agency’s work.

The resulting push-and-tug hasn’t been good for workers. One administration works to boost workplace safety, and the next cuts it. For example, after Bill Clinton’s administration tried to boost the agency, George W. Bush’s administration worked to gut it, and now President Barack Obama administration’s is trying to restore the agency.

Under Bush, OSHA saw its budget cut and work was stopped on significant rules that would have protected workers throughout the country. The Bush administration repeatedly ignored strong scientific evidence and let dangerous conditions continue in many workplaces. In fact, no other administration — including Gerald Ford’s — issued fewer standards than the Bush administration did.

The Bush administration was aided by industry groups that like to argue workplace safety measures cost too much money and hinder the economy. But that’s simply not the case. Economists and safety experts have clearly demonstrated that good safety programs are cost-effective and can actually save a business money. Workplace injuries and deaths cost businesses, taxpayers and the economy billions of dollars a year. For example, there are increased medical costs, lost wages and higher workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Workplace safety hasn’t been a priority in the country. Nevada saw that after the Sun’s investigation into a rash of construction workers’ deaths on the Strip. Although the investigation showed problems with state regulations and oversight, the Nevada Legislature didn’t do much to address the issue.

On the federal level, what change has come has been incremental. But that’s not good enough. Consider that a company that dumps toxic chemicals can face greater sanctions than a company whose negligence leads to a worker’s death.

The nation has come a long way in the past four decades, but it hasn’t done enough to ensure the safety of American workers. That needs to change.

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