NYCOSH Publication Questions Whether “OSHA Can Be Fixed”

In a new publication from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), a broad range of advocates from labor, government, public health and workers’ rights organizations outline priorities for OSHA aimed at initiating new programs to eliminate workplace hazards, strictly enforce existing standards reversing policies undercutting worker safety and health instituted by the Bush administration.

Laura Walter

Feb. 20, 2009

2 min read

“Can OSHA Be Fixed? What Must Be Done” is a special issue of NYCOSH’s quarterly newsletter, Safety Rep, produced for the incoming Obama administration.

“Since its inception in 1970, OSHA has never been given the resources it needs to accomplish its mission. However, during the last 8years, the agency has been administered by political appointees more concerned with the health of corporations than the health of workers,” said NYCOSH Executive Director Joel Shufro.

Contributors discuss a wide range of concerns that include the immediate need for a mandate from the Obama administration to issue standards already in the pipeline; increased funding for worker training programs; programs to aggressively reach out to immigrant workers and the organizations that work with them; strategies to protect worker safety and health during disaster response; new requirements to prevent underreporting of injuries and illnesses; and the need to establish mandatory labor-management safety and health committees.

The 34 contributors include Eric Frumin, director of occupational safety and health of UNITE HERE; Tammy Miser, president and executive director for United Support and Memorial for
Workplace Fatalities; Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y.; David Michaels, interim chairman of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services; Jordan Barab, senior labor policy advisor for the House Committee on Education and Labor; and more

The publication can be downloaded at http://www.nycosh.org/pdfs/OSHASafetyRep.pdf.

About the Author

Laura Walter

Laura Walter was formerly senior editor of EHS Today. She is a subject matter expert in EHS compliance and government issues and has covered a variety of topics relating to occupational safety and health. Her writing has earned awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), the Trade Association Business Publications International (TABPI) and APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. Her debut novel, Body of Stars (Dutton) was published in 2021.