USW, UMWA Determined To Change Safety Practices In Oil And Mining

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/13716

By Doug Cunningham

The United Steel Workers and United Mine Workers of America held a two-day emergency meeting this week on safety in the oil and mining industries. The two unions are determined to change the pattern of behavior in these industries that continue to put the lives of workers at risk. In April and May alone in the oil refining sector there were 13 fires, 19 deaths and 25 injuries. USW President Leo Gerard says the Occupational Safety and Health Act needs to be modernized and improved. Dr. David Michaels is Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. He says OSHA fines are inadequate to change corporate safety behavior. He cited an example of a worker killed in an acid accident where OSHA found the company guilty of several serious safety violations. The maximum fine imposed was $175,000.

: “The EPA came in right after we did. And they found that there were large numbers of fish and crabs killed in this same incident, and they have a $10 million fine.”

Michaels says part of the problem is not enough money is invested to properly and safely maintain equipment in these industries. He says OSHA is working to require the oil industry to invest more in safety.