View Report ‘Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect’ at aflcio.org/death-on-the-job
LANSING – More Michigan workers died on the job in 2014, according to a new report released today by the AFL-CIO. In total, 143 Michigan workers died as a result of injuries sustained while on the job, an increase from 135 workplace deaths in 2013. Michigan ranked 21st in the nation for its fatality rate in 2014. In addition, the state had 117,400 total cases of workplace injuries and illness in 2014, the seventh most in the country.
“Everyone who works for a living deserves a safe place to work,” said Ron Bieber, President of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “The fact that Michigan ranks in the top half of states for workplace deaths and the top 10 for injuries and illness just shows that our elected leaders in Lansing need to take action and make job safety a priority.”
As of 2016, Michigan has only 62 workplace safety and health inspectors covering 236,461 job sites, which employ 4,090,009 workers across the state. That means there is only one Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) inspector for every 65,968 employees in Michigan. It would take 58 years for MIOSHA to inspect each Michigan workplace once.
Michigan’s average penalty for workplace health and safety violations was an average of just $612 in 2015, which ranks 48th lowest out of 50 states. The national average for violations of the OSH Act was $1,598.
“When it comes to keeping people safe on the job, Lansing has the wrong priorities,” said Bieber. “The fact that we have one of the highest numbers of workplace injuries in the country, and one of the lowest average penalties for safety violations, shows that the playing field is tilted to protect corporate CEOs over working people. It’s time for Governor Snyder and the Legislature to ensure MIOSHA has the resources it needs to hire more inspectors, hold bad actors accountable, and keep people safe on the job.”
Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, marks the 25th year the AFL-CIO has published findings on the state of safety and health protections for working people in the country. Nationally, 4,821 workers were killed on the job in 2014, and 3.8 million suffered workplace injuries and illness.
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