On this day in labor history, the year was 1970.
That was the day President Richard M. Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act into law. At the time, it was estimated that 14,000 workers died annually on the job, 2.2 million workers were permanently or temporarily disabled and half a million developed occupational diseases each year.
The Department of Labor admitted at the time that at least 25 million serious injuries and deaths went unreported each year.
Statistics like these prompted occupational health and safety expert, Dr. Jeanne Stellman to state, “Each day millions of workers in America enter a battlefield, but they fight no foreign enemy and conquer no foreign lands. The battlefield is the American workplace and the casualties of this war are higher than those of any other in the nation’s history.”
Industrial unions surveyed thousands of members regarding health and safety conditions.
They documented deplorable working conditions, debilitating injuries, mystery diseases and early fatalities of their coworkers.
Their testimonies provided the ammunition necessary to fight for OSHA.
The Act established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, responsible for standards, regulation and enforcement.
It also established the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, responsible for research and recommendations.
The Act served as a milestone. It provided the formal, legal basis for which workers could fight to qualitatively change their lives at the workplace.
The General Duty Clause established that workplaces must be free of hazards, and allowed workers to demand inspections.
The Act also mandated medical record keeping, surprise inspections and enforcement.
Many of the standards, regulations and enforcements OSHA now has, have come as a result of intense, continuous pressure waged by the labor movement.
November 3 - The Greensboro Massacre
November 2 - Sixteen Tons
November 1 - The Deadly Consequences of Scabbing
October 31 - Happy Union Made Halloween
October 30 - Wall St. Lays an Egg
October 29 - Alice Doesn’t Day
October 28 - The Pony Express
October 27 - The 1948 Donora Smog
October 26 - America’s Florence Nightingale
October 25 - NY Daily News On Strike!
October 24 - Eight Hours for Work, Eight Hours for Rest, Eight Hours for What We Will!
October 23 - John Sweeney is Elected
October 22 - Pretty Boy Floyd Is Gunned Down
October 21 - Through Rain, Sleet, Snow & Anthrax
October 20 - Remembering Debs
October 19 - Tragedy on the Tracks
October 18 - Voice of an Era
October 17 - Fighting to End Poverty
October 16 - Thank A Farmer
October 15 - Too Little, Too Late for Radiation Sickness
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