United Steelworkers vow to ‘redouble’ efforts on safety

Las Vegas – Members of the United Steelworkers have unanimously approved a resolution aimed at improving worker health and safety.

The resolution, which was approved Aug. 14 at the 2014 USW Constitutional Convention, preceded a scrolling display of the names of workers who died at USW-represented worksites since the organization’s last convention in 2011. Seventy-one USW members died in workplace incidents from 2011 to 2013, according to the resolution, and the death rate for USW members increased in the first half of 2014 after six years of declines.

In the resolution, USW members vowed to “redouble our efforts to prevent workplace fatalities and catastrophic accidents” by taking measures such as campaigning for politicians who will support the cause, fighting legislation that will weaken health and safety laws, and advocating for better railway safety regulations.

“We will oppose ‘safety’ programs that assume that worker misbehavior is the primary cause of workplace accidents,” the resolution states. “We will insist on safety programs that enlist the skill, knowledge, and commitment of the workforce in finding and correcting hazards.”