Las Vegas — United Steelworkers delegates recently passed a resolution to “redouble” organizational efforts to “prevent occupational fatalities, injuries, illnesses and accidents.”
The resolution, approved April 10 during USW’s annual convention, states that 68 worker fatalities in USW-represented facilities were reported from July 1, 2022, through March 17. The document adds that “hundreds more current and retired Steelworkers died from occupational diseases caused by hazardous exposures to toxic substances or COVID-19” and “thousands more” have sustained injuries.
In the resolution, USW pledges to mitigate the “serious health and safety hazards” present in workplaces that employ its members through several actions:
- Continue to work for stronger environmental, health and safety regulations, as well as just and fair workers’ compensation.
- Advocate at all levels of government to ensure strict occupational exposure limits and protections exist in mining and other sectors.
- Continue and expand efforts to educate members about their rights under the union contract and law, especially the right to refuse unsafe work.
- Promote increased research to expand the number of recognized occupational diseases.
- Advocate for more inclusive workplace design and ensure employers aren’t providing a one-size-fits-all approach to workplace EHS systems.
“We are the health and safety union, and we will always fight to ensure that our employers are held criminally accountable,” USW Local 7135 Vice President Will Foresi said in a press release. “When it comes to health and safety, we have no choice but to always be all in.”
