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The Militant (logo)
Vol. 79/No. 36 October 12, 2015
Deaths on the job rise
as union membership falls
BY EMMA JOHNSON
NEW YORK — “It’s dangerous every day. We never work fast enough for
them,” said Felix, a construction worker originally from Guatemala.
“With more and more construction going on and many new workers, I think
there will be more people killed and injured.”
Felix, 25, who declined to give his full name, was part of a group of
workers who spoke to the Militant Sept. 26 outside a construction site
in Harlem before going into work. None of them are in a union and most
don’t have papers.
On Sept. 17 the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its preliminary
report on work-related deaths for 2014. When finally revised, the number
is expected to top 4,700, the highest since 2008.
More workers died on the job in agriculture, construction, mining and
manufacturing. Deaths in the oil and gas fields rose by 27 percent, the
highest figure in more than two decades. In construction, nearly 900
workers were killed, the highest number in six years.
Behind these figures are speedup, lower wages and longer hours. Less
than 7 percent of workers in the private sector have union protection,
and every year fewer are covered. What bosses call productivity — how
much they squeeze out of every worker — was close to an all-time high in
July, while wages are stagnant or falling.
“Bosses don’t care about the workers and our safety. I’ve worked for
three years now and learnt to look out for myself, but when I started it
was just luck that nothing serious happened,” Felix said. “I’ve worked
with union members. They work safer, their wages are higher, the
training better and they have benefits. We have nothing. I think being
in a union would be better for us.”
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On the Picket Line
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