Top 14 Things You Should Know from the Death on the Job 2025 Report
Top 14 Things You Should Know from the Death on the Job 2025 Report
Ahead of Workers Memorial Day, the AFL-CIO released its 34th annual “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect” report, a comprehensive analysis of the state of workers’ health and safety at the national and state levels. Workers are dying and being injured on the job, and the Trump administration and DOGE are putting them at greater risk by enacting policies that will create deplorable working conditions, according to the report.
“Every worker has the fundamental right to come home safe at the end of their workday. But for too many workers, that basic right is under attack,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “Workers fought and died for generations for the health and safety laws and protections we have today, and this year’s report shows we need to do even more. The Trump administration and DOGE are gutting the federal agencies that hold bosses accountable for endangering workers, firing the federal workers who monitor and research health hazards, indicating that they will repeal crucial worker safety regulations, and giving billionaires like Elon Musk the power to access and even manipulate OSHA whistleblower records. We can’t bring back the thousands of workers lost each year, but we can fight to prevent more devastation to working families across this country and demand that the Trump administration reverse course.”“This year’s ‘Death on the Job’ report once again shows that, as in every crisis, the crisis of worker mortality is hitting Black and Latino workers the hardest,” said Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. “It is unacceptable that employers are continuing to fail all workers, and especially Black and Latino workers, by not providing them the safety measures and resources they need to stay safe on the job. Enough is enough. The AFL-CIO is fighting the scourge of workplace mortality, and we will not rest until the number of workers who die on the job is zero.”Here are 14 things you need to know from the 2025 Death on the Job report:385 workers died each day from hazardous working conditions. 5,283 workers were killed on the job in the United States. An estimated 135,304 workers died from occupational diseases. The overall job fatality rate decreased to 3.5 per 100,000 workers. Workers of color die on the job at a higher rate: Black and Latino worker job fatality rates are disproportionate compared with all other workers and they continue to remain high. Employers reported nearly 3.2 million work-related injuries and illnesses, a decrease from the previous year. At least 55 workers died from heat on the job, a 28% increase from 2022; fatal and nonfatal data are an undercount of the real problem. Workplace homicides continue to be a significant problem, even though they decreased 12.6% since 2022; workplace suicides increased 5.2% from 2022. Separately, unintentional overdoses at work decreased nearly 5% from 2022 to 2023, due to increased attention paid to and efforts to combat the opioid crisis. The rate of serious workplace violence injuries has increased to 4.3 per 10,000 workers. Musculoskeletal disorders from repetitive motion injuries continue to be a major problem, accounting for approximately 28% of all serious work-related injuries and illnesses in private industry. Underreporting of all workplace injuries and illnesses is widespread—the true toll of work-related injuries and illnesses is 5.2 million to 7.8 million each year in private industry. Chemical exposures continue to plague working people, leading to debilitating, life-threatening diseases that are totally preventable. The cost of job injuries and illnesses is enormous, estimated at $174 billion to $348 billion a year—an undercount of the real impact on society, families and communities.The report also suggests solutions to these problems—actions that can be taken to improve these numbers.
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 04/23/2025 – 15:43
Boeing Teamsters in Washington Ratify Historic Contract
(SEATTLE) – Drivers at The Boeing Company, represented by Teamsters Local 174, have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a contract that materially surpasses all previous contracts for the group. The new agreement makes major language improvements and guarantees economic victories that raise the bar for the rest of the industry. “When these negotiations began, we were […]
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Teamsters on Strike at Caesars Southern Indiana
(ELIZABETH, Ind.) – More than 140 union workers at Caesar’s Southern Indiana Hotel & Casino, led by Teamsters Local 89, are on strike after the company failed to offer a fair contract that matches the property’s record-breaking profits. “We’re going to hold management accountable for their greed and blatant disrespect,” said Avral Thompson, President of […]
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April 29: IAM Union, NFFE-IAM, Labor Allies to Celebrate Federal Workers Outside Union Station
MEDIA ADVISORY WASHINGTON, April 23, 2025—The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers), along with the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), will host a federal worker thank you event on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. outside Union Station in Washington, D.C. This gathering of hundreds of union
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Service & Solidarity Spotlight: IBEW Members at National Grid Approve Contract with 4% Annual Wage Increase
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: IBEW Members at National Grid Approve Contract with 4% Annual Wage Increase
Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Some 1,200 National Grid employees, members of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1049, who work in Long Island’s natural gas and power plants, voted 590–90 to approve a new contract.The successful vote ends a monthslong contract negotiation period during which workers were on the verge of a strike multiple times.The new four-year contract includes a 4% yearly wage increase across the length of the contract, a reduction in out-of-pocket health care costs, and improvements in 401(k) and life insurance policies.“This is an agreement that I have been able to endorse. The negotiating committee as a whole has endorsed this new agreement,” said Pat Guidice, the union’s business manager. “It’s a good agreement.”“From the moment negotiations started, our membership’s well-being was our foremost priority,” Guidice said. “We’re pleased to see that our membership voted in favor of the new deal.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 04/23/2025 – 08:59
AB 33 Clears Assembly Transportation Committee with Teamsters Support
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – California Teamsters are celebrating the passage of Assembly Bill 33 (AB 33) out of the Committee on Transportation and calling on all state lawmakers to support the legislation. AB 33 would require a trained human operator in any autonomous vehicle (AV) used to deliver commercial goods directly to residences or businesses. “It’s […]
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April 22, 2025Let’s Get to The Truth: Myths and Facts about Postal Privatization
US Mail Not for Sale
No matter how you voted in last year’s election, no one voted to destroy the Postal Service. But the new administration plans to break up the Postal Service and sell it off to private corporations. Here’s what you need to know and what you can do to help save the Postal Service.
MYTH: The USPS loses billions of dollars each year in taxpayers’ money.
FACT: The Postal Service is self-funded and relies on revenue generated from the sale of stamps, products, and services to pay for its operations.
MYTH: The USPS is obsolete because letter mail volumes have steadily declined in the digital age.
FACT: The Postal Service is 250 years old and has always adapted to new technology and mail-mix. While letter mail is down, package volumes are up. Additionally, the Postal Reform Act of 2022 allows the Postal Service to offer new services to local government. These and other expanded services like postal banking, could underpin USPS finances for generations to come.
MYTH: The USPS isn’t profitable, so it should be run like a business.
FACT: The Postal Service is not a business; it is enshrined in the constitution and has a congressionally-mandated obligation to serve the people by delivering to all 169 million addresses, urban or rural, six days a week.
MYTH: If the mail was run by private companies, the universal service obligation would still exist and the Postal Service would deliver to every address.
FACT: Delivery would be driven by profit margins, and private companies will only go to where they can make a profit. Sections of our population could lose mail service entirely. Prices would rise according to whatever the company demands for their own profit.
MYTH: Moving the USPS under the Commerce Department would mean it is still a public agency, and not subject to privatization.
FACT: Moving the USPS under the Commerce Department would be a step backwards, giving power back to the Executive Branch and removing the independent governance that allows us to serve America free from political interference. It could also affect labor union contracts, vote-by-mail initiatives, and much more. Trump-appointed Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick would be in charge. He has already expressed interest in privatizing the Postal Service. This administration intends to break up and sell off the profitable portions of the Postal Service to billionaires and USPS competitors.
Understanding The Facts: Our public Postal Service
Support and protect your public Postal Service. Sign our petition at usmailnotforsale.org/petition.
FACT: The Post Office is enshrined in the US Constitution and created by an act of co Congress. The public Postal Service is part of the fundamental infrastructure of our great nation binding us together.
FACT: By law, the USPS is self funded. It operates through the sale of postage and and postal services alone, without tax dollars.
FACT: The Post Office will celebrate its 250th anniversary in July. Let’s work together to to bring another 250 years of strong, public postal services for every American!
FACT: The USPS delivers to every address in the country—169 million addresses and and 318 million pieces of mail each day—no matter who we are or where we live. In contrast, private delivery companies will only go where they can make a profit.
FACT: If the Administration’s plans to sell the USPS to corporations for private a goes through, it will result in higher costs, reduced delivery days, and the end of universal delivery to every address in the country.
FACT: The USPS is the low-cost anchor of the giant mail and package industry. bla The industry employs more than seven million people and generates more than $1.2 trillion in economic activity. At a time of booming e-commerce, the public Postal Service is as necessary as ever.
FACT: The United States Postal Service is consistently ranked among the most favorable favorable and most trusted federal agencies.
FACT: Postal privatization wouldn’t just be the end of reliable mail delivery, it woould would destroy over 600,000 good union jobs. The USPS is also the country’s largest civilian employer of veterans. Good jobs build good communities.
Download a Copy of this Fact Sheet
2025 Hands Off Our Postal Service Leaflet for Actions [ENGLISH]
Let’s Get to The Truth: Myths and Facts about Postal Privatization0
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Remember the Past, Fight for the Future this Workers’ Memorial Day
April 28, 2025Each year, April 28 is a significant day for workers and unions worldwide. Known as Workers’ Memorial Day, it is the day to honor workers who die or are injured on the job each year. It is a day of action, reflection, and mourning for workers and unions. We encourage members to recognize the day by reporting hazards in the workplace using a PS Form 1767.
Speak Up for Safe Jobs
In 1989, the AFL-CIO declared that April 28 would be celebrated each year as “Workers’ Memorial Day” to remember workers who were injured or died on the job and renew the fight for safety and protections at work. The date is intentional – April 28 is the day that the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was signed into law. This act, which unions led the fight for, created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the body that establishes and enforces standards for safe and healthy working conditions. Tony Mazzocchi, a labor leader in the oil Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW), led this fight by aligning the environmental and labor movements to pass this crucial piece of legislation.
Until OSHA was created, workers didn’t enjoy any formal, enforceable standards for safety and health in the workplace. OSHA set a standard for all employers – public and private – to protect workers on the job. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics proves that OSHA works. Since OSHA’s implementation, injuries in the workplace have fallen from 10.9 cases per 100 workers in 1972, to 2.8 cases per 100 in 2018.
OSHA protects workers against bosses who want to put profit over safety. Time and again, corporations have tried to get OSHA repealed, and this year is proving no different. On Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, U.S. House Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) introduced a bill that would abolish OSHA . Bigg’s bill, which he named the Nullify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NOSHA) Act, demands that “The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is repealed. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is abolished.”
Removing OSHA is dangerous for many reasons. Among other things, OSHA protects whistleblowers; provides support training, outreach, education, and assistance to those who need it; and works collaboratively with state OSHA programs to ensure they are effective at furthering worker safety and health protections. OSHA is the avenue workers have to win safety at work – it can enforce federal labor standards at almost every worksite. If a worksite does not meet these standards, OSHA can even fine employers. In 2024, OSHA investigated employee complaints about a Boston waterproofing contractor and fined the company $451,694 for exposing workers to life-threatening excavation hazards that led to injured and buried workers.
OSHA, paired with the protections from our union contract helps keep us safe on the job. Workers’ Memorial Day reminds us of the grim consequence that workers face when there are no safety regulations or means to enforce them.
George Edwards Appointed Eastern Territory Coordinator
IAM International President Brian Bryant has appointed George Edwards to serve as Eastern Territory Coordinator, effective April 1, 2025. Edwards, who had served as an International Representative, was appointed to the Eastern Territory as a Special Representative in August 2021. Prior to that, Edwards had served as District 4’s Directing Business Representative and Assistant
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Strength and Solidarity on Display at IAM’s Tennessee/Kentucky State Council
The IAM Union is proving that workers in the South are building a resurgence of working people power. The IAM’s Tennessee/Kentucky State Council recently brought member-activists across the two states to Gatlinburg, Tenn., for the council’s annual meeting. The councils, led in Tennessee by District 1888 Directing Business Representative Bill Benson and in Kentucky by
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