Labor leaders, worker advocates, and others came together in Liverpool Friday for Workers’ Memorial Day to recall the at least 30 people who died on the job in the past year across Central New York. They say there’s not enough inspectors to make sure OSHA laws are enforced in more workplaces. The Medical Director of the Occupational Health Clinical Center in Syracuse says the laws also need to be updated to reflect the modernized working conditions. Dr. Michael Lax sees workers suffering with job related problems on a daily basis.
"We have an epidemic. When you look at where the most injuries are most recorded, they're not at the steel mills or places you'd traditionally think. They're in hosptials, they're at nursing homes because people are trying to lift patients are blowing out their backs or their shoulders."
He adds that many health problems exist in work places today that people may never consider. The President of the CNY Labor Federation, Ann Marie Taliercio say unionized employees are offered more protections. For example, local instructors were recognized today for challenging their employer after inhaling fumes that made them sick.
"They could have been fired for any reason. But probably because they have a union or any union, the employer didn't feel free enough to just fire them. They can make up any reason. We’re employees at will.”
Both Taliercio and Dr. Lax say physical injuries on the job are documented more often, but occupational hazards are not. It’s estimated that 100,000 people die annually due to a hazardous occupational disease.
