Safety Tidbits 4/28/08

April 28th is Workers Memorial Day!
The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. Every year, people in hundreds of communities and at worksites recognize workers who have been killed or injured on the job. Trade unionists around the world now mark April 28 as an International Day of Mourning. -http://www.aflcio.org

Many worker places still Unsafe
A new report from the AFL-CIO paints a stark picture of occupational safety and health in the American workplace, contending safety laws and penalties are too weak to protect workers effectively.
-5,840 – Number of workers killed on the job in 2006.
-$10,133 – The average national penalty issued after a workplace fatality, according to the latest version of the AFL-CIO’s annual “Death on the Job” report.
-4.1 million – Number of workers hurt on the job in 2006.
-50,000 to 60,000 – Number of people who died from occupational diseases in 2006
The Washington-based union's annual "Death on the Job" report, released April 24, said 4.1 million workers were injured and killed on the job in 2006. The report added that others died from occupational diseases in 2006. -NSC

Face the music and do what you can
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” -James Baldwin

Drinking and Driving
States in the upper Midwest have the most drivers who admitted to having driven under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year, according to a new government report released April 23.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that 15.1 percent of the nation's drivers 18 and older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year. Wisconsin topped the list with 26.4 percent. North Dakota (24.9 percent), Minnesota (23.5 percent), Nebraska (22.9 percent) and South Dakota (21.6 percent) round out the top five states.
Utah had the lowest level of drunk drivers at 9.5 percent, followed by West Virginia (10.1 percent), North Carolina (10.4 percent), Kentucky (10.4 percent) and Arkansas (10.8 percent).

Info from the Department of Labor
-Maintain your work area! Housekeeping remains an important function of every job. Workplaces, store rooms, service rooms, aisles and passageways should be kept clean and orderly. This helps to reduce the potential for slip, trip and fall injuries. It also reduces the potential for citations.

-Respect Electricity! Electrocution is the fifth leading cause of workplace deaths in the U.S. Approximately 6% of worker deaths are the result of electrocution. The top four causes of worker deaths are motor vehicle accidents, contact with objects or equipment (struck by, caught between, etc.), falls, and workplace violence. -DOL

Quote of the Week: “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” -Albert Pike