[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 54 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PROTECTING AMERICA'S WORKERS ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 28, 2005

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, April 28th is Worker Memorial Day, designated 
as a time to honor the thousands of American workers killed on the job 
every year by willful or negligent safety violations on the part of 
errant employers. The surviving family members of workers killed by 
corporate wrongdoing deserve much more than just our sympathy, however. 
They deserve immediate Congressional attention and action. Today, I am 
very pleased to join with Senator Edward M. Kennedy in introducing 
legislation that promises such essential action by strengthening 
provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act. The bill--
``Protecting America's Workers Act''--would hold those who commit 
corporate manslaughter accountable at the same time that it reinforces 
critical health and safety protections for workers nationwide.
  Even by conservative estimates, an American worker is killed on the 
job every 96 minutes. We read about these deaths in newspapers from the 
District of Columbia to Washington state. Only last month, for example, 
15 workers were killed by a fiery explosion in a British Petroleum (BP) 
oil refinery in Texas City, Texas. Every year in New York City, 
construction workers are killed by free-falls from buildings and 
collapses of faulty scaffolds and concrete walls. Near Toledo, Ohio 
last year, 4 ironworkers died in the collapse of a massive bridge crane 
and 4 others were injured. And almost 6 months ago in Walnut Creek, 
California, a gas pipeline explosion killed 5 workers and badly injured 
4 others.
  In the words of a New York State Supreme Court Justice, these worker 
deaths were not simply ``random accidents'' but rather ``tragic 
certainties.'' The workers died as the direct result of some employer's 
willful safety violations or serious negligence. All too often--and in 
the worker death cases listed above--employers responsible for these 
fatalities are repeat safety violators. In some cases, multiple workers 
in the same firm may die in identical circumstances over a period of 
years, without the responsible employer ever facing stiff criminal 
penalties or any prison sentence.
  Under the current OSH Act, the maximum penalty any employer can 
receive for causing the death of a worker is 6 months in prison and a 
$10,000 fine. Unlike surviving relatives of other crime victims, family 
members of workers killed on the job are left without any victims' 
services or assistance under current law. They even lack a voice in any 
Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) investigations of their 
loved ones' deaths as well as subsequent negotiations with culpable 
employers over any downgrading of initial citations and fines tied to 
the worker fatalities.
  By stiffening criminal penalties for those found guilty of blatant 
safety violations that result in worker deaths, this bill will make 
other employers think twice about ignoring basic health and safety 
rules that risk workers' lives. It incorporates in its entirety the 
provisions of my bill, the ``Workplace Wrongful Death Accountability 
Act,'' which makes it a felony offense to kill a worker and provides 
for a term of up to 10 years in prison. For a second offense, the 
maximum term for a culpable employer would be 20 years in prison. 
Likewise, maximum penalties for illicitly warning of an OSHA inspection 
or lying to OSHA would be set appropriately to serve a deterrent 
purpose. Under this bill, civil penalties are also set in accordance 
with the time-honored principle of deterrence.
  The ``Protecting America's Workers Act'' would also extend OSHA 
coverage to millions of workers who currently lack the protection of 
workplace safety and health laws. Among others, these include public 
employees in a number of states and localities, certain transportation 
workers such as flight attendants, and a number of federal workers as 
well as those in public/private entities such as the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission. Moreover, it provides stronger protections for any worker 
who reports the safety and health violations of an errant employer.

  This bill requires OSHA to investigate any workplace incident that 
results in the death of a worker or the hospitalization of 2 or more 
employees. At the same time, it gives surviving family members of 
workers who are killed greater participation rights in OSHA's workplace 
investigation and ``penalty negotiation'' process with the respective 
employers responsible for these fatalities. Moreover, it prohibits OSHA 
from downgrading willful citations in worker fatalities to 
``unclassified'' ones. Last but not least, the bill strengthens 
workplace prevention efforts by requiring employers to cover the costs 
of personal protective equipment for their employees.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the New York Committee on Safety and 
Health (NYCOSH), joined by like committees in the other 49 states, for 
launching a national campaign against corporate killing. This 
grassroots campaign will alert workers and the wider public about the 
importance of ensuring employers do not place profits above basic 
safety measures at the expense of workers' very health and lives.
  As senior Democrat on the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, I 
want to recognize a number of my colleagues, including Representatives 
Miller, Andrews, Lynch, DeLauro, and Michaud who have joined me as 
original cosponsors of the ``Protecting America's Workers Act.'' 
Representative Miller's 30-year track record of support for workers, as 
well as his role as senior Democrat on the Education and Workforce 
Committee is well known. Representative Andrews, senior Democrat on the 
Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee is also author of a separate 
bill to extend OSHA protections to those state and local government 
workers who lack coverage by workplace safety laws. His bill is 
included in its entirety as a provision in the comprehensive bill we 
are sponsoring today. As a co-chair of the Labor Caucus in the House, 
Representative Lynch is dedicated to protecting workers across the 
country. Through her actions on the House Appropriations Committee, 
Representative DeLauro has demonstrated her commitment to ensuring 
worker health and safety. And, by serving as a co-chair of the House 
Labor Caucus, Representative Michaud has also shown his dedication to 
workers' well-being. I thank them all for their cosponsorship and urge 
other members of the House to join with us in endorsing this 
legislation, critical to the well-being of America's working families.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, the time for the ``Protecting America's 
Workers Act'' is now. Although we have made substantial progress in 
protecting health and safety in American workplaces since the OSH Act 
was first passed in 1970, that progress has stalled precipitously under 
the current Bush Administration and the Republican Congress. We must 
reverse this setback to workplace safety and enact this bill without 
delay.

                          ____________________