No worker should have to die from inhaling marijuana dust. But that’s what happened to Lorna McMurrey, 27, in a Holyoke, Mass., cannabis plant, her cousin says.

Because McMurrey’s death was “completely preventable,” as her cousin Alicia Bounds, adds, her asthmatic fatal heart attack landed her employer, Trulieve Cannabis Corp., on the annual “Dirty Dozen” list. Those are the firms whom the labor-backed National Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) spotlights for rampant refusal to protect their workers on the job.

A worker safety advocacy group, the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health, issued a report Wednesday labeling Norfolk Southern and the other major freight railroads as some of the most dangerous employers in the nation because of those labor concerns about the impact of the cost cutting.

Yesterday, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) announced this year’s “dirty dozen” employers.

According to a news release, 12 employers are selected by National COSH from nominations provided by COSH affiliates; “Criteria include the severity of risks to workers; repeat and serious violations of safety standards and applicable laws; the position of a company within its industry and the economy and its ability to influence broader workplace standards, and the presence of a campaign by workers and/or allies to correct health and safety problems.”

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) has announced what it considers to be the “Dirty Dozen” employers for 2023.

“The rate of U.S. workplace fatalities from sudden trauma is on the rise, and so is the rate of workplace injuries and illnesses,” said Jessica E. Martinez, MPH, co-executive director of National COSH, in a statement.

Workers' Memorial Day offers a moment to remember those who died on the job, and to recommit to achieving changes that will protect the lives of ALL workers. Oxfam is proud to partner with National COSH, and to welcome guest bloggers on this vital topic.

April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, commemorating those killed, sickened, or injured on the job. As part of a week of events, today the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health is releasing its “Dirty Dozen” report.

This short video, produced by the Healthy Work Campaign (HWC), features Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, the Co-Executive Director of National Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH), an HWC partner.

In this video, Marcy explains the importance of Workers Memorial Day--what's it's known for and isn't. In her words, "It's not just about grieving, though that's a part of it. It's also about using that pain and that passion to build a stronger movement as we move forward..."

Peter Dooley, a Tucson safety consultant who has followed ADOSH for two decades, said he is shocked by the lack of oversight.

"That’s obviously blatant neglect on the part of the agency not to be using those previous violations in citations,” said Dooley, who works with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

Dooley said low fines send a bad message to companies, families, and the community.

“Here’s two tragic lives that are lost,” he said.

A third vital force in the struggle to protect workers in the age of climate change is the Council on Occupational Safety and Health (COSH), shaped through a network of regional COSH groups, worker centers, justice groups, health care providers, and scientists. The COSH movement emerged alongside of OSHA and represents the democratization of science on behalf of working people. Jessica Martinez, COSH’s co-director, offers this profile of their efforts:

Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said the provision in the Iowa bill that shields businesses from some liabilities essentially acknowledges the legislation would create dangerous working environments.

"This one is so blatantly saying, 'We know that what we're doing is going to harm young people, so we may as well just call a spade a spade and exempt businesses from their responsibility for what we created,'" Goldstein-Gelb said.

Storytelling and Communications Strategist Melissa Moriarty of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health appeared on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and spoke about NCOSH, their Dirty Dozen list and new protections for immigrant workers.

Moriarty explained that NCOSH is a federation of 26 grassroots worker groups and the home of the workers' health and safety movement in the U.S. The council offers many support programs, such as WE RISE, a program dedicated to help people of color become leaders in the workplace through training, mentoring and a source for advocacy. Another NCOSH program is Empowering Immigrant Workers, which ensures immigrant workers have the tools and resources to assert their voice, power and influence in the workplace and policy arenas.

The words ring hollow to Peter Dooley, a certified industrial hygienist for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, which promotes worker safety.

“They brag about their safety program. They brag about being such a great employer,” Dooley said. “This shows the reality of how dangerous their whole way of work is.”

According to The Guardian, similar concerns were also shared by Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

“In the Iowa legislation, one of the provisions is to exempt employers from civil liability due to the company’s negligence. It is astounding that they would have the gall to knowingly acknowledge that more young people will be harmed, but focus on exempting businesses,” she said. 

In an article for Vox, author Emily Guendelsberger describes her experience working in fast food, noting that various ‘innovations’ made to improve productivity have led to worker burnout and incredible stress.

For example, Guendelsberger notes that a 2015 survey from the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health claims that “79 percent of industry workers had been burned on the job in the previous year — most more than once.”

“My managers kept pushing me to work faster, and while trying to meet their demands, I slipped on a wet floor, catching my arm on a hot grill,” fast-food worker Brittney Berry said in a statement quoted in the article. “The managers told me to put mustard on it.”

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a worker safety advocacy organization, said the new OSHA authority is “a step forward” for immigrant workers. 

“Protecting workers who are witnesses to illegal workplace abuses not only means workers can be treated fairly, it also creates a level playing field for employers,” Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of National COSH, said in a news release. “Companies that provide a safe workplace, use above-board hiring and recruitment practices and pay workers what they are owed should not have to compete with those who break the law to gain an unfair advantage.”

Opinion: The federal government almost stepped in to enforce worker safety laws in Arizona. That's a wake-up call for state agencies.

Josefina Ahumada, Alison Harrington and Katelyn Parady opinion contributors

Josefina Ahumada is a community social worker and a founder and member of the Southside Worker Center, a work program for day laborers. Alison Harrington is pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, which runs the center. Katelyn Parady is a Phoenix-based worker health and safety professional with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. Reach them at josefina40@cox.net, pastoralisonharrington@gmail.com and katelyn@nationalcosh.org.

And Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, points out, not only are children working more, they’re getting injured more as well

Young workers have much higher rates of non-fatal injuries on the job and the highest rates of injuries that require emergency department attention, Goldstein-Gelb noted. She argued that due to the vulnerability and inexperience of young workers, data on these workers is likely an undercount due to fears or barriers in being able to speak up and report dangerous situations or child labor law violations.

Safety leaders are applauding the new protections.

“This is a step forward for immigrant workers in the U.S., including millions who are undocumented,” said Jessica E. Martinez, co-executive director of National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). “These workers are essential to our economy and communities but are all too often victimized by unscrupulous employers. These same employers frequently threaten to use immigration status as a way to silence workers and prevent them from speaking up about abusive and illegal practices in their workplaces.”

“When workers have a voice, they can join together to stop illegal conduct and exploitation by their employers,” said Martinez. “Millions of immigrants — including undocumented workers — in the U.S. grow, prepare and serve our food, build our homes, care for our children and perform many other vital functions. It’s absurd to claim these workers don’t ‘belong’ here. They are here, and they deserve the same dignity, respect and safety on the job as everyone else.”

The protections being sought for companies are of particular concern to labor activists.

“In the Iowa legislation, one of the provisions is to exempt employers from civil liability due to the company’s negligence. It is astounding that they would have the gall to knowingly acknowledge that more young people will be harmed, but focus on exempting businesses,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

Goldstein-Gelb explained that throughout her career she has worked with families and co-workers of young workers who have died on the job, oftentimes in violation of child labor laws that industry groups have fought to repeal, such as in a case where a 16-year-old in Massachusetts was killed in 2000 while operating a golf cart on the job.

Melissa Moriarty, storytelling and communications strategist on the National COSH staff, reflected on this year’s gathering:

“Workers know their jobs and know what is needed to stay safe. But employers and public officials don’t always listen to those who pay the price for preventable hazards in the workplace. At COSHCON, we create the space for workers and advocates to share ideas for creating positive change – and that includes strategies for making public what happens behind closed doors. We were delighted to have a superb media panel this year, hearing from top journalists who are telling important stories about sexual harassment, undocumented workers and the horribly high rate of injuries at Amazon.”