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Commentary: Deaths point up lack of awareness of the right to refuse dangerous work
COLUMNS Posted December 28, 2021
Commentary: Deaths point up lack of awareness of the right to refuse dangerous work
OSHA must make workers’ rights clear on mandatory workplace posters.
BY KATHY WILKES PROGRESSIVE PERSPECTIVES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathy Wilkes of Madison, Wis., is a longtime labor journalist and union co-founder and former officer. This column was produced for The Progressive magazine and distributed by Tribune News Service.
The massive tornadoes that struck in mid-December claimed the lives of more than a dozen workers at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois and the Mayfield candle factory in Kentucky. Some of the surviving workers said their requests to leave were met with threats of termination.
None of this should have happened. In fact, it’s against the law.
Section 5 of the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970, which was signed by Republican President Richard Nixon, created what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration calls the “Workers’ Right to Refuse Dangerous Work.” The Act covers most private-sector and some public-sector workers.
According to OSHA’s website, the right of workers to refuse to perform a task is protected if all of the following four conditions are met:
{snip}
Commentary: Deaths point up lack of awareness of the right to refuse dangerous work
OSHA must make workers’ rights clear on mandatory workplace posters.
BY KATHY WILKES PROGRESSIVE PERSPECTIVES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathy Wilkes of Madison, Wis., is a longtime labor journalist and union co-founder and former officer. This column was produced for The Progressive magazine and distributed by Tribune News Service.
The massive tornadoes that struck in mid-December claimed the lives of more than a dozen workers at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois and the Mayfield candle factory in Kentucky. Some of the surviving workers said their requests to leave were met with threats of termination.
None of this should have happened. In fact, it’s against the law.
Section 5 of the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970, which was signed by Republican President Richard Nixon, created what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration calls the “Workers’ Right to Refuse Dangerous Work.” The Act covers most private-sector and some public-sector workers.
According to OSHA’s website, the right of workers to refuse to perform a task is protected if all of the following four conditions are met:
{snip}