Today’s post was shared by US Labor Department and comes from blog.dol.gov

A group of Boise construction workers' listen to a presentation during the National Safety Stand-Down this May.
A group of Boise construction workers’ listen to a presentation during the National Safety Stand-Down this May.

For us at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the loss of one workers’’ life is one too many. Workplace tragedies are devastating for the families and friends left behind. Their effects are long-term and far-reaching in our communities.

On Workers’ Memorial Day, we were reminded that every day, 13 American workers’ don’t make it back home at the end of their shift. That’s not a cold statistic but rather a fact of life for us here at OSHA. Our Boise office alone has investigated the deaths of 10 workers’ killed on the job in Idaho in the past 12 months. As recently as last week I watched as the bodies of two workers’ who had been installing a utility line were pulled out of a deadly trench collapse right here in Boise. Nobody should die for a paycheck.

Click to watch: OSHA's David Kearns talks safety at a recent event with construction workers' and subcontractors.
Click to watch: OSHA’s David Kearns talks safety at a recent event with construction workers’ and subcontractors.

Click to watch: OSHA’s David Kearns talks safety at a recent event with construction workers’ and subcontractors.

Our investigation will determine exactly what happened in Boise and why it happened. But we already know this much: workplace fatalities and injuries often prove to be avoidable and caused by a lapse in safety protocol. Trench deaths are no exception. We have known for centuries how to prevent workers’ from getting killed in trenches.

In the coming days I…

[Click here to see the rest of this post]