If you want to put a human face on the struggle families have with transparency and involvement in OSHA investigations, you should watch Tonya Ford's testimony--it is very powerful stuff.
Tonya's uncle Uncle Robert Fitch ("Uncle Bobby") gave 32 years of his life to ADM, the company he was working for when a tragic lack of workplace safety led to his passing at the age of 51 years old.
Uncle Bobby's death was horrible and untimely. It was also preventable. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited ADM for operating a dangerous manlift, ADM was not fined for the faulty device that resulted in the death of Fitch. Family members like Tonya were not included in the investigation and only learned of the final penalty of ADM through the media.
The Protecting America's Workers Act (H.R. 2067) and proposed changes to legislation, would improve OHSA's ability to ensure workers are protected at their jobs, and ensure that victims and their families are kept informed about investigations of fatalities and incidents involving serious injuries or illnesses.
One day after Workers Memorial Day, testimony like Tonya's keeps present in our minds how much working families need the Protecting America's Workers Act. We can't allow employers to continue to walk away scot-free, without much punishment for their neglect--because victims like Uncle Bobby certainly don't get to.
Sign the petition to Congress to pass the Protecting America's Workers Act.
(More testimony from yesterday's Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee hearing at http://edlabor.house.gov).
