Osha protection protects workers. Eliminating your budget is a dangerous error.

Each north -American worker deserves to return home safe at the end of the day. And all North -American families want to feel -safely that their loved ones will return home.

This is not a partisan problem: workers’ safety is a shared American value. For decades, we have agreed as a nation to safeguard employees in the workplace, it requires sensitive regulation, public policy and supervision.

That is why the International Security Team Association was deeply concerned about a recent legislative proposal to eliminate the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. While some dismissed the bill as a political stanceThe proposal itself is worrying. Even suggest that the dissolution of OSHA sends a chilling message about the low value of workers’ protection.

Equally worrying are proposed funding cuts in Osha. Some believe that the agency’s budget would increase the economy. The truth is that cutting the corners of safety increases long -term costs.

Like any organization, OSHA must be efficient and effective. But draining its resources would only have more injuries, more fatalities and, ultimately, higher financial and human costs for businessmen and families.

Osha’s rescue impact

Since the establishment of Osha in 1970, the agency has helped to significantly improve the safety of the workplace. That year, approximately 14,000 workers died at workAccording to the Institute of Economic Policy. In 2022, This number went down to 5,486Even as North -American workforce grew, according to recent data from the Office of Labor Statistics.

Likewise, Serious injuries that require a free time From 10.9 cases per 100 workers in 1972 to 2.7 per 100 current employees, the BLS reported. These benefits did not occur by accident: they are the result of the rules of deliberate security, supervision and dissemination directed by Osha.

But there is still work to be done. In 2023, more than 4,500 Avoidable deaths related to work There was 1,029 under construction, according to the National Security Council. It is an average of more than 12 each day in all industries.

More than 4 million workers suffered injuries that required medical care. These incidents affect not only families, but also the economy.

The National Security Council loves it Work -related injuries by 2022 costs The North -American Economy 167 billion dollars. The cost of the death of the workplace? 1.39 million dollars. And each injury requires medical consultation: about $ 40,000.

That is, strong safety investments are not just the right things: they are taxable.

Osha opponents often claim that their regulations hinder business growth. In fact, Osha works with the help of businessmen to foster more safe and productive jobs.

These programs show that Osha is not just an executor: it is a resource for companies with the aim of protecting their employees and improving operations. And there is data for a backup.

OSHA Inspections decrease labor injuries 9.4%, according to an agency study, and reduction of workers’ compensation costs 26% (an average of $ 355,000 per workplace). Annually, OSHA inspections save more than $ 20 billion in North -Americans in reduced workers’ compensation costs.

Why Niosh matters

In addition to the application and education, research and innovation are critical pillars of occupational safety. That is why the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has such a vital role. Niosh does not only carry out avant -garde research on occupational risks, but also manages the respiration program of the respiration, ensuring that gear protection workers trust, from N95 to mining respirators, they really work in the field.

But this essential work is now in serious danger.

In March, the Department of Health and Human Services He announced devastating cuts to Nosh that they would eliminate approximately 875 positions, about two thirds of the agency’s workforce. Among those facing the ending are about 200 employees that form the backbone of critical programs, including the National Laboratory of Personal Protection Technology, the only federal laboratory responsible for the test and the certification of respiratory protection.

These cuts not only threaten jobs, but also threaten life. With this level of work reduction, the respiration program will stop. This means that new PPEs can be uncertain and unprofiting, potentially opening the market to counterfeit or lower teams. And without the research and supervision of Nosh, the development of the new generation protection team, more innovative and possibly more comfortable, will stop.