Every day, 16 workers go to work and don’t come home. They are killed on the job. But far too often, employers that have created or ignored dangerous workplace conditions are not held accountable. Civil penalties are weak and criminal prosecutions rare.

Now, “16 Deaths Per Day,” a new video from Brave New Films, shines a spotlight on the weak deterrence and penalties of the nation’s workplace safety laws.

In a post on Firedoglake, David Dayen of Brave New Films writes:

The video takes a look at the stories of several workers. Travis Koehler-Fergen, an employee at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, and Tina Hall, from Toyo Automotive Parts USA, both died at their workplaces in accidents. The Orleans was found by OSHA [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] to have broken the law, but was never referred for prosecution. Sixteen safety violations were found at the Toyo plant prior to the accident that killed Tina Hall, but the highest fine ever levied on the company was $7,000.

Read more at the AFL-CIO Now Blog.

During a Congressional hearing held Thursday by the House Education and Labor Committee, AFSCME member and registered nurse Miguel García testified about the need to enforce federal guidelines designed to protect health care workers from pandemic influenza and other airborne viruses.

Full details from the hearing, including complete transcripts, photos and more video, can be found on the Committee’s website. Read more about García’s testimony in an Online Xtra from AFSCME WORKS.

All too often we hear about Americans being killed and injured at the workplace. Nearly 5,680 workers on average die on the job each year. In the last 30 years, 500 AFSCME members have been killed on the job.

Every worker who is killed or injured under these circumstances serves as a constant reminder of why the men and women of AFSCME continue to fight for increased security and the best workplace safety resources.

April 28, Workers Memorial Day, is set aside to pay tribute to the men and women who have been killed or injured at work. This is why today Labor Secretary Hilda Solis joined union leaders to break ground for a new national workers memorial at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md. The date coincides with the anniversary of the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency in charge of issuing and enforcing standards for workplace safety and health.

Since OSHA’s inception, in 1970, the number of workplace fatalities has fallen. But we have more work to do. Today, only 24 states along with Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have federally approved OSHA laws covering public employees. That’s not enough. Every public employee across this nation deserves OSHA protections.

That’s why AFSCME is playing a leading role in the battle for the job safety rights that protect workers from asbestos, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and other hazards. Regularly, we also conduct health and safety training so our members can identify and correct workplace hazards.

The fight for workers’ rights goes hand in hand with workplace security. After all, good jobs are also safe jobs.

The failure to enforce even weak U.S. labor laws has created an incentive for many employers to hire undocumented immigrant workers, several experts told a House committee earlier this week.

During the hearing, a chilling audiotape was played of an employer’s phone message to an immigrant worker who simply wanted to be paid for the work he had done. Listen to it and read more at the AFL-CIO Now Blog.

On April 28, AFSCME and the other unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the fight for safe workplaces. The toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths is enormous. Each year, thousands of workers are killed, and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs.

Our fight for safe jobs has gotten harder because for more than seven years the Bush administration has refused to act. Instead, at the behest of corporate interests, the administration has moved to roll back workplace protections. Voluntary compliance has been favored over new standards and enforcement. Many workers have little or no safety and health protections, and major workplace hazards remain unaddressed.

This year, with the election, there is an opportunity to change the direction of the country and make workers’ issues a priority once again. More than three decades ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every worker the right to a safe job. AFSCME and other unions have fought hard to make that promise a reality, winning safety and health protections that have saved hundreds of thousand of lives and prevented millions of workplace injuries. Yet millions of public employees across the country are still not protected by basic occupational safety and health laws.

On Workers Memorial Day, we will continue that fight. We will fight to create good jobs in this country and to guarantee health care for all. We will fight for the freedom of workers to form unions and, through their unions, to speak out and bargain for safe jobs, respect and a better future. We will demand that the country fulfill the promise of safe jobs. For all.