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In the early 1900s, it was common for children as young as four to work, often overworked, in factories, fields, etc.
https://online.se.edu/articles/mba/health-safety-laws-timeline.aspx -
Between 1900 and 1979 the rate of work-related deaths decreased 96 percent when compared to the GNP adjusted for inflation. Similarly, 97 percent dropped in coal mining and railroad industries during the same period. (Essentially, factory owners were losing productivity because workers were dying, so owners made factories safer, therefore increasing the GNP in the economy because more product was being made.).
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The National Child Labor Committee was created. A (now famous) photographer called Lewis Hine was hired by this committee to take pictures around the country and show the true nature of child labor.
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Children made up 18.4% of the nation's workforce. -
The NCLC attempts to create national legislation against child labor, however, the difference among the states made it extremely difficult, as in some states children make up a lot of the workforce, and to take them out would have a large effect on the workforce in that area. -
Congress approved a new amendment against child labor, however not enough states approved it, therefore it was void. -
The Great Depression was the "worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world". It caused a decline in manufacturing, mass unemployment, and a dramatic increase in poverty worldwide. -
The National Labor Relations Act gave workers that worked in private sectors(non-government agencies such as corporations or individual businesses. the ability to unionize, take part in collective bargaining (negotiate wages and conditions), and strike.
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The National Apprentice Act regulated and made a better work environment for an apprentice (a student learning a craft). The idea of apprenticeship worked well in the past, however, it was often abusive.
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The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed, which stopped children under the age of 16 from working in an industry setting. Domestic and agricultural labor were excluded (house and farm work). This also gave workers a guaranteed 8-hour workday, minimum wage, a 40 hr work week, and overtime payment. This also gave around 700,000 Americans a raise due to the minimum wage.
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Order 8802 made sure any place that received federal funding was not discriminatory in any way for employment. -
It gave workers the right to unionize.
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It banned differences in pay based on gender.
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Outlawed hiring discrimination based on age.
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Accumulations of coal cause an explosion which kills 78 miners.
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The O.S.H.A. Act was signed by President Richard Nixon to help protect workers nationwide, after a "public outcry against rising injury and death rates on the job". O.S.H.A. has been working to improve working conditions and reduce injuries and fatalities nationwide since then. -
In Buffalo Creek, one of the Pittston Coal Company's coal slurry impoundment dams bursts, releasing 175 million gallons of wastewater, killing 125 people, and leaving 4,000 homeless. All of this happened 4 days after it was checked and cleared.
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An unfinished cooling tower at a coal power plant collapses and causes 51 men to fall to their deaths.
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The US Supreme Court decided that workers have the right to refuse work if it endangers their personal health.
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"Challenged the validity of the standard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia."
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A gas tank explodes which causes a massive fire, killing 17 workers.
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An unfinished apartment building at L'Ambiance Plaza collapses due to structural deficiencies, killing 28 construction workers. -
A malfunction in the catalytic cracking unit used to break down crude oil into gasoline causes an explosion that killed 7 and injured 42.
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At a local metal-plating plant, 5 workers are killed due to the improper mixing of chemicals.
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The Piper Alpha (oil rig) explodes and kills 167 men.
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During a maintenance check, a large number of flammable gases are ignited causing a series of explosions. The explosions killed 23 people and injured 314. -
At a never inspected chicken processing plant, 25 workers die in a fire due to the locked fire doors. The fire was caused by a faulty modification in a hydraulic line.
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This new standard released by OSHA protected shipyard workers from fire hazards on ships and on land-based facilities. This helped to decrease worker injuries and deaths dramatically since shipyard fatalities and injuries were (and still are) one of the most common places for accidents in the workplace. -
At Holmes Mill, Kentucky, a methane explosion at the Darby mine kills 5 workers. This apparently happened because of a leak in a containment area. -
In 2010, OSHA passed this new standard. It aimed to prevent accidents in the leading cause: cranes and construction sites. It was applied on more than 250,000 worksites, prohibiting workers who are not crane and derrick-certified to operate the machinery. It also required these cranes to have inspections on a daily, monthly, and annual basis, among other regulations. -
When the OSHA Act was passed in 1970, around 40 worker fatalities happened per day in the U.S. Currently, that number is down to about 10-15 worker deaths, about 3 times less than what we used to have. This truly shows how big of an impact OSHA has had on worker health and safety for the better. However, even though this number is significantly smaller than what it used to be, it's still around 5,475 deaths per year, which is way too much. -
Amazon warehouses are known across the country for having poor worker conditions, giving workers short breaks and very far in between, and not paying workers much for the work they are doing. As of late, there have been attempts to unionize at these warehouses and improve these conditions, and a current event in New York seems promising. -
Looking into the future, we believe fatality rates will get better over time. Recent data shows that average workplace deaths are going down, and although this rate may be slow, it is still decreasing. Every time OSHA releases a new standard, there is a substantial drop in workplace accidents, showing the strong impact of these regulations. As workplace standards evolve over time, we predict workplaces around the country will get safer for the workers and evolve with the standards as well.