Workplace deaths are down 4% in 2024, but Trump administration is threatening progress. Workers Memorial Day is April 28, and there’s good news and bad about safety on the job.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 5,070 workers died on the job in 2024 — a decrease from the previous year — but more must be done.
“The labor movement mourns each of the 5,070 workers who lost their lives on the job in 2024,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said. “Every one of these deaths is not only an invaluable life lost, but also brings immeasurable grief and hardship for families and communities. (But) let’s be clear: The number of annual workplace deaths should be zero. And now, the current administration’s billionaire-first agenda puts that progress in jeopardy.
“The Trump administration has slashed worker-safety rules, undermined the federal agencies that hold employers accountable, pushed out and disrupted the dedicated experts who inspect worksites for safety violations, and given handouts to big corporations and special interests actively working to weaken safeguards for workers,” she continued. “This government must enforce the workplace-safety laws already on the books, fully staff and fund agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and empower OSHA inspectors to conduct investigations into unsafe workplaces.”
Almost half a million workers unionized last year — despite relentless attacks. New data released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows union representation grew by 463,000 in 2025, bringing the total number of workers represented by union contracts to 16.5 million. “Thanks to years of sustained organizing, 11.2% of all wage and salary workers in the United States are now covered under union contracts … the highest in 16 years,” the AFL-CIO said.
“Billionaire bosses and union-busting politicians have tried to throw the kitchen sink at working people and their unions — slashing our jobs and rigging the rules to scare us out of organizing — but they are failing,” Schuler said. “In 2026, workers will continue to organize in every corner of the country and build power to fight for the lives they deserve. We call on Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, and to reverse the single largest act of union-busting in American history by passing the Protect America’s Workforce Act in the Senate.”
Letter Carriers launch bargaining with rallies. With their contract with the Postal Service set to expire May 22, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) in February rallied across North America — from Anchorage, Alaska, to Fort Myers, Fla. — to take their case for better wages and working conditions to customers.
“We know what we’re fighting for at the bargaining table, and we know what we deserve,” said NALC President Brian Renfroe “With branches across the country coming together on a single day, we’ll make our demands known to the Postal Service while reminding our customers the service we provide every day deserves a fair contract.”
Negotiations started Feb. 25.
Alton Steel closes, laying off hundreds. Alton Steel Inc. this winter abruptly announced it’s closing after almost 25 years producing steel in south-central Illinois. The closure affects about 253 workers. United Steelworkers Local 3643 last negotiated a contract in 2024.
The employer blamed insurmountable challenges such as aging infrastructure, market competition and industry consolidation as reasons for the closure.
However, Illinois’ Dept. of Labor says Alton Steel violated the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requiring employers with 75 or more full-time employees to provide 60 days’ advance notice of plant closures or mass layoffs.
Alton Steel employees have ownership of the company.
— News briefs courtesy of The Labor Paper: “Like” us on Facebook/The-Labor-Paper