WASHINGTON, D.C., May 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The BlueGreen Alliance, a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations, today released a new online resource to help American workers understand their rights, give access to critical safety information, and anonymously report unsafe working conditions.
SafeJobChecklist.org includes six questions to help determine whether the “guidance” being issued by the federal government is achieving its goals without adequate oversight from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“OSHA is not doing its job to create enforceable rules that make sure employers are doing their part to keep workers safe on the job, so we’re taking action to get workers the information they need. This is an easy-to-use tool that informs workers about the steps their employer should take to keep them safe on the job during COVID-19 and gives them the opportunity to anonymously report their conditions,” said BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh. “This is an important resource for anyone on the job or that is heading back to work as states reopen.”
Americans are being forced to work without adequate personal protective equipment amid this deadly pandemic, some even without the ability to take the simplest of measures to wash their hands or maintain social distancing while on the job. The daily death toll among workers risking their lives speaks for itself. COVID-19 has claimed the lives of emergency responders struggling to protect us, meatpacking, healthcare, and utility workers, and workers manufacturing, warehousing, and delivering the many essential goods and services we all rely on.
The new website’s focus on anonymity will help safeguard the identity of workers who are blowing the whistle on a lack of adequate protections on their job. It does not require workers to identify themselves to view or use the checklist.
“Workers have been targeted for speaking out for more safety protections on the job and we are making sure they can raise their voice without fear of retaliation,” said Walsh. “It is our hope that champions for the American worker in Congress can use this valuable information to make OSHA do its job.”
-30-