AIHA Responds to President Trump's State of the Union

The American Industrial Hygiene Association has delivered a sharp rebuttal to President Trump’s State of the Union Address, urging the President not to strive for economic success if it comes at the expense of workplace safety.

During his State of the Union address earlier this week, President Trump said his administration had performed an “an economic miracle,” and claimed a strong economy and labor market as his greatest successes.

However, the AIHA said that whilst it agreed the state of the union was strong, it thought the nation needed to do much more in order to protect the safety of American workers.

“It is with tragic irony that the President seems to have missed a critical – but often silent – problem that impacts his priorities of economic growth and national security: America’s workers are not safe at their jobs.”

The AIHA said that many American workers, particularly in industries such as healthcare, construction, manufacturing, law enforcement, and emergency response, went to work with a “well-founded” fear of experiencing “injury, illness, or worse.”

“Each day, approximately 150 people will die, and millions more throughout the year will suffer a nonfatal injury or illness from work.”

“While America’s leaders should be raising the alarm when enough people to fill a football stadium die each year from their jobs, far too many are silent.”

“Worse, President Trump and others are actively rolling back hard-fought regulations and seeking to cut funding for key government programs that protect workers.”

The AIHA’s response comes after the organisation unveiled its inaugural Public Policy Agenda earlier this month. The agenda focuses attention on the nation’s most important worker health and safety issues through 2020.

The AIHA’s  key 15 issues are:

• Big Data
• Cannabis Industry Health and Safety
• Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery
• Hazard Banding/OEL Process
• Hearing Protection
• Opioids in the Workplace
• Professional Title Protection
• Sensors
• Teen Workplace Health and Safety
• Temporary and Contract Workers
• Total Worker Exposure
• Transportation Safety
• Worker Fatigue
• Workforce Development
• Workplace Violence

About the AIHA

Founded in 1939, AIHA is a nonprofit organization serving professionals dedicated to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control and confirmation of environmental stressors in or arising from the workplace that may result in injury, illness or impairment, or affect the well-being of workers and members of the community