Union membership declines as workplace fatalities hit highest level in over a decade

In 2022, workplace fatalities hit their highest level in over a decade. Last year, 5,486 workers died on the job, the most significant number since 2011, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) altered its data collection on the subject. This tragic news comes as union membership density within the US labor force fell to 10.1 percent, the lowest level in forty years.

“A worker died every 96 minutes from a work-related injury in 2022 compared to 101 minutes in 2021,” reported the BLS earlier this week. This news comes as union membership fell to the lowest in forty years, a sign that as worker power deteriorates, workplaces become more dangerous. The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration described the tragic increase as “a sobering reminder of the important work we must do.” The agency explicitly addressed the double-digit increases in deaths among Black and Hispanic workers. White workers saw fatalities increase by 2 percent, while the rates for Black and Hispanic workers rose a staggering 12.4 and 10.4 percent, respectively, in a single year. When looking at the fatalities rates from Latino workers, nearly two-thirds were immigrants.

Earlier this year, the BLS reported that foreign-born workers were more likely to be employed in more dangerous sectors, including “service occupations; natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations; and production, transportation, and material moving occupations.” Worker fatalities in these sectors made up more than half of all deaths in 2022.

Workplace drug overdoses continue to rise

Over a decade ago, in 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics updated the way it tracked fatalities in the workplace. The number recorded in 2022 was the highest since the change was made, highlighting the growing dangers workers face. Upticks in the rates of workplace homicides helped to drive fatalities to their record-breaking level in 2022. Homicides made up nearly 62 percent of all deaths, up 8.9 percent from 2021, and shed light on the vulnerability of workers in workplaces that some would consider low risk. “Almost a quarter (24.6 percent) of fatalities due to homicides occurred while a worker was tending a retail establishment or waiting on customers,” reads the report released by the BLS.

Additionally, the decades-long trend of growing unintentional drug overdoses continued to take the lives of workers, with 9.5 percent of all deaths attributed to this cause —a 13 percent increase over the year prior.

While OSHA did not provide any details, the press release stated that “efforts to protect those disproportionately at risk of injuries and illnesses on the job” were being expanded. The AFL-CIO responded to the 2022 report, arguing that Congress must take action to prevent these deaths, particularly as “workplace violence and occupational heat exposure are getting worse and need immediate attention.” Budget cuts to OSHA proposed by Republicans on Capitol Hill were roundly criticized by the union.