OSHA AT 40: What Have We Learned?

The passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act reflected recognition of the national public health disaster of 100,000 American workers dying annually as a result of preventable work-related injuries and illnesses. Its primary mission was to protect workers through the establishment and enforcement of workplace safety and health standards. OSHA has notably contributed to a significant reduction of work-related fatalities and diseases over the past 40 years. But serious limitations in the legislative framework creating the agency, as well as chronic underfunding and timid administrative commitment to the mission of prevention, have markedly weakened its efforts. Given these limitations, health and safety activists have organized and are committed to share information and experiences on how best to use the agency and other approaches to help workers protect themselves at their workplaces.