Legislative wrap up brings victory, setbacks and renewed determination
The close of the state legislative session and Congress’s recess left workers with one victory, two set-backs, and steadfast determination to press on for passage of critical health and safety bills.
Early July brought the thrill of victory with the passage of a groundbreaking bill banning deadly floor finishing products that killed three Massachusetts floor sanders, long sought by MassCOSH members and collaborators. By the end of the state session on July 31, two other key worker safety bills had grinded to a halt despite tireless advocacy by workers and allies, one providing critical protections to temporary workers and another promoting the replacement of toxic chemicals with safer alternatives.
Workers like Juan Ventura had offered powerful testimonials seeking passage of the temp worker bill – formerly known as the Temp Worker Right to Know Bill (HB4623/S2364).
“I suffered tremendously from abuses from the temporary agencies,” reports Ventura. “This bill is very important because it will [require] temporary agencies to provide all their workers with the essential information about them. The bill will protect workers like me from being taken advantage of.”
In the legislative session’s final hours, powerful staffing agencies pressed hard to stop the bill, complaining that this bill would “be an unnecessary administrative burden.”
With over 80 legislative sponsors and dozens of community and labor endorsements, MassCOSH members and allies, with leadership from lead sponsors Senator Jack Hart and Representative Linda Dorcina-Forry, have vowed to continue to press for the bill’s passage.
At the national level, the focus on the Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAWA), which strengthens Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) protections, shifted to the Miners Safety and Health Act (HB5663), in the wake of the miner tragedies.
HB5663 incorporates several key PAWA provisions including strengthening penalties for OSHA violations, improving Whistleblower Protections, and giving new rights to workplace injury victims and families along with strengthening protections for miners. The new bill fails to include a provision extending OSHA protections to public employees but has a far better chance of passage than PAWA.
“The improvements to the OSH Act in H.R. 5663 are urgently needed to strengthen the job safety law and protect workers from harm,” said Lynn Rhinehart, General Counsel AFL-CIO at a Congressional hearing. “The bill will help deter violations of the law, bring about greater compliance, and better protect workers who expose job hazards and exercise their rights.”
MassCOSH staff and members have vowed to press on for the passage of key worker safety bills in the State House and on Capital Hill.
“We need to continue our vigilance, calling and meeting with legislators at the state and federal level,” said MassCOSH Executive Director Marcy Goldstein-Gelb. “Our elected officials need to hear from us.”
