Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I believe that we in Congress should be working to grow the economy from the middle out, not from the top down, and we should make sure that our government is working for all of our families, not just the wealthiest few. An important part of this is making sure that workers have access to a safe and healthy workplace and the basic protection of earning a living without fearing for their safety.

That effort takes on special meaning today. April 28, today, is Workers' Memorial Day, the day when we remember those who lost their lives just for doing their job. When a worker is injured or is killed on the job, it has devastating impacts for their families and their communities. In 2014, more than 4,500 workers were killed on the job. That is more than 12 deaths every single day.

So we need to do everything we can to make sure employers are taking the necessary precautions to keep their workers safe.

So today, let's keep the families and communities that have suffered from these losses in our thoughts, and let's make sure this Workers' Memorial Day is about recommitting ourselves to improving safety protections at workplaces across the country.

Every worker in every industry should have basic worker protections. While workers are doing their jobs, employers should be doing everything they can to protect them.

In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act to protect workers from unsafe working conditions. Back in 1970, that law finally gave workers some much needed protection so they could earn a living without sacrificing their health or safety.

Since then, of course, American industry has changed significantly. Businesses have become more complex. Workers are performing 21st-century tasks, but we are still using a 1970s approach to protect employees. That doesn't make sense, and it is time for it to change.

I support the bill Senator Franken introduced today called Protecting America's Workers Act. I want to note that Senator Franken is the new ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety. In that role, he will bring a focus and a passion for moving this legislation forward, and I look forward to working with him to that end.

The Protecting America's Workers Act is a long overdue update to the Occupational Safety and Health Act and is a good step toward making workplaces across America safer and healthier. The legislation will increase protections for workers who report unsafe working conditions, and adding these whistleblower protections will protect workers from retaliation. The bill will make sure workers have the option to appeal to Federal courts if they are being mistreated for telling the truth about dangerous practices. This bill will also improve reporting, inspection, and enforcement of workplace health and safety violations. It expands the rights of victims of unsafe workplaces and makes sure employers quickly improve unsafe workplaces to avoid further endangering worker health and safety because we owe it to all workers to make sure they are truly protected on the job.

Our economy is finally recovering after the worst downturn since the Great Depression. We are not all the way back yet, and there is a lot more that needs to be done to create jobs and help our middle class and working families. But while we continue that work, we must also recommit to our bedrock responsibilities to workers and their safety. Workers should be able to go to work confident their employers are doing their part to provide safe and healthy workplaces, and they should know their government is looking out for them, their families, and their economic security.

Today, I urge my colleagues to reflect on the workers who lost their lives this past year. I am hopeful we can honor their legacy by working together to pass the Protecting America's Workers Act and make these commonsense updates to meet our obligations to the best workforce in the world and continue our work growing the economy from the middle out, not the top down.

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