Catherwood LibraryILR School

The U.S death toll for the two hurricanes that pummeled Texas and Florida in August and September is approximately 200, but workplace health and safety groups are concerned that the toll will be much higher for workers cleaning up after the storms unless adequate funding, resources, and training are put into place. The post-storm damage includes chemicals – such as flesh-eating bacteria - being dumped into the Houston water as well as loose asbestos creating toxins and mold that could cause long-term problems for those doing the work. More than 1000 people died during the cleanup process after 9/11, a group that included primarily firefighters and skilled unionized demolition workers, but the workers who are primarily doing the post-storm cleanup are undocumented workers earning an average of $80 a day. The National Council of Occupation Safety and Health (COSH) – a national coalition of workplace and safety groups that works closely with local groups as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - states that part of the problem lies in the cuts to federal funding originally given by the Obama administration to labor groups to train undocumented workers in their rights to a healthy and safe workplace. OSHA’s plans to expand their regulatory reach have been halved, as the Trump administration seeks to decrease regulations in order to spur business growth as well as cutting the Susan Harwood Worker Training Grant Program, which provides $11 millions in grants to workplace safety groups for health and safety training. Undocumented workers may be fearful of speaking up about workplace safety for fear of deportations; as a result, groups such as COSH and the Texas-based Workers Defense Project have begun training organizers to teach workers about protecting themselves against hurricane cleanup hazards.