Workplace Tragedy Makes Clear the Need for Public Sector OSHA Now

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, a West Berks Water Authority worker, Cody Gipprich, was tragically killed on the job in Wyomissing. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder issued the following joint statement:

"Our thoughts go out to the family of Cody Gipprich, who was killed today at the West Berks Water Authority.  The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO puts the health and safety of all workers above all other issues, whether they are organized in a union or not. This latest tragedy once again shines a light on the fact that some 500,000 Pennsylvania public sector workers do not have the same OSHA-like protection as all other workers in the State. For more than thirty years, Pennsylvania's unions have been fighting for public sector OSHA

Year after year, this legislation comes before the General Assembly, stalls, and fails because of reasons we cannot comprehend.  There is no reason to put profits before the life of a human being.

How many more lives will be lost before Pennsylvania's lawmakers once and for all pass this legislation?

This is not a partisan issue. It is an issue of life and death.

While we cannot eliminate all risks from all professions, we must do all that we can. It is time we guarantee when a worker steps on to the job, whether on an assembly line, a public bus, a hospital floor, a classroom, a mine shaft, or a trench, their Commonwealth stands beside them.  

There is dignity in all work. There should be safety for all workers.  Tragically, he becomes one of 18 workers killed on the job every day in this country. We are not about to allow this death to become just another statistic. Workers and loved ones need more than prayers. They need action."

SOURCE Pennsylvania AFL-CIO