For Immediate Release: March 29, 2024
Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, jkamm@usw.org
(PITTSBURGH) – United Steelworkers (USW) International President David McCall released the following statement today in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) publication of a final rule on the Walkaround Representative Designation Process, commonly known as the walkaround rule:
“Simply put, the OSHA walkaround rule will make American workers and workplaces safer. This is good news for all working people, both union and non-union.
“It only makes sense to allow workers to designate their own representatives in OSHA investigations. This is the same right we afford to employers, and there is no reason workers should receive different treatment. This rule is critical to the success of OSHA safety investigations, and to our efforts to make all workplaces safer.
“The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), under the same Labor Department umbrella as OSHA, already extends to miners the right to decide who will represent them during investigations. Now, thanks to this rule, millions of other workers will be able to exercise this same power.
“The walkaround rule provides American workers with a stronger voice on the job and gives them greater confidence that workplace safety investigations will be thorough, precise and reliable. This rule will improve OSHA’s ability to effectively conduct inspections and gather evidence of workplace hazards, and we thank Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su for her continuing support.
“This is a victory for every American worker.”
The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.
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