Share
Senate Votes to Roll Back Worker Protections, Plots More Attacks on Worker Safety
In an unsurprising, yet no less significant, vote the Senate moved one step closer to eliminating a regulation that requires federal contractors to disclose and correct safety violations.
In a narrow result that divided along party lines, the Senate voted 49 to 48 to eliminate the regulation, dubbed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule. Finalized in August and blocked by a court order in October, the rule would limit the ability of companies with recent safety problems to compete for government contracts unless they agreed to remedies.
The measure to abolish it had already cleared the House. The next step after the Senate vote will be the White House, where Trump is expected to sign it.
Congressional Republicans are planning to go after more than a half dozen additional regulations in an attempt to significantly limit the ability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect workers. Since 2015, federal contractors have had very significant violations of wage and hour laws and safety incidents over the past few years, and the regulations currently under attack were intended to curb these offenses.
ACTION: Just 1 single vote would have changed the outcome of the most recent worker safety vote. Look up how your Senator voter on this resolution here. Call them and either thank them for opposing H.J. Resolution 37 and supporting American workers, or tell them how disappointed you are that they put the financial interests of businesses ahead of the safety of workers and that you hope they will support the health and well-being of American workers going forward.
There will be many more votes rolling back important rules to protect Americans in many facets of our everyday lives. We need to stay vigilant to not get bogged down in scandals and corruption charges while Ryan and McConnell dismantle the government.