On-the-job deaths climb
The rate of workers killed from injuries is on the rise as Massachusetts emerges from the pandemic and returns to business as usual.
A new report from the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health shows that 62 workers in the Bay State lost their lives on the job in 2021 — a 38% jump from 45 workplace fatalities in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
Fatal overdoses and suicides on the job claimed 38 lives last year, a “frightening rise” of 52% from the previous year, MassCOSH said in its report.
During a Thursday ceremony in front of the State House, MassCOSH reps, labor advocates and family members of those who lost a loved one at work pushed for actions to make work safer.
“One work-related death is too many,” said Steven Tolman, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “Today, and every day, we stand united with the families whose loved ones have suffered a tragic loss.
“We come together in a call for action to protect workers and renew the fight for stronger and safer worker protections,” he said, later adding, “Today, we mourn all those who have suffered a tragic loss, but we will never stop fighting for the living.”
As in previous years, fatal injuries were concentrated in the construction industry — with 15 construction deaths accounting for about one-quarter of the 62 workplace fatalities.
The report states that occupational exposure to
COVID-19 has made many thousands of workers in Massachusetts sick and likely resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths. But because the state did not track the industries and occupations of those who tested positive for COVID, it’s impossible to name or count the workers who died from work-related COVID.