Putting workplace safety first
lectrocution. Struck by. Caught between. Asphyxiation. Fell from height. These are just some of the words used to describe work-related causes of death last year in Oklahoma. But the words don’t capture the full impact of the loss.
Every day, many Oklahomans leave their home to go to work to support themselves and their families. And every year, an average of 93 Oklahomans will not return home but will die in a work-related death.
Workers Memorial Day, on Friday, is an opportunity for us to remember those Oklahomans lost in a work-related death and to resolve to do better. It’s one of the most difficult events for me as labor commissioner to attend — to look into the eyes of the family members and know that many of these deaths were preventable.
At the Oklahoma Department of Labor, we are committed to improving workplace safety.
For all of our advancements made in the workplace, preventable injuries and deaths remain an issue. The Department of Labor is combating that by offering a free, voluntary and confidential safety consultation program. For private employers, our team can walk through an OSHA inspection, identify hazards and offer real solutions to avoid costly fines. In 2015, we saved Oklahoma businesses more than $33 million in OSHA penalties. That’s money companies can invest upfront to improve workplace safety.
For public employers, our staff focuses on education, training and partnering with businesses to ensure compliance with safety standards. Our Public Employer Occupational Safety & Health Unit has succeeded in lowering the public-sector incidence rate by more than 47 percent in the past 16 years through targeted training and instruction.
Workplace safety is a culture change, so we are doing our best to reach citizens at a young age by instituting curriculum in Oklahoma schools. Young workers are twice as likely as their adult counterparts to get injured on the job. This curriculum gives students the knowledge and skills to be safe, and gives employers the benefit of having employees who can recognize and identify hazards. Students also can enter our “Speak Out for Workplace Safety” video contest. The award-winning studentproduced videos are presented at the state Capitol and are used throughout the year to teach other teens about safety on the job.
On Friday, we will commemorate the lives lost last year and reflect on the true cost of workplace safety. We can do better. Oklahoma workers deserve to be safe, healthy and able to return home after a day’s hard work. y assistant superintendent recently drove an hour-anda half-to a teacher job fair at East Central University. It was a nearly complete waste of time and resources.
This isn’t atypical of such job fairs these days. Once full of applicants and hiring districts, these events are generally no longer worth our investment. In fact, I might argue that they are detrimental to Oklahoma schools if out-of-state recruiters are present.
At Santa Fe South, we are well into the process of hiring 50 teachers for next year. We are expanding and working to find great educators to work with our learners in south Oklahoma City. We are a relatively small district. We’re a great place to work. Our talented teachers work extraordinarily hard and our leaders are second to none.
We are running out of money. All salaries were frozen last year in our district for all personnel, which means everyone who works with us made less this year than last year as their cost of living continued to rise but their income did not. I have to say no to almost every reasonable purchase request from my educators.
I don’t know what next year holds financially because the state cannot seem to figure this out yet, but I’m certain it will be another debilitating experience for us.
As the funds dwindle and our human resources continue to diminish, it’s like watching a loved one starve to death, day by day. Vibrant programs are being choked out, enthusiasm is waning, invested adults are becoming so discouraged that they simply no longer have the energy to continue in the profession.
The next generation of talented educators is simply not there. Gains made are eroding and momentum is shifting in the wrong direction.
How are we going to be able to serve our kids in Oklahoma? We are cannibalizing staff from our fellow schools, gutting the school week and overloading our remaining teachers. Our colleges of education are producing excellent educators, but producing them to work in other states, apparently. This means we Okies are happily subsidizing our colleges of education to prepare teachers to work in Texas and beyond.
It goes beyond education, of course. A friend of mine is a special education teacher and coach. He recently interviewed for a job in the Dallas Independent School District. They offered him a starting salary of $57,000 — before coaching stipends. He said, “I would have to work 28 years in Oklahoma before I would make that.” His wife is a fantastic nurse. They are considering leaving. We will lose two valuable professionals, and the tax revenue from two professional salaries. They won’t come back if they leave. This means their children will also not be contributors to our state in the future.
No, the sky is not falling. But it’s dark, foreboding, and it appears that we are willing to let it rain a long time on our kids before we provide the sun they need to flourish.