Urge Congress to support effort to curb workplace violence

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 26, 2019) — This week, as we continue to remember those who were hurt or killed on the job at Worker Memorial Day events, we must also remember Mother Jones’ call to “mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living.”

One way to fight for the living is to support efforts to curb workplace violence, which is the third-leading cause of death on the job, resulting in nearly 29,000 serious lost-time injuries for workers each year. Health care and social service workers are at greatest risk of violence on the job because of their direct contact with patient and client care.

TAKE A STAND — Click here to send your U.S. Representative a message urging them to co-sponsor H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act of 2019. Strongly supported by the AFL-CIO, H.R. 1309 directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a standard requiring health care and social service employers to write and implement a workplace violence prevention plan to prevent and protect employees from violent incidents in the workplace.

“Health care and social service workers face a disproportionate amount of violence at work, and the data shows that these incidents are on the rise,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the sponsor of H.R. 1309. “Safety experts, employees, and members of Congress have been pressing OSHA to address this outsized risk of violence for years, but have seen no meaningful action. This legislation is the result of a five-year process to build the foundation for long overdue change to protect America’s caring professions.”

As of today, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-7th) is the only member of Congress from Washington state who is co-sponsoring H.R. 1309. Send your U.S. Representative a message urging them to co-sponsor H.R. 1309 — or in Jayapal’s case, expressing your support of her co-sponsorship.