Danger in the Workplace

   Fatal injuries to workers increased by 7 percent in 2016, rising above the 5,000 level for the first time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the third consecutive year in which fatal workplace injuries increased.
   The most common cause of work injuries involved the transportation industry, the BLS said, with 2,083 deaths, some 40 percent of the year's total of 5,190. Violence was the second most common cause of fatal workplace injuries, followed by injuries from falls, slips and trips, especially among roofers, carpenters, tree trimmers, heavy equipment workers and truck drivers.
   The highest percentage increase in workplace fatalities was among Asian workers (40 percent), followed by African-Americans (19 percent). Foreign-born workers made up about one-fifth or the total fatal work injuries, the BLS report said, with 37 percent of those workers born in Mexico.
   
   All these numbers raise the question of why workplace fatalities are increasing, what can be done to alleviate the problem, and whether government intervention is called for to help resolve it.
   Blaming the previous administration for anything and everything unpleasant seems to be a standard strategy for the new guys, but considering their nearly constant preaching about concern for workers and middle-income families, perhaps it's time for them to move away from tax code changes that benefit primarily themselves and the super-rich and start keeping their promises.