National COSH Announces 2023 'Dirty Dozen' Employers
Amazon, FedEx and Tesla, Inc. are among the 12 employers on National Council for Occupational Safety and Health’s list.
- By Alex Saurman
- Apr 27, 2023
[UPDATE: This story has been updated with a response from Lithko Contracting]
Yesterday, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) announced this year’s “dirty dozen” employers.
According to a news release, 12 employers are selected by National COSH from nominations provided by COSH affiliates; “Criteria include the severity of risks to workers; repeat and serious violations of safety standards and applicable laws; the position of a company within its industry and the economy and its ability to influence broader workplace standards, and the presence of a campaign by workers and/or allies to correct health and safety problems.”
In alphabetical order, the “dirty dozen” employers are:
- Amazon
- FedEx
- Hanover Company, Lithko Contracting, Friends Masonry Construction
- Norfolk Southern and Class One Freight Railroads: BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific, Canadian National Railway
- Occidental Chemical, Westlake Chemical
- Packer Sanitation Service Inc. (PSSI), JBS Foods, Cargill, Tyson
- Sonoma WISE
- Swissport International AG Companies
- Tenet Healthcare Corporation
- Tesla, Inc
- Trulieve Cannabis Corp
- Twin Peaks Restaurant
This is Amazon’s fourth time on the list. In 2022, multiple employees died while working at warehouses, including one who lost their life after a forklift crash and one who died after suffering a cardiac arrest on “Prime Day,” the report said.
Workers at other employers on this list also suffered fatalities. At Tesla’s Texas GigaFactory located in Austin, a construction worker died while working in temperatures of 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The worker, employed by a contractor, had an internal body temperature of 106.4 degrees Fahrenheit upon their death. At Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a 27-year-old named Lorna McMurrey had an asthma attack after breathing in cannabis dust and later died.
“Lorna had no pre-existing condition, and Trulieve took away the personal protective equipment (PPE) that she and other workers needed,” said Lorna’s cousin Alisha Bounds in a news release. “We want to do all we can to improve conditions in this industry, so no other family has to suffer this kind of tragic and preventable loss.” Bounds was one of the four featured speakers during National COSH’s media briefing on the “dirty dozen” on April 26.
Three employees of Friends Masonry Construction died after scaffolding collapsed, causing them to fall 70 feet. The eldest of the three Latino workers, at age 45, was only weeks away from retirement. Per the report, “Hanover Company, based in Texas, owns the project. Lithko Contracting, based in Ohio, is the construction contractor.” A worker at FedEx was driving a forklift on what Tennessee OSHA said was a “defective” ramp when the vehicle flipped over. The worker was fatally crushed after the forklift landed on them.
Lithko Contracting issued a statement extending its condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the three individuals of Old North State Masonry who lost their lives, and asserting that it was not involved.
"It is necessary to clarify the facts, for court filings and media reports, that at no time did Lithko Contracting serve as the general contractor on the project or employ Old North State Masonry as a subcontractor," the statement read. "Lithko Contracting had zero involvement in the incident."
National COSH, which is composed of 26 grassroots worker groups, according to its website, announced the dirty dozen during Workers’ Memorial Week, a week to remember those who lost their lives on the job, and two days before Workers’ Memorial Day.
To learn more about the employers on this list, read the Dirty Dozen 2023 report.