Revoking Arizona Health and Safety Plan a Step Towards Accountability

Phoenix, AZ — On Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced its intention to revoke Arizona’s occupational safety and health plan after the State’s failure to meet basic federal health and safety guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement follows Arizona’s refusal to follow federal OSHA’s temporary infectious disease standard in June and comes one week before Workers’ Memorial Day, where on April 28th each year, Arizona’s unions honor workers who have passed away due to work-related illness or injury. 

“Over the last two years, the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health has completely abdicated its responsibility to protect working Arizonans on-the-job by refusing to implement even minimal protections from aerosolized infectious disease, despite the inextricable link between workplace safety and COVID-19,” said Fred Yamashita, Executive Director of the Arizona AFL-CIO. “When Arizona’s labor movement mobilized to elect President Joe Biden in 2020, we did so with the goal of securing a swift response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s announcement marks an important step toward accountability on behalf of working Arizonans. We appreciate the Biden Administration’s continued commitment to ensuring that all Arizonans are safe at work,” Yamashita continued. 

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