EPISODE · Aug 13, 2026 · 35 MIN
LHSFNA on Trench Safety, Work Zones and OSHA Under Pressure
from America’s Work Force Union Podcast · host BMA Media Group
About one construction worker dies in a trench collapse every week. Every death is preventable. Work zone run-over and back-over incidents are also preventable. And the federal agency responsible for enforcing the rules that would stop these deaths just had its already-thin resources cut further. On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America Director Travis Parsons discusses the history of worker safety from the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire to the creation of OSHA in 1970, the three simple methods that prevent every trench collapse, why work zones need physical barriers rather than cones and barrels and what the current administration's anti-regulatory environment means for laborers on job sites right now. He also discusses the LHSFNA's founding in 1988 as a labor-management fund and why meaningful OSHA fines are the enforcement lever the industry needs most. Visit lhsfna.org for more.
Embed this episode
What this episode covers
Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America Director Travis Parsons discusses trench collapses that claim approximately one construction worker per week despite being entirely preventable, work zone run-over and back-over hazards that require physical barriers rather than cones and barrels and an anti-regulatory federal environment that has cut OSHA’s already-limited resources — while state programs in places like New Jersey are stepping up on penalties and protections where federal action has retreated.
Ready to play
LHSFNA on Trench Safety, Work Zones and OSHA Under Pressure
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
No similar episodes found.