Posted on April 7, 2025
On April 28, 2025, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) stands in solidarity with workers, trade unions, and organizations around the globe to commemorate International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD). This solemn day honors the countless individuals who have been injured, made ill, or killed due to unsafe working conditions.
It has been 55 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law — granting every worker the fundamental right to safety in the workplace. This landmark legislation was a hard-won victory forged by decades of labor movement organizing and community advocacy. Yet, in 2025, we face serious threats to worker safety as funding and staffing are stripped from key agencies tasked with protecting our workforce.
The current landscape is particularly concerning. Daily tragedies continue, with over 340 deaths and 6,000 injuries occurring in preventable workplace incidents. Safety agencies remain critically underfunded, with OSHA so understaffed that it would take 185 years to inspect every workplace just once. Recent regulatory rollbacks and budget cuts threaten decades of hard-won protections.
Under the current administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), significant cutbacks have affected OSHA, the EPA, and other frontline agencies. These reductions diminish inspections, enforcement, and oversight, leaving workers increasingly vulnerable to preventable harm. Fewer inspectors mean fewer safety checks, and fewer resources mean more unaddressed, unsafe conditions.
As the AFL-CIO powerfully states, “We remember those who have suffered and died on the job and organize to fight for safe jobs.” We echo their urgent call for action and demand that Congress and the White House restore funding and staff to essential health and safety programs and deliver real accountability for employers who put workers in harm’s way.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 125 million people globally continue to be exposed to asbestos at work. Asbestos continues to be a deadly threat in the United States, where it remains legal in certain forms despite being a known carcinogen with no safe level of exposure. While the EPA’s 2024 Final Rule on chrysotile asbestos represented significant progress, it addressed only one type of asbestos, leaving gaps in protection. Meanwhile, legacy asbestos remains in millions of buildings across the country.
This year, ADAO has continued its advocacy for stronger preventive policies:
- Led National Asbestos Awareness Week (April 1–7) with global partners
- Actively supported the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act (ARBAN) in Congress
- Continued to share personal stories through our Share Your Story campaign and new “Every 13 Minutes” initiative, highlighting the human cost of inaction — because that’s how often someone in the U.S. dies from an asbestos-related disease
On April 28, we demand more than words—we demand action. Congress must act swiftly to:
- Ban asbestos in all forms without loopholes or exemptions
- Fully fund OSHA, EPA, and NIOSH
- Protect whistleblowers and frontline workers
- Enforce the law and hold violators accountable
We urge everyone to join the conversation and raise your voice:
- Join the conversation by using the hashtag #IWMD25
- Sign the petition to ban asbestos
- Send a letter to Congress in 60 seconds
Every worker deserves to return home safely. Together, we can ensure that past tragedies do not define our future.
In solidarity,
Linda Reinstein