NYCOSH Must Stop Exploiting Tragedy for Political Gain 

Every year, the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health (NYCOSH) distorts construction safety data to further its anti-open shop agenda. Instead of presenting an honest assessment, NYCOSH inflates fatality numbers by including incidents unrelated to building construction, such as window washing to mislead the public and policymakers. 

“NYCOSH manipulates these horrific tragedies that devastate families to push its political agenda,” said Brian Sampson, President of the ABC Empire State Chapter. “Year after year, they misrepresent construction industry data by counting non-construction-related incidents to exaggerate the number of fatalities. These individuals deserve to be remembered with dignity, not used as pawns for political gain. NYCOSH is forced to resort to these gross, classless tactics because they don’t have any factual arguments to make.” 

The reality is that construction in New York City is getting safer and the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) and other groups like ABC are dedicated to continuing this effort to enforce and foster safety on jobsites. 

For example: 

• The DOB has issued over 400,000 Site Safety Training (SST) cards to construction workers and licensed safety professionals, reinforcing a safety culture on job sites. 

• In 2023, the DOB saw a 36% decline in fatal incidents resulting from building construction-related activities under the agency’s purview. According to the DOB’s 2023 Annual Safety Report, construction-related fatalities dropped from 11 in 2022 to 7 in 2023. This marks a nine-year low in building construction-related fatalities which directly contradicts NYCOSH’s claim of 30 deaths. 

• The number of stop work orders for safety violations has also decreased according to the DOB. In 2022 there were 8,868 stop work orders issued and in 2023 that number dropped to just 5,969 

• The time to resolve safety issues that led to a stopped work order according to the DOB has also dropped significantly, to resolve safety concerns has also decreased down to just two days  

NYCOSH is largely funded by union organizations seeking to eliminate open-shop contractors from New York City. Yet, according to recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, more than 80% of the construction workforce is non-union. NYCOSH represents a small fraction of the industry while manipulating reports to sideline the majority of construction workers who call New York home. 

“At the end of the day, NYCOSH has an agenda it pushes regardless of the facts. But the real, unmanipulated data discredits their political narrative”, said Sampson. “The construction industry, working in partnership with the DOB, has made job sites safer by reducing incidents and fatalities. This collaboration benefits the entire industry except NYCOSH, which would rather sow fear and division than support real progress. While NYCOSH continues to disrespect the memory of these workers who were tragically lost; ABC and its partners will continue striving to build a safer, better New York”