I made an innocent tweet a few days ago noting this stat, and nearly 30 others re-tweeted it with no real urging from me. So I wanted to let you know where I got it from.
I took a look at the AFL-CIO's latest "Death on the Job Report," which rates all 50 states for workplace safety (or lack thereof). If you take a look at the 15 states with the highest ratios of work-related fatailities (starting around page 113), you'll notice an obvious trend.
Highest work-related fatalities per 100,000 workers, 2012
N.Dakota 17.7
Wyoming 12.2
Alaska 8.9
Montana 7.3
W. Virginia 6.9
S. Dakota 6.7
Iowa 6.6
Louisiana 6.4
Oklahoma 6.1
Kansas 5.7
Mississippi 5.5
Arkansas 5.4
Nebraska 5.2
Kentucky 4.9
Texas 4.8
Why is Iowa in italics? Because EVERY OTHER STATE IN THIS LIST VOTED FOR ROMNEY IN 2012. 14 out of 15. Hmmm, high levels on-job deaths tend to correspond to places that favor Republican deregulation, especially ones that have high levels of oil, coal and other types of mineral extraction? NOOOOO WAYYYYY!
Wisconsin was close to making this list, as they were 19th-worst for fatalities, at 4.0, just behind Indiana's 4.2 for 3rd-worst in the Midwest. Guess which three states had the lowest average private sector wages in the Midwest at the end of 2013? Yep, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana. And if we get 4 more years of Fitzwalkerstani anti-worker policies, we may be heading toward the top 15 list soon enough. After all, Diane Hendricks told Gov Walker she wanted us to be a "completely red state." Dead workers seems to be a part of that.
It doesn't happen in a vaccuum folks. States that support Republicans have lower standards of living, higher levels of workplace fatalities, and related measures that happen when the balance of power tips toward corporations and away from workers. Keep it in mind as the election season heats up.
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