Fourteen U.S. workers, on average, died at work daily in 2023, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). Moreover, an estimated 120,000 workers pass away from workplace injuries due to occupational diseases and illnesses from ongoing exposure to toxic chemicals, unsafe air, and overall labor exploitation every year, according to the 501(c)3 nonprofit group’s annual Dirty Dozen list, released April 24, containing data on employers that endanger workers and communities, released during Workers’ Memorial Week (April 23-May 1).
Workers at risk of fatalities and injuries on the job labor in the goods-producing and service industries. National COSH, with a network of grassroots worker groups across the U.S., selects the 12 companies, dubbed the Dirty Dozen. Input for this annual list comes from a nationwide network of workers, safety activists, labor union members, health and safety professionals, and academic experts.
A leading cause of workplace danger is exposure to heat. High temperatures have caused the deaths of hundreds of workers and sickened scores more of them in the U.S. recently. They are labor force victims of the climate crisis that is rapidly worsening. As a result, centering worker safety is a high priority to combat the abusive workplace conditions of the companies on the 2025 Dirty Dozen list.
The agriculture and food processing industries are rife with employers that hire immigrant workers, children and adults, to harvest and process the food that Americans eat. These employers are on the list of the 2025 Dirty Dozen for failing to protect workers from scorching heat, while forcing them to work long hours, a recipe for labor fatalities and injuries. Employers can and do impose such oppressive workplace conditions on their laborers because they are politically weak to resist (immigrants and at-will, union-free). Deportation is a constant threat, as the Trump administration scapegoats immigrants as “enemy aliens” invading the U.S. The fact that farm and food processing firms and their customers rely on the super-exploitation of immigrant labor is underreported news.
This year’s Dirty Dozen also focuses on racial justice. The color line that binds discrimination and immigration reflects the risk factor of fatalities and injuries to nonwhite workers compared with their Caucasian counterparts. Latino labor is most at risk. Black workers are next most likely to face death and wounds on the job.
The criteria for selection to the 2025 Dirty Dozen are: severity of safety risks to workers; repeat and serious violations of safety laws and standards, political power to set broader workplace norms; and ongoing worker and ally campaigns to address unsafe conditions. The 2025 Dirty Dozen list details worker resistance to dangerous labor conditions such as union drives, always an uphill struggle in the U.S., given the balance of power tilted to the employer class under the nation’s labor laws.
Here are the 2025 Dirty Dozen:
Alpha Foliage, Inc.,
Barnes Farming,
99 Cost Bargain;
Cooperative Laundry;
Egreen Transport Corporation;
Envy Nails;
LCMC Health Systems;
Mar-Jac Poultry;
McDonald’s Corporation;
Miracapo Pizza Company,
Star Garden and Magic Tavern;
and the GEO Group.Amazon.com, Inc., is in the penalty box for repeat violations of workplace safety.
Jessica E. Martinez is the executive director of National COSH. “Too many workers are dying,” she said in a statement, “getting sick, or sustaining lifelong injuries—often in incidents that are entirely preventable. The employers we’re highlighting in this year’s Dirty Dozen list have ignored known risks and failed to implement basic safety measures, putting profit over people. We must hold them accountable.
“We refuse to stay silent in the face of deadly exploitation. We’re organizing for a future where every worker, in every workplace, is safe—no matter their job, their zip code, or their immigration status.”
For more information on the 2025 Dirty Dozen list, visit nationalcosh.org/press-room.
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