Tuesday February 5, 2013, 8:38 am

Signed and tweeted -

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 9:54 am
Thanks for sharing Kit! You cannot currently send a star to Kit because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 10:09 am
#6060, thank you JL

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 10:26 am
The hardest memory I’ve had to live with was the day my father came home from what would be his last day of work. He barely made it through the door, fell to the floor and, between tears, said, “I can’t do it anymore.”

The silicosis he’d been diagnosed with five years earlier—after being exposed to cancer-causing silica dust, working as a sandblaster—had finally caught up to him. Later that year, my father suffocated to death from his disease. I was only 13 years old, but I’ve never forgotten the pain he and my family went through.

My father’s story is all too common, but it doesn’t have to be. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has drafted a proposal that would reduce exposure to the same life-threatening conditions he faced on the job. But it’s been sitting with the White House for more than two years now.

It’s time for the White House to act. Sign this White House petition now to tell officials to put job safety standards in place to protect workers.

To sign the petition, follow these simple steps:

If this is your first time signing a petition to the White House on the We the People website, click on the “Create an Account” button.
After you create an account, you’ll get an email from Whitehouse.gov asking you to verify your account. Click on the link in that email (give it a second if it doesn’t come right away).
After you click on the link, you’ll be able to sign the petition by clicking the green “Sign This Petition” button under where it shows how many people have signed.

For those of you who’ve done this before, you can click on the “Sign In” button to log in and sign the petition. No need to create another account.

When I testified before the U.S. Senate last year on this issue, I shared my story and expected that it wouldn’t be long before the simple OSHA proposal would be implemented and limits on exposure, that already exist, would be better enforced. But a year later, nothing’s been done.

At the time I started in the trades, there wasn’t a lot of training provided on respiratory protection or silica. A lot of the guys I worked with were completely unaware of the seriousness of silica exposure, and the contractors out there weren’t consistent about providing protective equipment because the rules were lax and there was no enforcement. The same standard exists today.

Each year 50,000 people die from diseases contracted at work, costing an estimated $250 billion in medical expenses that taxpayers must pay. Many fall ill long after the company is gone or once they retire.

I can’t stress how important this issue is for hundreds of thousands of construction workers and their families. With every day that passes, more and more workers are at risk.

The White House needs to hear from you. Sign the petition now:

go.aflcio.org/stop-silicosis

In Solidarity,

Tom Ward
Member of Bricklayers Local 1 of Michigan

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 10:26 am
You cannot currently send a star to Nicole because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 11:59 am
I thought they had stopped all this working with silica and i did not think silicosis was still a problem well i was wrong obviously but time something was done about it

noted thanks

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 1:27 pm
Already signed yesterday, thx JL

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 1:39 pm
You are welcome Carol and Angelika.
You cannot currently send a star to Carol because you have done so within the last week.
You cannot currently send a star to Angelika because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 5:51 pm
Thanks JL. Signed and noted.

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 5:53 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Joe because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 7:41 pm
Gladly signed. Thank you!

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 8:39 pm
Thanks J.L. for the post. Signed, noted and shared.
Thank you for signing this petition. Email this link to your friends and family: http://wh.gov/E3Ta

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 8:49 pm
Thanks for sharing John!You cannot currently send a star to John because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday February 5, 2013, 11:23 pm
Thanks so much for sharing J.L.

Wednesday February 6, 2013, 7:16 am
You are welcome Kathy.

Wednesday February 6, 2013, 4:50 pm
Tweeted

Wednesday February 6, 2013, 4:51 pm
I am sure these are not UNION JOBS

Wednesday February 6, 2013, 4:54 pm
Thanks for tweeting Theodore!

Friday February 8, 2013, 12:18 pm
Updated number of signatures is now:
7,484

Saturday February 9, 2013, 11:37 pm
signed

Sunday February 10, 2013, 3:28 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Lynn because you have done so within the last week.