Colorado's Labor Movement Honors Workers Killed on the Job

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        

Contact: Robert Lindgren, 720-787-8040, rlindgren@coaflcio.org

Colorado AFL-CIO 

New Report Shows 83 Colorado Workers Were Killed On The Job in 2023

View Report here: https://aflcio.org/reports/dotj-2025 

(DENVER, April 24, 2025) – According to a new report released this week by the AFL-CIO, 83 Colorado workers were killed on the job in 2023. This analysis, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that there were 2.8 deaths due to on-the-job injuries per hundred thousand workers in Colorado in 2023.

Nationally in 2023, 5,283 working people were killed on the job and an estimated 135,304 died from occupational diseases. Each and every day, on average, 385 U.S. workers die from hazardous working conditions. The overall rate of fatal job injuries in 2023 was 3.5 per 100,000.

“Every worker should be able to go to work and expect to return home to their life and family.” said Dennis Dougherty, Executive Director of the Colorado AFL-CIO. “Colorado and the country need to build back better and create an economy that works for everyone and values safety over profits.” 

The report, titled “Death on the Job. The Toll of Neglect” marks the 34th year the AFL-CIO has produced its findings on the state of safety and health protections for workers within the United States. The report shows the highest workplace fatality rates are Wyoming, West Virginia and Arkansas. 

Other report insights show that Latino workers Latino workers’ job fatality rate decreased to 4.4 per 100,000 workers—meaning they continued to face the greatest risk of dying on the job than all workers at 26% higher than the national average. Colorado saw an increase in fatalities among Latino workers from 19 deaths in 2018 to 22 deaths in 2023. Black workers are at an increased risk of work-related deaths, with a job fatality rate of 3.6 per 100,000 workers. In 2023, 659 Black workers died—down from 734 in 2022, but an increase from 653 in 2021, 541 in 2020 and 634 in 2019. Workers 65 or older have nearly three times the risk of dying on the job than all workers, with a fatality rate of 9.4 per 100,000 workers in 2019. Workers 65 and older have 2.5 times the risk of dying on the job as other workers, with a job fatality rate of 8.7 per 100,000 workers.

In 2023, Colorado passed legislation to strengthen child labor statutes with HB 23-1196, which amended the Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act of 1971 (CYEOA) to allow aggrieved parties, including parents of children protected by the CYEOA, to pursue remedies at law and in equity for violations of the act, in addition to workers' compensation remedies. 

Fifty four years ago on April 28, the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect,

promising every worker the right to a safe job. The law was won in 1970 because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement and allies, who drew major attention to work-related deaths, disease and injuries, organized for safer working conditions and demanded action from their government. More than 712,000 workers now can say their lives have been saved since the passage of the OSH Act.

But today, due to President Trump’s attacks on the Biden administration’s progress and his anti-worker, pro-business philosophy, OSHA’s meager resources are declining.  In the most poignant and direct attack on worker safety, DOGE functionally eliminated the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the only worker safety and health research agency. There are currently a total of 1,802 federal and state OSHA inspectors combined (768 federal and 1,034 state, not including supervisory inspectors), only enough to inspect workplaces once every 185 years. National progress over the decades has undoubtedly made workplaces safer and saved lives. But that progress is under attack, now more than ever.

###