Employees producing an economic surplus for employers to sell in the marketplace risk their life and limbs due to the bosses’ disregard of workplace safety standards. A new report from the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) delivers the disturbing details.
We turn to the just released Dirty Dozen 2026, highlighting unsafe workplaces, comprised of Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations, and nominations from National COSH’s state affiliates, labor unions and workers centers.
The motive of private profit was the driving force of the workers’ fatalities and injuries, according to National COSH, founded in 2004.
“This is not inevitable,” said Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of National COSH, in a press release. “It is the result of corporate decisions and weak enforcement.”
Briefly, corporate earnings drive workplace practices in a capitalist economy, a process misnamed as the free market. The collapse of federal labor enforcement under the second administration of President Donald J. Trump facilitated such employer practices.
Meanwhile, resistance is the existence for employees facing unsafe workplaces. “Workers are speaking out to demand accountability and protections that save lives,” according to Martinez of National COSH.
Standing up and speaking out can compromise workers’ wellbeing. Significantly, four of the five injured workers in a recent national media call withheld their names due to risk of employer retaliation. These four workers toiled at catfish and food processing, auto manufacturing and residential construction job sites.
Below, listed alphabetically, are the companies of the Dirty Dozen 2026, in National COSH’s annual report.
Alliance Ground International: Repeated safety violations, unsafe equipment, and worker mistreatment allegations. BC Cambria Company, LLC: Engineered stone products linked to deadly silica disease. CommonSpirit Health: Unsafe staffing, workplace violence, and labor concerns impacting care. Consolidated Catfish Producers, LLC: Amputations, machine hazards, and dangerous indoor heat. D.R. Horton, Inc.: Repeated safety violations and hazardous construction jobsite conditions amid ICE enforcement actions. Hyundai-Kia U.S. Supply Chain: Worker deaths, child labor findings, and subcontracted exploitation. Jeny Sod and Nursery: Wage theft claims, heat risks, pesticide exposure, and housing concerns. LSG Sky Chefs: Extreme heat and lack of cooling protections for workers. Maker’s Pride LLC (formerly Hearthside, LLC): Amputations, child labor violations, and anti-union concerns. Revoli Construction Co., Inc: Decades of trenching violations ending in fatal collapse. Subway IP LLC: Wage theft, retaliation, and labor issues across franchises. Wellmade Industries MFR. N.A LLC: safety violations, labor exploitation, and trafficking investigation.
Kissy Cox, an auto manufacturing worker at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Company, part of the Hyundai-Kia U.S. supply chain, did speak on the record. “I reported my injuries,” according to her, “but I was still required to work in pain for months before getting proper medical attention. Many of my coworkers are going through the same thing. The company says it’s a safe place to work, but the reality does not match what we experience.”
The observance of Workers’ Memorial Week ran April 22 through April 29 in 2026.
