Union argues record OSHA fine "less than half day's profit"
Union officials are unimpressed by last week's record-setting OSHA fine of $21.4 million against BP North America for more than 300 violations identified after an explosion and fire at a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas killed 15 workers and injured 170.
"Twenty-one million dollars is a lot to me," said Sonny Sanders, the United Steelworkers (USW) representative at the refinery, in a report circulated by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, "but it’s not much at all to BP. After the explosion, management said that they were setting aside $700 million to pay the cost of settlements with the injured and the families of those killed. OSHA’s fine is just one thirty-fifth of that amount, so it’s not likely to be enough to deter them from reckless behavior."