We strongly welcome and support Senator Patty Murray’s introduction of a bill today to ban asbestos – this is a piece of legislation which is long overdue. The story of asbestos is one of the most shameful in the annals of the American workplace. Long after manufacturers, their insurance companies and the federal government knew asbestos was a deadly poison, millions of workers were and still are being exposed to asbestos on the job.

For decades, the victims of asbestos poisoning have sought compensation for the terrible wrongs done to them and their families. Six hundred thousand workers have turned to the courts for relief and have filed asbestos claims, and an expected 1.2 million more are expected to file future claims.

The labor movement has long recognized that under current law and legal processes, many asbestos victims are not being treated fairly or receiving adequate and timely compensation. Furthermore, the impact and uncertainty of significant liabilities has put many businesses into bankruptcy, and affected many jobs in the process. The current system is unpredictable and harmful to workers and companies alike.

In response, the labor movement has sought to negotiate with all interested parties to develop a victims’ trust fund which would replace the litigiousness and unpredictability of today’s procedures. We believe that a no-fault system that provides fair compensation, is securely funded, is based on sound medical criteria, and is implemented through a well-designed administrative system would be of mutual benefit to business and victims alike, as well as to the public at large. Such a fund, however, must ensure that no worker who has been poisoned by asbestos will ever be denied his or her full, due compensation because the trust fund is empty or too low.

The negotiations that began earlier this year were a golden opportunity to bring together the interested parties who sought to create a trust fund that served asbestos victims. Unfortunately, the legislation presented by Senator Orrin Hatch is a major step backward. The Hatch bill is merely a vehicle to relieve businesses and insurers of hundreds of billions of dollars of liability while significantly short-changing the asbestos victims of the fair compensation they are due.

The labor movement remains committed to working with interested parties who present a solid commitment to creating a fully-funded trust fund that will be there when workers need it and will include all workers who deserve to be compensated for their illness. However, we are not willing to replace today’s system, as imperfect as it may be, with a substitute that will be even more unfair to those who have suffered from this deadly disease. 

Contact: Kathy Roeder (202) 637-5018