Dying to Work:

Death and Injury in the American Workplace

Jonathan D. Karmel

"In Dying to Work, Jonathan D. Karmel presents issues faced by workers in a full range
of industries, many of which the general public doesn’t typically think of as hazardous.
Using the powerful stories of individual fatality and injury cases is an effective way to
introduce each worker health and safety topic." (Celeste Monforton, Professorial Lecturer
at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University)

"Dying to Work offers readable, powerful human stories of workplace injuries and

illnesses. Jonathan D. Karmel also offers well-presented arguments for addressing the
issues and preventing like tragedies." (Don J. Lofgren, author of Dangerous Premises)

In Dying to Work, Jonathan Karmel raises our awareness of unsafe working conditions with
accounts of workers who were needlessly injured or killed on the job. Based on heart-wrenching
interviews Karmel conducted with injured workers and surviving family members across the
country, the stories in this book are introduced in a way that helps place them in a historical and
political context and represent a wide survey of the American workplace, including, among
others, warehouse workers, grocery store clerks, hotel housekeepers, and river dredgers.

Karmel’s examples are portraits of the lives and dreams cut short and reports of the workplace
incidents that tragically changed the lives of everyone around them. Dying to Work includes
incidents from industries and jobs that we do not commonly associate with injuries and fatalities
and highlights the risks faced by workers who are hidden in plain view all around us. While
exposing the failure of safety laws that leave millions of workers without compensation and
employers without any meaningful incentive to protect their workers, Karmel offers the reader
some hope in the form of policy suggestions that may make American workers safer and
employers more accountable. This is a book for anyone interested in issues of worker health and
safety, and it will also serve as the cornerstone for courses in public policy, community health,
labor studies, business ethics, regulation and safety, and occupational and environmental health
policy.

-more-

More Praise:

"The book to read if you want to know what’s happening with worker health and safety in these
difficult times." (Labor Notes)
 "Most interestingly... the book features a collection of stories about workers who were killed or injured
on the job. As one might expect, there are subsections devoted to risks of being an electrician, logger,
oil & gas worker and coal miner, with corresponding horror stories for each occupation. But it’s the
personal experiences of grocery clerks and hotel housekeepers―two other surprisingly high-risk
occupations―that are the real page-turners." (Failure Magazine)

"[Karmel] directs our attention toward an awareness of a hidden-in-plain-sight problem, where instead
of provoking outrage and indignation, death and injury on the job are considered to be a condition of
doing business and a necessary evil in the production process.... Karmel argues effectively for
changing that narrative.... [Dying to Work] is a call to action." (New Solutions)

"[Dying to Work] highlights how corporations have simply not placed a premium on protecting their
workers from harm." (Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review)

"Karmel has written a gripping and disturbing book on the state of safety and health in the workplace.
He has compiled a revealing series of personal accounts of workplace accidents. The cumulative
impact is painful."(Choice)

"A compelling call for action on a national health crisis that's hiding in plain sight." (Unionist)

Jonathan D. Karmel has practiced labor and employment law in Chicago for 35
years representing unions and their employee benefit funds. Karmel is a Fellow with
The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and has been recognized as an
Illinois Super Lawyer. Karmel is a frequent panelist on labor and employment topics,
and has lectured internationally. Recently, Karmel became the Co-Chair of the
American Bar Association’s Occupational Safety and Health Committee where he
hopes to increase awareness of the important issues affecting workers and their
families.

 Paperback: 264 pages, $24.95

 Publisher: ILR Press; Reprint edition (March 15, 2019)
 ISBN: 978-1501735844