Union leaders and activists have a better chance of mobilizing workers to participate in union activities by taking on issues that workers care about and that can be changed. Nearly all deaths, illnesses and injuries can be prevented. Workplace injuries and deaths are not really accidents because they normally have well-known causes that can be controlled. Eliminating or controlling dangerous working conditions will prevent accidents. Workers acting together in their union must make sure their employers provide safe working conditions that prevent death, illness and injury.
Many employers believe that injuries are the fault of careless workers.
Too many workers also think that this is the main cause of injuries. This is called blaming the victim. It assumes that workers have full control over how work is done. The challenge is to change the working conditions that caused the incident rather than blaming the victim. Solving health and safety problems means finding out why workers are being injured and then controlling hazards.