--- title: Chemical Safety Board Cuts Threaten Worker and Community Protection description: The America’s Work Force Union Podcast is the nation’s premier daily labor program. Steve Salman of the United Steelworkers joined us on today’s show. image: https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/usw%20blue%20image.jpg --- 1 min read Season 6, Episode 147 # Chemical Safety Board Cuts Threaten Worker and Community Protection [ awfblog ](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog) July 25, 2025 [America's Work Force Union Podcast](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/americas-work-force-union-podcast) [Health, Welfare, and Safety](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/health-welfare-and-safety) [Political](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/political) [United Steelworkers](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/united-steelworkers) [Union Issues](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/union-issues) ![AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_USW](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_USW.png?width=400&height=400&name=AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_USW.png)   Guest Name: --- Steve Sallman Guest Website: --- [https://usw.org/](https://usw.org/)  Guest Social Media: --- [ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/steelworkers/) [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/steelworkers?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) [ YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/Steelworkers) [ LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/steelworkers/) Supportive Documents: --- Steve Sallman, Director of Health, Safety and Environment for the United Steelworkers, discussed the critical role of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), proposed budget cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the importance of workplace safety investigations. Sallman described the CSB's vital function in investigating chemical releases, explosions and fires that endanger workers and communities. He highlighted the agency's role in producing educational videos and reports that help prevent future incidents across industries. With a modest budget of $14.4 million, the CSB's elimination would significantly hinder efforts to learn from and prevent workplace disasters, he said. The proposed 80 percent budget cut to NIOSH would severely impact its ability to conduct research, make safety recommendations and certify essential equipment like respirators, Sallman said. He shared a case study of NIOSH's investigation into a blastomycosis outbreak at a paper mill, demonstrating the agency's unique capability to respond to complex occupational health issues and provide crucial guidance to both workers and employers. Sallman stressed the importance of maintaining and strengthening these agencies to protect workers across various industries. He argued that eliminating or severely cutting these programs would lead to increased workplace accidents, injuries and fatalities, ultimately costing more than the proposed budget savings. Listen to the full episode for more insights on workplace safety and the impact of proposed budget cuts. --- America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues. America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### SUBSCRIBE ON: --- [![Group 342](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png?width=171&name=Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/id1511224946) [![Group 341](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Spotify%20Button-Dark.png?width=100&name=Spotify%20Button-Dark.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzkHxFSBxiXvuX0lZpQBn) [![Group 343](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20343.png?width=135&name=Group%20343.png)](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast-62567752/) [![Group 339](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20339.png?width=110&name=Group%20339.png)](https://www.pandora.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/PC:47979) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20397.png?width=125&name=Group%20397.png)](https://americasworkforceradiopodcast.podbean.com/) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/YouTube_button.png?width=125&name=YouTube_button.png)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQo1PAtRAel1_tS7-PQOkA)   #### [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) : July 6, 2026 # Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat Brandon Elvey, Secretary-Treasurer of the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen](https://www.brs.org/),... [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) #### [AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on the Convention, AI and America at 250](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/afl-cios-fred-redmond-on-the-convention-ai-and-america-at-250) : July 3, 2026 # AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on the Convention, AI and America at 250 Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the [AFL-CIO](https://awf.labortools.com/), joined the [America's Work Force...](https://awf.labortools.com/) [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/afl-cios-fred-redmond-on-the-convention-ai-and-america-at-250) #### [C/COBCTC's Dorsey Hager on Drones, Data Centers and Growth](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/c/cobctcs-dorsey-hager-on-drones-data-centers-and-growth) : July 2, 2026 # Dorsey Hager on Drones, Data Centers and Central Ohio's Building Boom Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the [Columbus/Central Ohio...](https://columbusconstruction.org/) [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/c/cobctcs-dorsey-hager-on-drones-data-centers-and-growth) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "awfblog", "url" : "https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog" }, "dateModified" : "2025-07-30T14:57:24.647Z", "datePublished" : "2025-07-25T18:56:18.000Z", "headline" : "Chemical Safety Board Cuts Threaten Worker and Community Protection", "image" : [ "https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/usw%20blue%20image.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://awf.labortools.com/listen/chemical-safety-board-cuts-threaten-worker-and-community-protection", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/labor-tools-logo-white.png" }, "name" : "BMA Media" } } ```