David Keeling’s nomination to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently advanced from committee to the full Senate. As a health and safety executive at United Parcel Service, Keeling became notorious for resisting worker demands that his company install air conditioning in trucks so delivery drivers could avoid severe heat-related injuries.
Much like UPS drivers, Keeling’s nomination has cooked in the sun all summer, awaiting confirmation. American workers deserve better than Keeling. Trump wants historians to celebrate “American exceptionalism.” History shows us the U.S. is an exceptionally dangerous place to work.
As a historian who writes about how slavery has shaped America, I see Keeling’s nomination as a continuation of a long pattern where some workers — initially slaves but more recently low-wage, immigrant and nonwhite workers — are viewed as expendable.
A worker in the U.S. dies from a work-related injury every hour and a half, and African Americans and Latino workers are killed at work at higher rates than white workers.
A recent comparison by workplace safety scholars found that compared to the U.K., U.S. workers in manufacturing were twice as likely to be killed at work, and American construction workers were three times as likely to be killed while working. While Britain began to keep detailed statistics of workplace fatalities in the mid-19th century, it was not until after OSHA’s founding in 1971 that the U.S. developed a reliable national system of tracking occupational deaths.
As W.E.B. Du Bois wrote in “Black Reconstruction”: “In no country in the civilized world did human life become so cheap.” As I discuss in my book, one native-born steelworker complained of being surrounded by “these Hunkies,” using a derogatory term for Slavic workers: “They don’t seem like men to me hardly.” An appalled German labor leader who visited the U.S. prior to the outbreak of war in 1914 commented on the shocking prevalence of workplace injuries and fatalities: “Human life [in America] is apparently given little value.”
Reckoning with the history of slavery is not — as right-wingers often suggest — about inspiring white guilt by foregrounding a sinful or unpatriotic chapter of our past.
Rather this history is essential to understanding our present because we are still wrestling with the unresolved questions of the Civil War era. Given his record of denying workers protections at UPS, Keeling’s nomination to lead OSHA suggests a tragic continuation of this long history of exceptionally violent and unprotected working conditions in America.
Rudi Batzell, associate professor of history, Lake Forest College
Looking out for voters
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, landmark legislation that secured the right to vote for millions of disenfranchised Americans and laid the foundation for more fair, inclusive and accessible elections across the country.
For decades, the Voting Rights Act has guided election authorities like the Cook County clerk’s office in our ongoing mission to protect and expand access to the ballot.
But today, the values at the heart of that legislation are under renewed threat. Across the nation, restrictive voting laws, voter roll purges and disinformation campaigns are chipping away at the hard-won progress of the last 60 years.
The right to vote is facing mounting challenges, particularly for voters of color, seniors, people with disabilities, and young or first-time voters.
In this climate, the role of local election officials has never been more critical, as county and municipal clerk’s offices remain on the front lines of democracy. At the Cook County clerk’s office, we are committed to leading by example.
That means leaning in on efforts to expand voter education and outreach, particularly in underserved communities. It also means making voting more accessible by increasing early voting locations and reducing language barriers to ensure eligible voters can make their voices heard, regardless of where they live or what language they speak.
In next year’s gubernatorial election, we are also planning a first-of-its-kind early voting initiative at several suburban high schools to engage and empower first-time voters.
We also continue to work to protect trust in our elections through tools like our Trusted Source webpage, which offers concise information about election integrity and how your vote is protected. And as clerk, I am also advocating for legislative reforms in Springfield that will make voting easier and safer for all eligible residents.
As the election authority for suburban Cook County, I pledge to carry forward the promise of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by working tirelessly to ensure every eligible resident has the right to vote and to do so without obstruction or fear.
Democracy doesn’t just live in Washington — it lives right here in Cook County in every polling place and with every ballot cast.
Monica Gordon, Cook County clerk
Hold drivers accountable for ignoring stop signs
It seems that all over the city and suburbs, a majority of drivers fail to stop at stop signs or roll right through them. Maybe if there was more enforcement of this dangerous driving maneuver, the city could collect more funds it needs while keeping other drivers and pedestrians safe.
Sergio Gaytan, retired Chicago police detective, Pilsen
No taxpayer wants to pay for sports stadiums
No tax money — NONE — for any form at any time of a sports stadium, for the Bears or anyone else. Illinois taxpayers have been burned by that scam before. Never again.
Kent Schielke, Wheaton
More mismanagement down the road
Donald Trump is pulling every lever that might help the Republicans to win the 2026 elections, with the exception of the one labeled “good governance.”
Curt Fredrikson, Mokena