The Nation : Kirkland Blasts Administration’s Safety Law Cutbacks

AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland sharply criticized the Reagan Administration for curtailing enforcement of the nation’s health and safety laws while increasing the resources it devotes to investigating the internal affairs of unions. He said that the AFL-CIO executive council had asked Ann Dore McLaughlin, the new secretary of labor, to take a close look at this improper “allocation of resources.” McLaughlin addressed the executive council for the first time at its meeting in Bal Harbour, Fla. Margaret Simario, the AFL-CIO’s health and safety chief, said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had about 400 fewer inspectors now than it did in 1980. Kirkland did not go into detail on increased government scrutiny of internal union affairs.