The Department of Labor is now pushing through rules that
would drag out the creation of new safety standards by requiring the gathering
of "industry-by-industry evidence" of employees' exposure to different toxic substances.
 As Mike Hall writes at the AFL-CIO NOW blog,
the rules being contemplated would, in effect, "give corporations another tool
to fight and delay safety regulations and make it more difficult for a
pro-worker safety administration to implement new regulations."

At a time when product safety and work safety have become an
international concern, with dangerous toys 
catching the headlines and new attention being paid to the conditions of
employees in industries as varied as cut flowers 
and light bulbs,
Bush is making what Think Progress calls a "backward sprint to the finish."