A worker was killed by machinery on June 3 at a sawmill in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
Local authorities responded to a medical call at W.G. Sullivan Co. Lumber Yard around 7pm, where they say the worker suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The worker’s identity had not yet been released.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation into the incident.
OSHA has previously cited W.G. Sullivan Co. for a workplace safety violation. In 2017, the agency investigated an incident in which a 150-pound wooden board shot out of machinery and struck a worker, fracturing his arm. OSHA cited the company for two violations and initially proposed $12,928 in fines, later reduced to $7,757 through an informal settlement.
Sawmill workers face numerous hazards, such as falling wood, failing machinery, and respiratory diseases caused by inhaling sawdust. OSHA reports that sawmill workers particularly risk being seriously injured or killed while servicing machinery that has not been properly shut down and secured. In 2022, a worker at a different sawmill in Alabama was killed while clearing jammed machinery that the company—Rex Lumber—did not properly train workers in shutting down.
Employment in the lumber industry fell to 85,400 workers in 2025, the lowest level since 2013. Meanwhile, production has remained relatively stable as automation has enabled employers to extract more output from fewer workers, according to the National Association of Homebuilders.
Across industries, the capitalists have responded to declining profitability and economic instability by driving up production demands while cutting costs wherever possible, including on workplace safety. At the same time, OSHA remains chronically understaffed, with too few inspectors to adequately monitor millions of workplaces. Even when violations are found, investigations often take months or years and typically end in measly fines.
Image: A portable sawmill is used to cut wood. Credit: Jakethrelkeld on Wikimedia Commons.
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