In today’s news and commentary, documents released on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks show that city officials encouraged workers to return to Ground Zero despite knowing the risks of asbestos exposure, and new polls demonstrate continued widespread support for labor unions.

On Friday, the 25th anniversary of 9/11, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a set of documents detailing how city officials knowingly downplayed the risks of asbestos exposure to workers and residents following the attacks. The documents, consisting of over 170,000 pages of air quality reports and communications between city officials, show that unsafe levels of asbestos and benzene contaminated the air and dust around the Ground Zero area months after the attacks. Despite having access to this evidence, city and local officials, including Mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg and EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, encouraged workers and residents to return to Ground Zero while serious health risks remained. Immediately following the attack and for months afterwards, officials told the public that air quality in the area was acceptable and presented very low risk. “People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mr. Mamdani added. The CDC estimates that roughly 400,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants, risk of physical injury, and physically and emotionally stressful conditions following the attacks.

Polls released by Gallup and the AFL-CIO demonstrate that Americans broadly support labor unions. The Gallup poll, released earlier this month, found that 71% of Americans approve of labor unions; this includes 89% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans. This approval rating is unchanged from Gallup’s 2022 poll on the same question. Additionally, a record 47% of Americans indicated that they would “like to see labor unions in the United States have more influence than they have today.” The AFL-CIO survey found that 52% of workers indicated they trusted labor unions, while only 32% and 26% trusted the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.