Over the last seven years, in response to high rates of worker deaths and injuries, OSHA launched two localized efforts to improve working conditions on dairy farms. Today, a new study finds the efforts made a positive difference, with farmers describing the intervention as a catalyst for reducing workplace dangers.
It’s time for federal lawmakers to catch up with the quickly changing relationship between employers and workers; an upcoming Supreme Court case could upend public-sector unions; New York farmworker loses court case to gain organizing rights, but vows to appeal; and the country’s biggest janitorial company faces new allegations of sexual abuse in the workplace.
Two new papers describe the relationship between heat strain, dehydration, and acute kidney injury among U.S. farmworkers. The research describes a current health hazard that will only get worse with heat waves and the changing climate.
An Oklahoma rehab center funnels forced free labor into private industry; the National Labor Relations Board reconsiders Obama-era union election rules; farmworkers at risk from California’s wildfire smoke; and domestic workers organize for greater labor rights in Seattle.
Local efforts help California nail salons create healthier working conditions; California court ruling a win for farm workers and labor unions; Milwaukee institutes new safety measures after a city employee is shot and killed; and flight attendants chronicle sexual harassment in the skies.
APHA Annual Meeting
Occupational health, environmental protections the focus of new public health policies
The American Public Health Association adopted 13 new policy statements. Six of them address priority topics on worker safety and environmental health.
Reporters investigate a court-ordered rehab center that funnels unpaid labor to a poultry processor; Ben & Jerry’s commits to improving conditions for workers on dairy farms; Massachusetts is one step closer to providing all public-sector workers with OSHA protections; and the Trump administration rolls back protections for transgender workers.
Age bias a challenge to prove in the workplace; coal miner deaths up over last year; workers protest after the death of a California farmworker; and the United Auto Workers looks forward after union defeat at Nissan plant in Mississippi.
The feds grant billions in contracts to shipbuilders with serious worker safety lapses; Texas lawmakers want to undo an Austin initiative that protects construction workers; Chevron agrees to highest fine in Cal/OSHA history after refinery fire; and Democrats hope to ban a dangerous pesticide after EPA fails to act.
Uber’s new insurance plan won’t do much to protect its injured workers; investigation finds 1,000 additional black lung cases in Appalachia; Washington state welcomes a new paid family leave law; and St. Louis workers face a pay cut after state legislators overturn the city’s minimum wage hike.