Budget proposals are flying up and down Washington DC’s Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol Hill, as lawmakers and the President wrestle with funding plans for the current and next fiscal years. The House began debate this week on HR 1 (359 pages), a bill to appropriate funds to federal agencies for the […]
Environmental Health
Behind the kitchen door: low wages, few benefits for many U.S. restaurant workers
Annual sales revenue in the nation’s restaurant industry tops $515 billion, but few of the 10.3 million workers in the industry earn a living wage. Those are the findings released today of comprehensive surveys of working conditions for 1,700 restaurant workers employed in Washington DC, Miami and Los Angeles. To date, more than 4,300 workers […]
I was already tired of President Obama repeating the Republican’s rhetoric about big, bad regulations, how they stifle job creation, put an unnecessary burden on businesses, and make our economy less competitive. He did so last month in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal and in his State of the Union address. But yesterday, […]
Injury Control & Violence
Labor Dept forges ahead to strengthen mine safety, but steps back on other worker health and safety rule
The contrast is striking. Look at the screenshot of the outcome of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’ (OIRA) review of two Labor Department rules to address flaws in our worker health and safety system. One is a proposal by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to crack down on mine operators who […]
The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (LCSP) is known for challenging the status quo. Its scientists and policy analysts refuse to accept we have to live in a world where parents are worried about toxic toys, or companies feel forced to choose between earning profits and protecting the environment. Leave it to LCSP researchers to […]
The new chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor the Workforce will hold the panel’s inaugural hearing on Wed. Jan 26, 2010. The topic: the “State of the American Workforce” with invited testimony from the current Governor of Virginia, president of a conservative think tank, a North Carolina small businessman representing the National […]
Injury Control & Violence
Willful violations assessed by OSHA in grain elevator deaths, insurers named in announcement
OSHA proposed penalties totaling nearly $1.4 million against two Illinois companies for violations of safety standards that led to the deaths of three workers last summer in grain elevators. Haasbach LLC received 24 violations, including 12 classified as willful, for failing to take steps to workers from engulfed 30 feet deep in corn. Alex Pacas, […]
The construction trade association Associated Building Contractors (ABC) was one of 150 business groups that received a letter from Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) in December, asking for their ideas about federal regulations “that have negatively impacted job growth.” ABC responded with a list heavy on opposition to labor protections, such as requirements for prevailing wage […]
Have you seen the new TV commercial for Jack-in-the-Box set in a busy police precinct? A confident, all-business police detective barks into the phone: “Tell the Mayor to shove it.” He slams down the phone, walks purposely across the room and asks outloud: “Hey rookie, did you get lunch?” A guy in a black police […]
Hedilberto Sanchez, 26, was killed on Monday (Jan 11, 2010) at a construction site in Elmhurst, NY when an 18-foot high cinder block wall collapsed on him. He leaves behind his wife, and two sons, Luis, 6 and Edison, 3. Three other workers were injured in the incident, including Mr. Sanchez’s brother. The men worked […]