The report, “At the company’s mercy,” should serve as the new Secretary of Labor’s roadmap to improve working conditions for temporary and other precarious workers.
Dr. Paul Demers says he frequently finds himself having to make the case for why studying workplace exposures to carcinogens is important. Oftentimes, he says, people believe such occupational dangers are a thing of the past. But a new four-year study he’s leading could change all that.
Injury Control & Violence
Safety experiences of union carpenters, imagine what it’s like for the rest of them
A survey of more than 1,000 union carpenter apprentices describes how production pressure can compromise safety and how suffering an on-the-job injury can compromise your job security. The frank comments from workers who have the protection of a union makes me wonder how bad it must be for non-union workers.
Injury Control & Violence
Construction workers in central Texas successfully tie living wages to big business tax breaks
Workers in Travis County, Texas, are celebrating what advocates are calling a landmark victory, after local leaders voted to ensure that economic incentive deals benefit both big business and workers.
Environmental Health
New DOT policy promises better health and safety protections for flight attendants
After three decades, the FAA has finally acknowledged that its regulations to protect the health and safety of flight attendants are not adequate. A new policy—barring major objections from the airlines—-will extend OSHA protections to airline flight attendants.
Injury Control & Violence
First-of-its-kind survey compiles the experience of domestic workers, highlights the grim nature of an unregulated industry
The collective experience of domestic workers — house cleaners, nannies and caregivers — often remains hidden from view. But a new survey has pulled back the curtain on the conditions and experiences domestic workers face, documenting issues such as wage exploitation, preventable on-the-job injuries and the little — if any — power domestic workers have in improving their work environments.
Now that the Presidential election is over, it’s time for the Labor Department to kick into high gear expand workers’ rights and ensuring workers’ lives and health are protected. Here’s my wish list of tasks for the Labor Department to accomplish in the next 6 months:
APHA Annual Meeting
Public health association adopts new policies opposing military recruiting in schools, supporting taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages
At last week’s American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting its Governing Council adopted about a dozen new policies to guide the Association’s advocacy activities.
Cancer
Hotel workers at Hyatt struggle for justice, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization supports workers’ cause
Canceling a hotel contract for a major conference is no small feat, but the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization did just that to support hotel workers call for a global boycott of Hyatt Hotels.
It’s not news that unemployment is bad for a person’s health. But it turns out that just the threat of unemployment is bad as well.