Oregon mill workers describe a workplace rife with dangerous hazards; thousands of fast food and low-wage workers take to the streets for higher wages; labor advocates file worker retaliation complaint against Walmart; and new media workers start to organize.
Cancer
Labor group outlines significant flaws in chemical reform bill, joins growing list of opponents
The AFL-CIO joins a growing list of organizations which have raised serious concerns—or outright oppose—the Vitter/Udall bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Injury Control & Violence
Not an “accident”: Ronald Lee MacKnight, 39, suffers fatal work-related injury in Farr West, UT
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the US. This one occurred on April 13, in Weber County, UT.
More than two decades have passed since OSHA promised to issue a rule to protect construction workers from confined space hazards. What did OSHA do during that time to fulfill that promise?
Yet another study tells us that poultry workers develop painful and disabling musculoskeletal injuries.
Advocates work to expand consumer concern from humanely treated food to humanely treated workers; workers with children face struggles in Silicon Valley; Texas lawmakers introduce bill aimed at fertilizer plants; Microsoft to require paid leave policies at its suppliers; and the McDonald’s wage hike is too small for too few.
Injury Control & Violence
Not an “accident”: Jeffrey Shannon, 49, suffers fatal work-related injury in Marcus Hook, PA
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the US. This one occurred on March 30, 2015 in Delaware County, PA.
April 5, 2015 will mark the fifth anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. Since then, some things have change in coal mine safety, especially by MSHA. But more than 200 US miners have died on-the-job since UBB.
Marathon Petroleum Company’s philosophy of corporate citizenship says one thing about safety and differing viewpoints, but it behaves differently when those topics are presented bearing the names of workplace fatality victims.
Environmental Health
Meaningful gains or huge setbacks?: Congress weighs two bills aimed at reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act
For years, advocates have been calling on policymakers to reform the nation’s outdated chemical safety laws. Today, two such bills stand before Congress — one that advocates say better protects the public’s health and another that advocates warn is a dangerous step backward.