A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues
Poison Food, Poisoned Workers: Eyal Press of The Intercept writes about chronic health problems that have plagued Jessica Robertson since she began working as a part-time U.S. Department of Agriculture poultry inspector at a turkey processing plant, most likely from peracetic acid which is used to remove bacteria from the carcasses of chickens and turkeys. USDA had ignored…
Family, friends mourning death of construction worker killed in Twin Peaks Tunnel SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KTVU) – Family and friends are mourning the death of a construction worker, killed after he was hit by a steel beam in the Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco on Friday. Loved ones have identified him as 51-year-old Patrick Ricketts,…
As the nation’s capital was about to be overrun by more than two dozen American Nazis yesterday, President Trump issued an official Presidential tweet condemning “all types” of racism. What did he mean by “all types” of racism? Possibly the terrible scourge of racism against oppressed white folk, which would make sense after his “very fine…
Every day we read about how EPA or OSHA announced their intention to roll back this protection, or failed to act on that long planned initiative. And every day a little bit of our spirit dies. But don’t despair: Seattle, WA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must ban a widely used organophosphate pesticide linked to…
Freak Accident: An incident, especially one that is harmful, occurring under highly unusual and unlikely circumstances. (Wiktionary) This is another in an occasional series of posts about the stupidity and ignorance of labeling workplace fatalities “freak accidents.” Why are we opposed to seeing this phrase? First, the phrase implies that this type of incident hardly ever happens and there is, therefore, not…
What does it take for some employers to get the message? OSHA announced yesterday that it had issued citations with penalties totaling $190,642 to El Paso Underground Construction for failing to protect its employees from trench collapse hazards. This was not the first time El Paso had been cited. Or the second. Or the third. Or…
Mostly goings. Tom Galassi, OSHA’s Director of Enforcement Programs retired as of last week. Tom is a certified industrial hygienist who began his career with OSHA in 1986 as a compliance officer in the Milwaukee, Wis., Area Office. Prior to heading the enforcement directorate, Tom was director of OSHA’s Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management…
“Harwood” must be short for “Hard to Kill.” Despite receiving the death penalty from the Trump administration and the House of Representatives last year, the Susan Harwood Training Grants are back — and stronger than ever — thanks to the Senate. (The Trump and the House are trying to kill the grants again in FY…
Death Toll in California’s Carr Wildfire Raises to 7 as Utility Worker Dies CLEARLAKE, Calif. — A utility worker was killed near a Northern California wildfire as crews working in sweltering conditions battled multiple blazes, including twin fires that exploded in size and forced hundreds more to evacuate rural communities, officials said Sunday. The Pacific…
Captives on the Kill Line: Hiring immigrant workers — even undocumented workers — can be a headache. They get rounded up in immigration raids, move away or move on to better-paid jobs. A much better and more profitable bet are prisoners on work-release. The Southern Poverty Law Center tells the story of one worker, Frank Dwayne…