A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues
Although the sad news has been known to many of us for a while, Bloomberg Law officially announced the retirements of four very senior Department of Labor Solicitors (attorneys) who will, between them, leave the agency with probably well over 100 years of valuable experience. The four are Jeff Nesvet, the department’s top counselor for employment…
OK, it’s the weekend, so we can kick back and gossip and spread rumors. If you read last Monday’s Punching In by Bloomberg Law crack reporters Benn Penn and Chris Opfer, you know that there are some management attorneys who are less than enamored of Alex Acosta’s less-than-stellar deregulatory accomplishments and wish President Trump would…
I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of former Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis’s official portrait yesterday. Nancy Pelosi, Rich Trumka and Steny Hoyer were all there and a good time was had by all…. Until I stumbled upon the Labor Hall of (dis)Honor. (cue the horror music) Thanks Alex…Yeah, you.
These are some of the members of the US Department of Labor Hall of Honor. Which of these is different from all of the other ones? Why? Explain your answer. Edward (Ted) M. Kennedy The Chinese Railroad Workers Esther Peterson Bayard Rustin Dolores Huerta Tony Mazzocchi The Workers of the Memphis Sanitation Strike 911 Rescue…
Following today’s attempt in the Supreme Court to kill public employee unions, the Department of Labor will top off “Kill the Labor Movement Week” by dishonoring American labor with the official induction of Ronald Reagan into the Labor Hall of Honor this Thursday at 1:00 p.m. EST. I’ve already written about Ronald Reagan’s Workplace Safety Legacy,…
With the end of 2017 comes the end of the 10th month of new, revised, rejuvenated version of Confined Space. A lot has happened over the last year. Below are the stories that put workplace safety and health into a political and historical context. But, of course, the real story — and in some ways,…
Washington Post reporters Lisa Rein and Andrew Ba Trim published an excellent front page article today chronicling Donald Trump’s largely successful effort to shrink the federal government: “By the end of September, all Cabinet departments except Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Interior had fewer permanent staff than when Trump took office in January — with…
While the new headlines are all about Hurricanes, health care, North Korea and tax “reform,” chickens around the country are getting more and more nervous as the foxes quietly move into the government agencies that are supposed to be protecting them. Over at the Labor Department, Justin Miller in the American Prospect writes about how…
While it may go without saying, there’s probably no President in American history more reviled by worker advocates than Ronald Reagan. So in what can only be seen as a gross insult to the American labor movement and workers who have fought — and often died — to protect the rights and lives of working…
MSHA has joined OSHA with a new Deputy Assistant Secretary as the agency’s highest official until an Assistant Secretary is nominated and confirmed by the Senate. Wayne Palmer, Labor Secretary Acosta’s Chief of Staff since the end of May, was appointed acting assistant secretary for mine safety and health. The United Mine Workers union isn’t so…