A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues
“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…
It’s mid-summer and a man’s fancy turns to what’s happening in OSHA these days. Let’s update you all before you (and I) head out on vacation: Assistant Secretary: Tomorrow will mark a full 18 months of this administration and still no Assistant Secretary at OSHA. Scott Mugno, who has gone through a Senate confirmation hearing…
Some good news from the Senate, and God knows, we need a little good news. The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to approve a bi-partisan bill that provides a $4 million increase for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and full funding for OSHA’s Susan Harwood Worker Training…
I’m back after a couple of weeks of travel and instead of focusing about what happened over the last couple of week, what didn’t happen is probably more significant. What Happened Six months into Fiscal Year 2018, Congress finally passed the FY 2018 budget. Congress essentially ignored the President’s request to slash worker safety and health…
In a fiery rebuttal of Republican and employer attacks on OSHA during the Obama administration, former Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels yesterday rejected assertions that OSHA had focused only on confrontation over cooperation, and or that the agency had flouted the law and good safety practice when it came to enforcement, standards and media campaigns.…
Earlier this week, President Trump submitted his Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal. This is his second budget proposal and although it leaves OSHA’s budget fairly flat, it once again proposes to slash or eliminate important safety and health programs and agencies. And this is Trump’s second OSHA budget that has been proposed with no Assistant…
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,…
Substandard conditions in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey have impacted workers’ health and safety on the job, as well as their wages according to a devastating new report from from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and University of Illinois Chicago that surveyed 360 workers. The report also offers recommendations for improving working conditions…
After months of rumors, the White House has finally announced that it has nominated Scott Mugno, Vice President for Safety, Sustainability and Vehicle Maintenance at FedEx Ground in Pittsburgh, to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. Who is Scott Mugno? The biography on the White House press site reads: He…
Just got back from a couple of weeks away and thought I’d spend some time catching up on what’s been happening. And as long as I’m doing that, you should benefit from it as well. Here’s some of the things that have been going on over the last few weeks that you may have missed.…