A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues
Houston tow truck driver killed after wrecker stolen HOUSTON, TX — Police say a tow truck driver in Houston whose wrecker was stolen moments after unloading a repossessed car was killed when the alleged thief ran him over. Houston assistant police chief James Jones said Friday the suspected thief ultimately crashed the tow truck in neighboring…
Man dies in pressroom accident at Pennsylvania newspaper ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A contractor (Ruben Ocasio-Fernandez, 32)became trapped underneath a piece of machinery that was being removed from the pressroom of a Pennsylvania newspaper, suffering fatal injuries.The Lehigh County coroner says the man became trapped at The Morning Call in Allentown on Tuesday afternoon. Crews have…
A couple more public employees and a “freak accident.” Wanna bet? One dead after industrial accident at Vulcraft in Norfolk, NE NORFOLK, NE — One person is dead after an industrial accident at Vulcraft on Monday morning. Madison County Coroner Joe Smith says John Gallop Jr. of Hoskins was killed in an accident that happened around…
Man, 32, Killed After Barge Overturns in Guilford GUILFORD, CT — One person is dead after a barge carrying eight people overturned in Guilford Saturday, police said. At 2:20 p.m. Saturday the police and fire departments responded to the Guilford Yacht Club at 379 Whitfield St. after a barge overturned, resulting in several people in the water,…
I’ve been away, so it’s a long, depressing list this week. Lowlights include 11 public employees in states that don’t have OSHA coverage – Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio: Highway workers, police, firefighters. PennDOT worker killed in I-99 crash LOGAN TOWNSHIP, PA — State police at Hollidaysburg are investigating a…
“Touching” “Infuriating” and hopefully “Educational” and “Motivating” are all words that come to mind reading this amazing article, Death in the Trench, by veteran investigative reporter Jim Morris. You should probably stop here and read it, but I can’t help providing a few reasons why. Morris, writing for the Center for Public Integrity, tells the…
At a Congressional hearing last month, Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta extolled the virtues of compliance assistance, cooperation over confrontation and the Voluntary Protection Program. But he also repeated several times that the agency’s compliance assistance program “has to be balanced by a vigorous enforcement program” and especially when the employer engages in repeated and willful…
Auto shop worker fatally pinned in Montevideo MONTEVIDEO, Minn. (AP) — Police say the death of an auto shop worker in Montevideo is accidental. Authorities said Monday 55-year-old Richard Fultz was pinned between a pickup truck and a tool chest that was up against a concrete wall when the owner of Backstreet Auto accidentally stepped…
Worker Dies in Industrial Accident at Northern Idaho Mill ATHOL, Idaho (AP) — Authorities say a worker at a northern Idaho lumber mill died in an industrial accident on Friday. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s office says the 45-year-old man was fatally injured while trying to clear a broken piece of wood from a machine at the Merritt Brothers…