If you attended any Worker Memorial Day events this week, The Pump Handle invites you to share with readers some highlights from it.
DuPont’s Board of Directors were challenged by shareholders to address the firm’s defective worker safety program.
CDC investigates diacetyl exposure in coffee production facilities; Supreme Court rules in favor of workers’ First Amendment rights; Latino workers still face the greatest fatality risks at work; and a job-seeking experiment finds women bear the brunt of age discrimination in the job market.
Reading over the list of 2016 Pulitzer Prize winners makes clear just how essential journalism’s watchdog role is to public health. In 2015, news organizations devoted considerable resources to researching, reporting, and commenting on slave labor in international seafood supply chains; funding cuts resulting in dangerous conditions in Florida mental hospitals; and failures in justice systems across the country.
Reporter Andrew Schneider has written a sequel to his 2004 book “An Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana Uncovered a National Scandal.” The new book covers the unsuccessful criminal trial against W.R. Grace, and the legacy of a deadly form of asbestos from Libby that fills millions of attics across the U.S.
Injury Control & Violence
Fatal work injury that killed Tim Cooper, 49, was preventable, OSHA cites Independence Tube
The fatal work-related injuries that killed Tim Cooper, 49, could have been prevented had his employer followed worker safety regulations.
When President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, he also ushered in the first major nutrition changes in the school meal program in 15 years. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the changes received a good bit of pushback, with many arguing that healthier foods would mean fewer kids buying school lunches and big revenue losses for schools. But a new study shows otherwise.
“Bad math” and “slippery language” is how Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) characterized some of the testimony at this week’s congressional hearing on OSHA’s new silica regulation.
Just a few weeks ago, legislators in New York reached a deal to raise the minimum wage to $15. And while that’s certainly a big boost for incomes, it could also turn out to be a literal lifesaver.
Public Health Practice
Worth reading: Reckless executives, avian flu, and the relationship between money and life expectancy
Recent pieces address a reckless executive finally going to jail, the complex relationship between money and life expectancy, the looming threat of avian flu, and more.