Even before the rains of Hurricane Harvey let up, Marianela Acuña Arreaza was mobilizing to protect the workers who would dig out and rebuild the city of Houston after catastrophe.
Day laborers in Houston are key players in the clean-up and recovery worker following Hurricane Harvey. Eight weeks after the disaster, a new report describes the work they’ve been doing, the hazards they face, and the wages being paid.
U.S. Chemical Safety Board considers withdrawing retaliation protections for offshore oil workers; unions re-examine their role in the wake of sexual harassment revelations; America’s fastest-growing jobs are also among the lowest-paying jobs; and migrant women continue to face exploitation on the job.
The Steelworkers union is challenging the Trump administration’s plan to diminish mine safety improvements and a 1969 law is on their side.
The American Public Health Association adopted 13 new policy statements. Six of them address priority topics on worker safety and environmental health.
Four years after the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed 1,100 garment workers in Bangldesh, “savage capitalism” in the developing world undercuts workers’ safety throughout global supply chain factories in every corner of the world.
At BuzzFeed News, Zahra Hirji and Jason Leopold report that the news organization has obtained internal emails, recordings and interviews from oil company BP showing that executives are struggling to “reset” its Alaska operations after a string of incidents that threatened workers’ lives. For example, on Sept. 10, two workers inadvertently triggered a leak of […]
A celebrity chef has joined Harvey Weinstein in news headlines about sexual harassment in the workplace. A work environment that tolerates sexual harassment makes workers ill. It’s worker safety issue in need of much more attention.
In more encouraging public health news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that vaccination rates among kindergarteners have remained stable, with the median vaccine exemption rate at 2 percent. Some states even reported an increase in immunization rates.
Reporters investigate a court-ordered rehab center that funnels unpaid labor to a poultry processor; Ben & Jerry’s commits to improving conditions for workers on dairy farms; Massachusetts is one step closer to providing all public-sector workers with OSHA protections; and the Trump administration rolls back protections for transgender workers.