Despite a post-recession construction boom in the southern U.S., a survey of 1,435 construction workers describe low wages, sparse benefits, and no potable water on sweltering summer days.
The temperature yesterday in Austin, TX was 97 and the heat index was 104. My USPS mail carrier was feeling the heat in more ways than one.
A Massachusetts farmworker and California postal worker collapsed while working and died; Manhattan McDonald’s workers and Chicago Dunkin’ Donuts workers walked off the job to protest excessive heat. The Senate confirms Obama’s nominees for Secretary of Labor and EPA Administrator, while advocates call on those two agencies to do more to protect healthcare workers and farmworkers.
Public Health Practice
Funding cuts to utility assistance putting health of vulnerable residents at risk
by Kim Krisberg It was a lucky winter for Becky Belmont. The weather was on her side. As the director of energy and weatherization at West Central Minnesota Communities Action Inc., Belmont was sure the agency would run out of energy assistance funds to help all those in need. But fortunately, a mild Minnesota winter […]
If you haven’t already seen Spencer Scoper’s in-depth story on working conditions at Amazon.com’s Lehigh Valley warehouse, it’s well worth a read. The Morning Call’s investigation into the warehouse involved interviews with 20 current and former warehouse workers, and most of them were temporary employees hired by Integrity Staffing Solutions rather than Amazon itself. Workers […]