Hurricane Harvey recovery workers report rampant wage theft; appeals court rules the Trump administration must stop delaying a chemical plant safety rule; New York City approves new measures to address ride-sharing wages; and San Antonio becomes the second Texas city to pass a sick leave ordinance.
Investigation finds serious worker safety problems and under-reporting of injuries at Tesla; advocates fight for stronger laws to protect waste collection workers; farm workers take to the streets to protest Trump’s immigration policies; and JetBlue flight attendants vote to unionize.
The Teamsters get ready to become a ‘sanctuary union’; a Florida bill would protect immigrant workers injured on the job; low-wage workers return to the streets to fight for $15; and the death of a social worker highlights the risks of occupational violence.
Sanitation workers in the meatpacking industry face life-threatening dangers on the job; number of OSHA inspectors down under Trump; truckers feel the pressure to work while sleep-deprived; and despite increased demand for sexual harassment training, there’s little evidence it actually works.
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.
Labor unions are becoming de facto immigrant rights groups; Trump pick to head MSHA is a former coal executive; Cal/OSHA opens more investigations into Goodwill’s safety conditions; and a new memorial honors first responders who became ill after exposures during the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
My afternoon snack of a Chobani yogurt comes from New York State’s $14 billion dairy industry. The state leads the country in Greek yogurt production. Interviews with 88 dairy parlor workers describe low wages, injuries, and poor housing and a call for companies to adopt strong labor codes of conduct.
Investigation reveals how Case Farms poultry plants exploit immigrant workers; Chinese workers who make Ivanka Trump’s clothing line are overworked and underpaid; California lawmakers consider bill to protect salon workers from harmful chemicals; and Trump’s budget would slash funds for combating child and forced labor overseas.
California farmworkers living in fear of deportation; Ontario health care workers call on officials to address violence in the workplace; West Virginia legislators consider dramatic loosening of mine safety standards; and thousands of workers get ready to strike on May 1.
Navy shipbuilders get lucrative contracts despite worker safety violations; Baltimore airport executive cited in worker retaliation case; thousands of California workers have potentially harmful blood lead levels; and immigrant workers lose their jobs after joining national protests.