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.
An Oklahoma rehab center funnels forced free labor into private industry; the National Labor Relations Board reconsiders Obama-era union election rules; farmworkers at risk from California’s wildfire smoke; and domestic workers organize for greater labor rights in Seattle.
Local efforts help California nail salons create healthier working conditions; California court ruling a win for farm workers and labor unions; Milwaukee institutes new safety measures after a city employee is shot and killed; and flight attendants chronicle sexual harassment in the skies.
Environmental Health
Protecting the workers rebuilding Houston: ‘We must see them as full human beings who deserve fairness’
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
A reporter goes undercover to expose the conditions facing temp workers; West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin comes out against Trump’s MSHA pick; carpenters union confronts Industrial Commission of Arizona on leniency toward violators; and a Philadelphia union joins an opioid lawsuit against drug companies.
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.
Age bias a challenge to prove in the workplace; coal miner deaths up over last year; workers protest after the death of a California farmworker; and the United Auto Workers looks forward after union defeat at Nissan plant in Mississippi.