The newly unveiled granite memorial in Whitesville, WV is a visible reminder of the 29 miners who were killed in the Upper Big Branch mine, but the truest measure of our recognition of their sacrifice is what we do in their memory to protect the living.
Injury Control & Violence
Worker falls 70+ feet to his death at ConAgra mill, another at a Pepisco plant, manlifts involved in both cases
Three multi-national corporations. Three workers dead from manlift incidents. Preventing more deaths from manlifts requires comprehensive fatality investigations.
President Obama offered high praise to his regulatory czar on the day Mr. Cass Sunstein announced his resignation. It’s disappointing neither are bold enough to address the grave limits of cost-benefit analysis.
Injury Control & Violence
Coal miner killed in West Virginia while memorial to Upper Big Branch unveiled
Coal miner Johnny Mack Bryant II, 35, was killed on Friday, July 27 in the “red zone” when he was struck and pinned by a continuous mining machine. Let’s see whether this work-related fatality gives the Labor Department a greater sense of urgency to finalize safety regulations to require proximity detection devices on certain types of mining equipment.
In the fall of 2011, a new Texas statute took effect against employers who engage in wage theft, putting in place real consequences for employers found guilty of stealing wages from workers. It was a big step forward in a state where wage theft has become as common as cowboy boots and pick-up trucks. It was especially good news for workers in El Paso, where wage theft has become so rampant that workers rights advocates have dubbed it an “epidemic.”
Environmental Health
US chemical manufacturers just blowing smoke about burdensome worker safety regulations
The American Chemistry Council is making the ludicrous claim that a proposed OSHA regulation on combustible dust will negatively impact the economy and job growth. That’s a bunch of baloney. OSHA doesn’t even have combustible dust on its regulatory agenda.
Environmental Health
Five years and $10 billion later, but process safety problem halts production at brand new U.S. oil refinery
Royal Dutch Shell’s and Sauid Aramco’s Motiva refinery in Port Arthur Texas open last month with fanfare. The celebration was quickly overshadowed by a ruinous leak of corrosive into the heart of the refinery. The incident could have resulted in catastrophic loss of life
President Obama’s regulatory czar is missing a fundamental component of regulatory uncertainty. It’s pretty simply, make a deadline, stick with it, or explain why it will be missed.
Injury Control & Violence
If former Massey Energy is now “Running Right,” why keep secret its safety progress report?
Family members of the April 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster say they are still in the dark. The latest example is Alpha Natural Resources failure to make public a progress report required in its non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Injury Control & Violence
House Republicans say ‘nay’ to new mine safety reforms, no questions left about which side they’re on
Not a single Republican member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee voted in support of a resolution calling for the Committee to “consider and report legislation to improve safety and whistleblower protections for miners, and increase accountability for dangerous mine operators.” The 29 families of the Upper Big Branch miners now know who is standing with them and who is against them.