President Trump boasted yesterday at a photo op of his plans to cut the “red tape of regulations.” His regulatory agenda ignores his crush on coal miners by threatening current rules to prevent black lung disease.
Alexander Acosta told lawmakers that negotiations are underway to resolve industry’s and labor’s concerns about OSHA’s silica rule. He answered questions about workplace violence and requirements for injury reporting.
Federal contractors receive billions in public funds despite wage violations; Alabama’s auto industry putting workers’ lives in danger; OSHA delays life-saving silica standard; and Maryland and Nevada legislators approve paid sick leave measures.
President Trump’s nominee for Labor Secretary provided a peek during his confirmation hearing on his approach to running the Labor Department. Several things he said made me ask myself: “will employees at the Labor Department challenge Alex Acosta to keep his word on that?”
Mining is one of the most dangerous jobs in America, with more than 600 workers dying in fatal workplace incidents between 2004 and the beginning of July. And many more miners die long after they’ve left the mines from occupational illnesses such as black lung disease, while others live with the debilitating aftermath of workplace injuries. Today, researchers know a great deal about the health risks miners face on the job, but some pretty big gaps remain.
“Bad math” and “slippery language” is how Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) characterized some of the testimony at this week’s congressional hearing on OSHA’s new silica regulation.
Here are some of my favorite quotes in response to OSHA publishing a final rule on silica dust.
Reporters at the Center for Public Integrity investigate the nation’s third wave of asbestos disease; garment workers in Bangladesh continue to fight for safety and dignity in the workplace; Seattle becomes the first U.S. city to allow Uber drivers to organize; and OSHA sends its silica rule to the White House.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is no stranger to budget cuts — the agency is already so underfunded that it would take its inspectors nearly a century, on average, to visit every U.S. workplace at least once. In some states, it would take two centuries. Unfortunately, appropriations bills now making their way through Congress don’t bode much better for OSHA.
New investigative series examines the toll of occupational illness and the lack of federal protections; OSHA steps up its efforts to protect nurses; women janitors face sexual assault and rape risks on the night shift; and IKEA reports that raising wages worked so well, the company is set to raise them again.