One reporter’s tale of hoops and roadblocks trying to get an interview with an EPA official.
Government
Not an “accident”: Jose Alfredo Isagirrez-Mejia, 29 suffers fatal work-related injury at construction site in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality. This one occurred on July 21 at a construction site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Child Labor
Mapping the lives and deaths of workers: An emerging way to tell the story of occupational health and safety
When Bethany Boggess first debuted her online mapping project, she didn’t expect it to attract so much attention. But within just six months of its launch, people from all over the world are sending in reports and helping her build a dynamic picture of the lives and deaths of workers.
Paradoxically the US anti-trust laws intended to protect competition and keep prices down for consumers could kill more Americans when it comes to the merger of two of the three largest tobacco companies.
Workers at an Alabama car seat manufacturer speak out about workplace illnesses; worker death at a Pennsylvania sugar plant could have been prevented; Los Angeles activists join fight for a living wage; and income inequality gets a laugh.
What do these places have in common: Camp Lejeune in North Carolina; Mountain View, California, where Google headquarters are located; Endicott, NY – the birthplace of IBM; and 389 Superfund sites in at least 48 states plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands? All are contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE), a carcinogenic solvent. TCE’s health hazards are well-documented. So why are Republicans rushing to condemn EPA’s just-completed TCE risk assessment?
Tony Schick of Oregon Public Broadcasting profiles the experience of BNSF railway employees who blow the whistle on safety problems.
Crystalline silica, hydrofluoric acid and formaldehyde. Those are just three of the dozens of air toxic chemicals that oil companies have used thousands of times in southern California in just the past year.
The U.S. Supreme Court deals a blow to union fair-share fees; Massachusetts raises minimum wage to $11 an hour; and Texas lawmakers scoff at the idea of better safeguards in the wake of the West fertilizer blast.
Advocates for safer workplaces are looking to advance reforms at the state and local level. A new manual “Winning Safer Workplaces” is designed to enhance the conversation.