Last year, the U.S. Census reported that record numbers of people were living in poverty. But along with overall poverty numbers, the Census recently reported that concentrated poverty is up, too — and that’s worrisome because it means that more people may face even greater barriers and fewer opportunities to moving out of poverty.
Injury Control & Violence
Not an “accident”: Chandler Warren suffers fatal work-related injury at FedEx Hub, Memphis, TN
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality. This one occurred on July 2 at FedEx’s flagship sorting facility in Memphis, Tennessee.
Tony Schick of Oregon Public Broadcasting profiles the experience of BNSF railway employees who blow the whistle on safety problems.
Vaccine safety is one of those topics that has become so tragically mired in misinformation and myth that there can never be enough supporting evidence. So, here’s some more.
Journalists and commentators cover the latest developments following the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision, the implications for women’s health, the context of past decisions, and more.
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.
A reporter’s request for an MSHA citation is probably the worst case of redaction overkill that I’ve seen.
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.
Labor Rights
“You shouldn’t have to win the boss lottery”: The White House Summit on Working Families
Last week’s White House Summit on Working Families served both as a pitch to employers to adopt more family-friendly policies, and as a push for policies that require all employers to evolve for 21st-century realities.
Education
Study: New method of mapping HIV transmission risk may be more efficient way to prevent infection
Ideally, everyone should be tested for HIV. In reality, however, only about half of U.S. adults have ever been tested for HIV and about half of the 50,000 new infections that happen every year in the U.S. are transmitted by people who are unaware of their HIV status. Such statistics recently led a group of researchers to ask if there’s a more efficient way to go about curbing the HIV epidemic.