| May 10, 2013 |
A clerk and member of RWDSU stocks produce department shelves at a grocery store on Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn. 2005 Photo by www.EarlDotter.com. |
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IN THIS ISSUE
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On June 4th, NYCOSH will hold its 34th Awards Celebration. We are asking regular readers of Newsline to click here to contribute and list your name in our commemorative journal as a “Friend of NYCOSH.” Your support will allow us to continue to provide information to hundreds of safety and health activists throughout the country. We, of course, hope you will join us on at the event.
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| Paid-sick bill finally gets a vote
Crain’s Insider, May 8, 2013
After three years, dozens of rallies, numerous studies and a seemingly endless back-and-forth between supporters and opponents, the City Council approved a bill Wednesday mandating businesses with 20 or more employees to begin offering paid sick days starting in 2014.
Speaking at a rally before the passage of the bill, Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the final version, which was amended from the original to exempt more employers, strikes the right balance between working families and businesses.(more) |
| Report sees widespread mold after Sandy
The Brooklyn Bureau, May 8, 2013
Six months have passed since Hurricane Sandy struck the shores of New York, and as a recent report put out by several Sandy advocacy groups shows, many residents are now faced with mold problems.
According to “Sandy’s Mold Legacy: The Unmet Need Six Months After the Storm,” thousands of homes have developed mold since Hurricane Sandy. (more) |
| Mold, come out with your hands up
The New York Times, May 6, 2013
Bill Sothern has built a career on investigating and remediating environmental hazards – mainly mold colonies, water damage and debilitating airborne agents like secondhand smoke, chemical vapors, lead and asbestos. (more) |
| Union reps have access to non-union workplaces during OSHA walkaround inspections, agency says
Lexology, May 8, 2013
In an interpretation letter publicly released on April 5, 2013, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a new interpretation of its regulations that now will permit employees at non-union workplaces to designate non-employees, including “outsider” union officials or community representatives (that is, organizers), as their representatives for what are commonly known as OSHA “walkaround” inspections. (more) |
| In another blow to NLRB, court says bosses don’t have to notify workers of rights
In These Times, May 8, 2013
Yesterday, a conservative panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that sharply undermines the power of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and, more broadly, of the government as a whole to regulate business. Now, the body often referred to as “the second most important court in the land, after the Supreme Court,” has held that the NLRB cannot require employers to post notices informing employees of their labor rights. The decision, which comes less than three weeks after lack of regulatory enforcement led to a fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that killed 14 and left about 200 injured, opens the door for businesses to challenge requirements that workers be informed of their health, safety and employment rights. (more) |
| Blumenthal: White House delays of safety rules ‘unacceptable’
The Hill, May 8, 2013
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) is demanding that the White House end its prolonged delay of federal safety rules, calling it “unacceptable.” “These are common-sense proposals with real-life consequences,” Sen. Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Sylvia Burwell on Tuesday, asking the agency to release long-delayed rules that would protect workers and children. (more) |
| Obama delivers blunt message on sexual assaults in military
The Washington Post, May 7, 2013
The estimated number of military personnel victimized by sexual assault and related crimes has surged by about 35 percent over the past two years, the Pentagon reported Tuesday, as the White House and lawmakers expressed anger with the military’s handling of the problem.
The sobering statistics, along with several recent sexual-abuse scandals in the armed services, prompted President Obama to bluntly warn the Defense Department that he expected its leaders to take tougher action against sex offenders and redouble their efforts to prevent such crimes. (more) |
| After Plant Explosion, Texas Remains Wary of Regulation NYTimes, May 9, 2013 Five days after an explosion at a fertilizer plant leveled a wide swath of this town, Gov. Rick Perry tried to woo Illinois business officials by trumpeting his state’s low taxes and limited regulations. Asked about the disaster, Mr. Perry responded that more government intervention and increased spending on safety inspections would not have prevented what has become one of the nation’s worst industrial accidents in decades. Texas has always prided itself on its free-market posture. It is the only state that does not require companies to contribute to workers’ compensation coverage. It boasts the largest city in the country, Houston, with no zoning laws. It does not have a state fire code, and it prohibits smaller counties from having such codes. Some Texas counties even cite the lack of local fire codes as a reason for companies to move there. But Texas has also had the nation’s highest number of workplace fatalities – more than 400 annually – for much of the past decade. Fires and explosions at Texas’ more than 1,300 chemical and industrial plants have cost as much in property damage as those in all the other states combined for the five years ending in May 2012. (more) |
| Senate panels mull hearings on explosion at Texas fertilizer plant
The Hill, May 7, 2013
Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) told The Hill on Tuesday that committee staffers are looking into the matter. He did not commit to whether the committee would hold a hearing. “I’ve asked my own staff on Homeland Security and Government Affairs to let me know which committees are doing the oversight, and I’m waiting to hear that information,” he told The Hill in the Capitol. (more) |
| Bangladesh fire kills 8 as collapse toll hits 948
The Associated Press, May 9, 2013
A fire in an 11-story garment factory in Bangladesh killed eight people, including a ruling-party politician and a top official in the country’s powerful clothing manufacturers’ trade group, as the death toll from the collapse of another garment factory building passed 900 on Thursday. (more) |
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NYC Labor Leaders Remember Sandy Parking Attendant who drowned and speak out for Safe Working Conditions. at Worker Memorial Day Event |
| Comings and Goings: The Huffington Post wants to talk to low-wage employees
The Huffington Post is soliciting emails and phone calls from low-wage workers to share their stories. The Huffington Post has been doing great labor and workplace coverage, so it’s possible this storycollection could lead to something cool. Might be worth sharing with colleagues, clients, members,etc.
HuffPost Readers: If you’re making $10 an hour or less, we want to hear about how you’re getting by: the strategies you’re using to cope, the things you’re cutting back on, the programs you’re relyingon, or whatever else you want to share. Give us a call at 408-508-4833, and you can record your story inyour own words. Please be sure to include your name and phone number. Or you can send us a note at openreporting@huffingtonpost.com. We will never publish your name or any identifyingdetails without your permission. |
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Up-Coming NYCOSH Events
Workers Compensation 2013, What’s Essential To Know? Tuesday, May 14, 2013, SEIU, Local 1199, 100 Duffy Avenue, Hicksville, Long Island.
Lung Cancer and New York City Kitchens, Why Increased Radon in Natural Gas Could Be A Public Health Threat, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 7 – 9:30 PM, Great Hall, Cooper Union, 7 E 7th St. NYC
Get your tickets for NYCOSH 34th Awards Celebration, June 4, 6 PM NYCOSH is proud to honor DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director, National Football League Players Association; Mario Cilento, President, New York State AFL-CIO; Maureen Cox, former director, New York State Department of Labor, Division of Safety and Health; and Wash New York, The New York City Car Wash Campaign. Get your tickets here. |
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