musculoskeletal disorders
The Pump Handle
Tag archives for musculoskeletal disorders
Will Tom Vilsack’s USDA keep its promise to poultry plant workers about their grueling, disabling work?
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on April 25, 2013 The USDA Secretary tells Congress that his agency still plans to implement a new poultry slaughter inspection system that will allow producers to drastically increase line speeds, while a disturbing new report on poultry workers in Alabama explain the harmful effects of the current working conditions.
How will USDA respond to environmental justice concerns for poultry plant workers?
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on February 12, 2013 I’m eager to see how USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack responds to the environmental justice concerns raised about the Food Safety Inspection Services’ proposed regulation on poultry plant inspections.
USDA’s focus should be food safety, not increasing profit for poultry industry
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 18, 2012 McClatchy Newspapers’ reporter Lindsay Wise reports in two new articles on a proposed USDA rule to allegedly “modernize” the poultry inspection process. USDA and the poultry industry are having a love fest over the proposal, but food safety and workers’ safety advocates oppose the rule. The White House will soon be deciding the rule’s fate.
Public health officials urge USDA to withdraw plan to “modernize” poultry inspection, worker and food safety will suffer
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on May 31, 2012 The Obama Administration’s quest to appease businesses’ claims about burdensome regulations awoke a giant in the form of the civil rights, public health and workers’ safety communities. From the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Council of LaRaza, to the American Public Health Association, the feedback on USDA’s proposal to “modernize” the poultry inspection process is loud and clear: scrap the idea because faster line speeds will take a grave toll on poultry plant workers.
Largest Hispanic civil rights group provoked by Obama USDA’s disregard for poultry plant workers
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on May 18, 2012 The nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights organization issued an action alert to its members urging them to tell USDA Secretary Vilsack to withdraw a proposed rule that would allow poultry plant operators to increase assembly line speeds to 175 birds per minute. The majority of employees in poultry processing are Hispanic or other vulnerable workers.
USDA gives us 30 more days to tell it why 175 birds-per-minute line speeds will take a toll on poultry workers
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on April 26, 2012 Gabriel Thompson writes today in The Nation about a summer job he had a few years back, working on the assembly line at a Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Alabama. The chickens flew by on hooks at 90 birds-per-minute as he sliced and cut the meat non-stop. It didn’t take long for him to meet…
Workers at Hershey’s plant feel vindicated by OSHA’s $283,000 penalty to Exel
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on March 1, 2012 Federal OSHA proposed a $283,000 penalty against an employer responsible for staffing a Hershey’s chocolate packaging facilty in Palmyra, Pennsylvania for willfully violating workplace safety regulations. The agency’s action followed a formal complaint lodged by workers at the plant, many of whom were foreign students employed under the State Department’s J-1 visa program. A few…