workplace safety
The Pump Handle
Tag archives for workplace safety
Precarious work arrangements deserves attention and action by new Secretary of Labor
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on January 15, 2013 The report, “At the company’s mercy,” should serve as the new Secretary of Labor’s roadmap to improve working conditions for temporary and other precarious workers.
New, first-of-its-kind Canadian study to chronicle the impact of occupational cancers
Posted by The Pump Handle on January 14, 2013 Dr. Paul Demers says he frequently finds himself having to make the case for why studying workplace exposures to carcinogens is important. Oftentimes, he says, people believe such occupational dangers are a thing of the past. But a new four-year study he’s leading could change all that.
Safety experiences of union carpenters, imagine what it’s like for the rest of them
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 20, 2012 A survey of more than 1,000 union carpenter apprentices describes how production pressure can compromise safety and how suffering an on-the-job injury can compromise your job security. The frank comments from workers who have the protection of a union makes me wonder how bad it must be for non-union workers.
Construction workers in central Texas successfully tie living wages to big business tax breaks
Posted by The Pump Handle on December 14, 2012 Workers in Travis County, Texas, are celebrating what advocates are calling a landmark victory, after local leaders voted to ensure that economic incentive deals benefit both big business and workers.
Excess breast cancer risk among women employed in automobile plastics facilities
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 12, 2012 Two recently published papers funded by the federal agency Health Canada report on excess risk of breast cancer among auto plastics workers and the chemical compounds and processes used that are the likely culprits.
First-of-its-kind survey compiles the experience of domestic workers, highlights the grim nature of an unregulated industry
Posted by The Pump Handle on December 7, 2012 The collective experience of domestic workers — house cleaners, nannies and caregivers — often remains hidden from view. But a new survey has pulled back the curtain on the conditions and experiences domestic workers face, documenting issues such as wage exploitation, preventable on-the-job injuries and the little — if any — power domestic workers have in improving their work environments.
Occupational Health News Roundup
Posted by Liz Borkowski on December 7, 2012 The Bangladesh factory where 112 workers died in a fire last month had not gotten its fire department certification renewed; two West Virginia miners at separate mines were killed on the same day; and the Whistleblower Protection Act will extend whistleblower protections to many federal employees.
Seven worker safety rules remain stuck, stalled, “under review” in Obama White House
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on November 20, 2012 Seven new worker safety regulations–both proposed and final rules—are stuck in the Obama White House. One proposed rule has been “under review” for 645 days.
Worker safety wishlist for Obama’s second term
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on November 7, 2012 Now that the Presidential election is over, it’s time for the Labor Department to kick into high gear expand workers’ rights and ensuring workers’ lives and health are protected. Here’s my wish list of tasks for the Labor Department to accomplish in the next 6 months:
Explosion in January at Oklahoma oil rig hospitalized four workers, employer pays $6,700 OSHA penalty
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on October 16, 2012 Several workers were injured when a January explosion rocked El Dorado Drilling’s Logan Rig #7 in Logan County, Oklahoma. The company said “these things happen,” but accident investigators know otherwise.