JT Knuckles

This post is dedicated to J.T. Knuckles.  He died in 1998 at age 58 from silicosis. JT Knuckles, foundry worker from Saginaw, MI (1996). I first met J.T. Knuckles in 1996. He spoke at a press event at which former Labor Secretary Robert Reich announced a national campaign to eliminate silicosis. “If it’s silica, it’s not just dust” was the campaign slogan. Today, 20 years after I met J.T. Knuckles, current Labor Secretary Tom Perez announced an OSHA standard designed to prevent silicosis. I watched this morning a live stream of Secretary Perez's announcement. He shared some of the long…