Yesterday afternoon, Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts told the House Education and Labor Committee, “We can and must do a better job of protecting our nation’s miners,” and urged Congress to approve legislation to strengthen mine and workplace safety laws. The bill, the Miner Safety and Health Act (H.R. 5663), focuses on mine safety, …
It’s been a really bad year for mine operators. The Upper Big Branch explosion in West Virginia that claimed 29 lives was the worst of its kind since 1970, according to the United States Mine Rescue Association. As Tom O’Connor puts it, workplace deaths have become an epidemic. But, as bad a year it has …
Oil rig worker safety has been in the news a lot lately. Nearly every major media outlet and blogger in the entire Nation has directed its attention to arguably the worst environmental disaster in our history. As a result, the headlines and attention have been comprehensive, ranging from BP’s efforts in responding the disaster, to …
As kids around the country look forward to the start of summer break, it’s easy to forget that their mid-year vacation is actually curious relic of an earlier time, when children took time off to help out on the farm. Still, even in the post-industrial age, today’s farm sector continues to put kids to work, …
Working Away Their Childhoods: Young Farmworkers Robbed of Rights Read More »
Time and time again, inspectors found that miners at the Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia were trudging through inches-deep drifts of combustible coal dust. The mining company, Massey Energy, paid the fine, stalled through endless procedural challenges or just ignored the citation all together. The bottom line was that the dust kept piling …
Feds Crack Down on America’s Worst Bosses-But Fines Still Trivial Read More »
A little more than a year after taking office, the Obama administration and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis have taken significant steps to repair the damage to workplace safety and health left behind after eight years of the Bush administration. With Workers Memorial Day (April 28) approaching, this is a good time to look at the …
After 8 Years of Bush Neglect, Job Safety Gets New Boost from Obama, Solis Read More »
Organized labor and its allies are rightly alarmed over the high incidence of on-the-job accidents that have killed or maimed many thousands of workers. But they haven’t forgotten – nor should we forget – the on-the-job violence that also afflicts many thousands. Consider this: Every year, almost two million American men and women are the …
The American workplace has changed dramatically over the last two decades, and so have the inherent hazards for workers. New, bigger, more powerful equipment has come online. New chemicals and other toxic substances have come into routine use. New production and construction methods have been introduced. Created in 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, is charged …
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
