For the first time practically in recorded memory, the Labor-HHS-Education budget, which includes OSHA, MSHA and NIOSH, was passed and signed into law before the beginning of the new Fiscal Year — October 1st. The final OSHA budget actually contains a $5 million increase over FY 2018 and $8.8 million over the President’s FY 2019 …
FY 2019 OSHA Budget Is Here: Good News, But More Work to be Done Read More »
The Trump administration today proposed to merge the Department of Labor into the Department of Education. While some have suggested that the new department be christened the “Department of Child Labor,” the Trump administration has come up with the “Department of Education and the Workforce.” Some may be experiencing a sense of déjà vu at this name …
Today’s Bad Idea: Merge Labor and Education Departments Read More »
On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. Firefighters arrived at the scene, but their ladders weren’t tall enough to reach the impacted area. Trapped inside because the owners had locked the fire escape exit doors, workers jumped to their deaths. Thirty minutes later, the fire was …
The Lessons of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Are Still Relevant 107 Years Later Read More »
President Donald Trump is taking credit for what a new study is calling the safest year on record for commercial aviation. The president, however, is refusing to take responsibility for what his mine safety agency is saying was a year where almost twice as many coal mine workers died on the job than the final …
Trump took credit for airline safety in 2017. What about the surge in coal miner deaths? Read More »
Strong bipartisan legislation has been introduced in recent congressional sessions to solve the pension crisis currently facing America’s mine workers. The Miners Protection Act is a response to a growing insolvency problem with the Mine Workers (UMWA) 1974 Pension Plan. The legislation would protect the pensions of 87,000 current beneficiaries and 20,000 more who have vested …
Miners Working with Congress to Solve Pension Crisis Read More »
Every 12 days, a member of my union, the United Steelworkers (USW), or one of their non-union co-workers, is killed on the job. Every 12 days. And it’s been that way for years. These are horrible deaths. Workers are crushed by massive machinery. They drown in vats of chemicals. They’re poisoned by toxic gas, burned …
The Price for Killing Workers Must be Prison for CEOs Read More »
In a continued crackdown on coal mines with histories of serious safety and health violations, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued notices that 13 mines will be placed in a special stepped-safety enforcement program unless mine owners begin immediate corrective actions. The mines were notified earlier this month that they were on the verge …
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 »
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.
