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 »
Eleven oil workers are still missing after a massive explosion and fire late Tuesday night on an oil rig off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig was under contract to BP Exploration and Production (BPEP). Working In These Times has determined that BPEP has a history of safety violations, according to …
Exploding Rig’s Operator Has History of Safety Violations 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 »
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 …
Disneyland hotel workers began a water-only fast Tuesday to protest what they describe as life-threatening safety issues on the job. The more than 2,000 bellmen, dishwashers, room attendants, and cooks, members of Unite Here! Local 11, have been working without a contract since February 2008. They say new work requirements at three resort hotels and the villas at the Grand Californian Hotel …
This is an AP story written by SAM HANANEL. I am reposting to UnionReview.com with the hope of spreading the news. Soon after she became the nation’s labor secretary, Hilda Solis warned corporate America there was “a new sheriff in town.” Less than a year into her tenure, that figurative badge of authority is unmistakable. Her …
Hilda Solis’ Approach is a Departure From the Policies of Predecessor Elaine Chao Read More »
Today, the Department of Labor released its Fall 2009 Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda (PDF). That may sound dull, but if you care about good jobs and safe workplaces, you should care about this, because it signals the Department’s regulatory priorities for the year to come. And now that we have a Labor Department with leaders who …
Labor Department Unveils Regulatory Priorities for 2010 Read More »
We’re accustomed to reading statistics from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration about workplace injuries. Every year, for instance, there are 4 million work-related injuries. But ever wonder where OSHA gets those numbers? According to a new report by the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Labor and OSHA may not be doing enough …
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.
