NEWS ROOM
WEC@WORK Newsletter
Current Issue
Editorials/Opinon Pieces by WEC
January 13, 2012 - The Star Ledger
Stronger Safeguards Needed in N.J. Hospitals, Nursing Homes by Ann Twomey, President, Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) and Chrystal Disant, Health and Safety Chair, HPAE Local 5004 and a member of the WEC Board of Directors
Should corporate lobbyists decide whether safe equipment and procedures are needed if you or a loved one have to go to a hospital or nursing home? Or should health care professionals make those decisions?
That's the type of issue being debated in our Statehouse and in Congress over safeguards that protect the public's health and safety.
November 15, 2011 - The Star Ledger
Gov. Chris Christie Halted Projects to Improve School Safety
by Eileen Senn, WEC Industrial Hygiene Consultant
All schoolchildren should be provided with a learning environment in which the roof and pipes don't leak, the electrical system poses no hazards and the classroom air isn't tainted with asbestos, lead, mold or other toxic contaminants. Yet New Jersey today gets an "F" for failing to meet that responsibility.
October 23, 2011 - The Record of Bergen County
Why We are Better Off with Right-to-Know Laws by Rick Engler, WEC Director
Why are we safer now? Because more than 25 years ago, a coalition of New Jersey labor, environmental and community organizations took the lead to persuade our state legislature and Congress to pass landmark laws giving workers and community residents the "Right to Know" about toxic chemicals used in industrial and many other facilities.
September 21, 2011 - The Star Ledger
Corporate Efforts to Remove Workplace Safeguards Threaten Health, Safety, Quality of Life by John Shinn, Director, District 4, United Steelworkers and a member of the WEC Board of Directors
Do you trust Wall Street
and corporate CEOs to protect our jobs, living standards and clean air and water - or do you think public oversight is needed?
August 16, 2011 - The Record of Bergen County
'Job Killing Regulations' Do Nothing of the Sort by John Pajak, Vice President, Teamsters Local 877 & WEC President
It's time to kill the phrase "job-killing regulations." It's a clever slogan invented by corporate lobbyists. But it happens to be a lie.
June 19, 2011 - Star Ledger
A Conversation with Rick Engler on the Environment
Christie talks a good game, but hasn't delivered much yet.
News Articles Featuring WEC
December 9, 2011
Who's the Boss? Tug of War in Legislature betweeen Executive and Legislative Powers by Jim Hooker
Democratic lawmakers took another shot at the Republican Christie administration Thursday over the extent and limit of the powers exercised by the two branches.
April 12, 2011 - NJ.com
Environmentalists urge N.J. to drop proposed 'waiver' allowing businesses to bypass regulations by Salvador Rizzo
Environmental advocates today painted a bleak picture of what would happen to New Jersey's natural resources if the state moves ahead with a plan that would allow businesses, towns and people to bypass environmental regulations.
April 12, 2011 - Newsworks
Environmentalists argue against 'waiver rule' in N.J. by Phil Gregory
Advocacy groups in New Jersey are urging the Christie administration to drop a proposed rule they say would be one of the most dramatic rollbacks of environmental regulations in 30 years.
March 21, 2011 - Philadelphia Inquirer
Environmental Regulatory Shift in N.J. Draws Praise and Concern by Maya Rao
Home to a densely packed population and heavy industry, New Jersey has been a longtime leader in adopting strong regulatory standards to protect residents against pollution of their soil, air, and water.
That's why environmental advocates sounded alarms when they learned that a bill scheduled for a vote in the Assembly last week would ban state agencies from adopting rules stricter than federal ones without coming to the Legislature for approval.
January 10, 2011 - The New York Times
EPA Wades in to Battle Over Hospital Disinfectant by Elana Schor of Greenwire
U.S. EPA is interceding in a New Jersey public-health flap that could have national implications, ordering a hospital services company to stop disinfecting its ambulances with finely misted pesticides after a local union complained of workers falling ill.
January 7, 2011 - Times of Trenton
EPA Orders Ambulance Company to Stop Using Fogger by Matt Fair
Acknowledging that workers have become ill after exposure to disinfectant chemicals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week ordered a New Jersey ambulance company to cease using fogging machines to sanitize its vehicles.
December 26, 2010 - Times of Trenton
EMS Workers In a Fog Over Disinfectant's Feared Danger by Matt Fair
In the months after the Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (MONOC) began using newly acquired machines to disinfect its ambulances in May 2009 by pumping the vehicles full of pesticide fog, paramedics began experiencing troubling ailments, PEMSA officials say.
December 22, 2010 - WBAI Radio in New York City
Union Fights Toxic Misting of Ambulances
Eileen Senn, WEC Industrial Hygiene Consultant was interviewed by Jose Santiago, News Director at WBAI in New York City.
The interview is available online here in the WBAI archive file. Go to WBAI Evening News, December 22, 2010, 6 PM and fast forward to the 15:30 mark. You can also download the mp3 file here.
[go to full list]
Press Releases and Statements
September 14, 2011
New Jersey Issues Strong New Safeguards to Protect Health Care Workers and Patients from Lifting Injuries and Violence
On September 6, 2011, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) issued landmark New Jersey regulations for safe patient handling and violence prevention in hospitals and nursing homes.
January 12, 2011
Press Statement In Response to Environmental Protection Agency Action To Force NJ Ambulance Company to Stop Using Toxic Fogger
New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) Director Rick Engler issued this statement responding to EPA's action ordering a New Jersey ambulance company to cease using misting machines to disinfect its vehicles with toxic chemicals that have sickened workers.
Go to the EPA Press Release.
Go to the New York Times online coverage.
Go to the WEC@WORK newsletter article Union Fights Toxic Misting of Ambulances.
June 23, 2010
Press Release from WEC and the BlueGreen Alliance
Workers to Help EPA Prevent Chemical Accidents
New EPA Policy Enlists Workers to Identify Hazards During Inspections of Dangerous Facilities
A landmark policy issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will for the first time engage employees and their union representatives during environmental inspections of the nation's most dangerous industrial facilities. Front-line workers will assist EPA inspectors by pointing out hazards that could threaten the safety and health of workers, surrounding communities, and the environment.
Read EPA's press release and policy.
Read the December 2009 letter to EPA Administrator Jackson.
June 9, 2010
Press Release from Save Our Sensible Safeguards
New Campaign Aims to Defeat Regulatory Rollbacks of NJ's Landmark Environmental, Health, and Worker Protections
Seventy-five labor, environmental, emergency response, and other organizations today announced at a State House news conference a new public campaign to defeat bipartisan attacks on decades of New Jersey's worker, environmental, health, and other protections.
Letter to Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Oliver
Statement from Senator Buono
How S1986 and/or A2486 Would Harm New Jersey