ARCHIVED ISSUES OF WEC@WORK
- A Jobs Plan for the 99%
While politicians debate whether to put band-aids on our hemorrhaging economy, 99% of us need a large-scale, long-term plan to get America to work and bring our country into the 21st century.
WEC's Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the Jobs21! action plan developed by the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), the national union-environmental coalition of which WEC is the NJ affiliate. - Forward, Not Back Workshop a Hit!
On October 18, representatives and members of labor and community groups gathered at the Rutgers Labor Education Center to discuss the roots of the economic crisis - Wall Street and corporate greed - and how we can move out of the current crisis to a greener, fairer economy to put New Jersey and America back on track. - New Safeguards for Health Care Workers
and Patients
On September 6, 2011, New Jersey's Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) issued landmark regulations for safe patient handling and violence prevention in hospitals and nursing homes. - 25th Anniversary of
Right to Know Laws
On October 17, WEC helped the EPA mark the 25th anniversary of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). - Congratulations to...
John Pajak on receiving a service award from the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health for his work with WEC to advance involvement of workers in inspections of industries using highly hazardous chemicals by the N.J. Dept. of Environmental Protection and U.S. EPA.
John Shinn on becoming Director of United Steelworkers (USW) District 4, John began his work in the USW as an employee of AFG industries, a glass plant in Burlington County and has been fighting for workers and their safety and health for over 30 years. Best wishes to outgoing director, Bill Pienta, on his retirement and our sincerest gratitude for his support over the years.
Rutgers University and New Labor, for receiving a Susan Harwood capacity building grant from OSHA. The four-year grant will enable them to provide Spanish-language hazard prevention training to hard-to-reach workers employed, in warehouses and other facilities.
- Christie Defunds Agencies to Deregulate
When public workers are protected from workplace dangers, so is the public. - Environmental Action Day
WEC and our environmental and labor allies held an Environmental Action Day on June 20, to stand up for good jobs and healthy communities and to send a message to our legislators that New Jersey must move Forward, Not Back! - DCA Proposes Waiver Rule
On August 1, 2011, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) issued a proposed rule to allow itself to waive its own regulations with no public oversight. - New Jersey Needs Safer Chemicals
On June 16, the NJ Assembly Homeland Security Committee unanimously backed a resolution (ACR 108), sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Stender, Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, and Assemblyman John McKeon, urging New Jersey water utilities and the chemical companies that supply those utilities to use Inherently Safer Technologies.
- Why Unions Matter to Everyone
Do attacks on union members by Wall Street, CEOs, Governor Christie, and some Democratic politicians matter to anyone who doesn't belong to a union? - DuPont Settles PFOA Lawsuit
A preliminary $8.3 million settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit brought by Salem County residents against the DuPont Chambers Works plant after the company tainted local drinking water with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
- And the Hypocrisy Award Goes To...
Reversing almost 20 years of good policy, Governor Christie's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently gutted their Alternative Workweek Program (AWP) which encouraged its employees to compress workweeks, limit commuting, and extend daily office hours. - New Poster on Public Employees OSHA
Based on recommendations by WEC's Consulting Industrial Hygienist Eileen Senn, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has overhauled and redesigned its poster on employee rights and employer obligations under the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health Act.
- BlueGreen and Appolo Alliances Merge
With 24 million Americans still out of work or unable to find full-time work, the BlueGreen Alliance and Apollo Alliance have announced a merger to strengthen and unify the movement to build a good jobs economy fueled by a clean energy future.
- Safety for Workers and Communities - Not Wall Street & CEOs
It's time to go on offense for health and safety in our workplaces and communities - not to cave in to the greed of corporate CEOs and Wall Street. We need to tell Congress (as well as Governor Christie and our state legislators) to strengthen, not weaken, sensible safeguards for job safety and health and clean air and water. - EPA & OSHA Take Action on Toxic Fogging
Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have taken action on toxic fogging of ambulances in New Jersey, validating the concerns of workers and their union, which filed complaints with the regulatory agencies in July 2010. - Regs Issued to Protect Healthcare Workers
Three years after New Jersey enacted the Safe Patient Handling and Violence Prevention in Healthcare Facilities Act, two landmark pieces of legislation protecting healthcare workers and their patients, regulations implementing these laws stand poised to go into effect. - Welcome, Ed Purcell
Ed Purcell, WEC's new intern, is doing research and outreach for the Save our Sensible Safeguards campaign.
- In a case with national implications for whether health care workers and patients can be treated like guinea pigs to discover the health effects of toxic chemicals, a New Jersey union of emergency medical services workers is battling Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (MONOC) to stop its toxic micro-misting of ambulances. More
- Workers, safety and health experts, emergency responders, and health professionals in New Jersey, the nation, and the world have found the Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets issued by the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to be an extremely valuable information source and often far more complete and accurate than MSDS's written by chemical producers.
- Advice on how to handle worker concerns about possible job-related cancer clusters appears in the December issue of the NJEA Reporter. The article includes tips on identifying cancer clusters and how to deal with obstacles to address this concern.
- In 2010, WEC trained 400 workers and managers at facilities that use high hazard chemicals and 250 workers and managers at hospitals and nursing homes. In 2011, WEC will continue to provide health and safety training for high hazard industries and will expand our work to reach more workers about their basic rights under OSHA.
- Safer Chemicals Needed Now. Over the past decades, the frequency of asthma has increased by 100%; impaired fertility, 40%; breast cancer, 40%; autism diagnosis, 1,000%; and 30% more babies are born prematurely. Increasingly, science has found that these health problems are linked to chemical exposure, according to Charlotte Brody, chemicals policy expert for the BlueGreen Alliance, who spoke at WEC's workshop Uniting Nurses and the Public for Chemicals Policy Reform on October 22nd.
- WEC's Annual Membership Meeting is set for December 9th.
- Join the growing BlueGreen Alliance (BGA) February 8-10, 2011, for the fourth Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.
- In August, an appellate court ruled that Bonnie Anderson was entitled to $7 million in damages due to secondary exposure to asbestos.
- Thanks to The Fund for New Jersey for their important financial support of WEC public education efforts and our Save Our Sensible Safeguards Campaign and to the Health Professionals and Allied Employees toward continuation of our Safe Work, Safe Care training program for hospital and nursing home workers.
- Congratulations to WEC industrial hygiene consultant Eileen Senn, who has been recognized by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health for her long time contributions to worker safety and health.
- Congratulations to John Shinn, Subdistrict Director, United Steelworkers (USW) for his well deserved awards from the Burlington and Mercer AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils.
- WEC Director Rick Engler addressed more than 1,000 participants at the USW annual safety, health, and environment conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on new rights of workers and union representatives to participate in EPA inspections at high hazard facilities.
July/August 2010
- WEC has launched a Save Our Sensible Safeguards campaign to stop the Christie administration from dismantling nationally precedent-setting environmental, health, and worker protections.
- On August 3rd the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), the federal agency that investigates major chemical accidents, told WEC that they would"...develop and issue a policy on worker and union participation during the agency's investigations."
- Anyone who worked or volunteered in the 9/11 rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts has until Monday, September 13, 2010, to register for future workers' compensation benefits.
- One hundred people attended the Northern New Jersey Action Summit for Latino/Immigrant Worker Safety and Health organized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
- Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has introduced the Clean Ports Act of 2010. This legislation will empower America's ports to stop the powerful shipping and trucking industries from exploiting old laws and passing the cost of clean air onto taxpayers and low-income truck drivers.
TAKE ACTION: Sign the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports petition asking Congress to support federal legislation that supports clean air and good jobs! - After years of struggle to prevent gasoline vapors from venting into the store's pharmacy and sickening six pharmacists, UFCW Local 1360 reports that a brand new nearby store will be built to replace the Clayton store and UFCW members will retain their jobs.
- The collective bargaining agreement reached between the United Auto Workers and Tropicana Casino is the first contract for Atlantic City dealers after workers at several casinos organized with the UAW in August 2007.
- Chrystal Disant, the Health & Safety Chair for HPAE Local 5004, has joined the WEC Board of Directors.
- A high priority for the labor movement and the new leader of federal OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, is issuing a requirement for employers to have "Injury and Illness Prevention Programs".
- A new policy won by the NJ Work Environment Council (WEC) and the national BlueGreen Alliance (BGA) will engage employees and their union representatives during environmental inspections of the nation's most dangerous industrial facilities.
- A high priority for the labor movement and the new leader of federal OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, is issuing a requirement for employers to have "Injury and Illness Prevention Programs".
- While the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico continue, Governor Christie and some Legislators are spearheading efforts to rollback New Jersey's strong environmental, safety, and worker protections to the failed federal standards that were unable to predict or prevent the Gulf oil disaster.
- New Jersey's Race to the Bottom? Should specific safety and health standards be set by state legislators, who are not scientific or regulatory experts?
- EPA and the Port Authority launch the Clean Truck Program that will reduce harmful pollution from the east coast's busiest port.
- On January 15, DEP issued a report on the effectiveness of its rules for Inherently Safer Technology (IST).
- Special thanks to Valorie Caffee.
January 2010
2009 Year in Review
- Victories in WEC's Safety and Security First! campaign in New Jersey laid the groundwork to advance national chemical security policy.
- WEC coordinated 106 labor, environmental, and health organizations to sign on to a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson urging her to adopt EPA inspection policies to engage workers and their unions during inspections.
- WEC advocacy helped win improved NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations for industrial facilities to implement the NJ Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act.
- WEC advocacy won continuation of New Jersey's Environmental Justice Executive Order by Governor Jon S. Corzine.
- In a notable victory for teachers, staff, and students, the Howell Township Education Association, working with WEC, prevented the Howell Township Public Schools from fogging classrooms and school buses with disinfectant pesticides to kill H1N1 ("swine flu") virus.
- Six New Jersey nursing homes took specific steps to prevent workplace violence after union and management representatives participated in WEC's Safe Work, Safe Care training.
- WEC coordinated four "Green Jobs Forums" engaging 40 groups of diverse constituencies including management, labor, environmentalists and public officials to discuss key issues and potential common ground as we transition to a green economy.