On Thursday, the day after the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, thousands of fast-food workers in 60 cities walked off their jobs, the latest in an escalating series of walkouts by low-wage workers demanding higher pay and the right to organize without retaliation.
The parallels, though inexact, are compelling. A half-century ago, the marchers called on Congress to increase the minimum wage from $1.15 an hour to $2 “so that men may live in dignity,” in the words of Bayard Rustin, one of the chief organizers of the march. Today, the fast-food workers also seek a raise, from the $9 an hour that most of them make to $15.00 an hour. That’s not much different from what the marchers wanted in 1963; adjusted for inflation, $2 then is $13.39 an hour today.
The strikers are targeting their employers — profitable companies like McDonald’s, Yum Brands (which includes Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC) and Wendy’s. But Congress could help. Today’s minimum wage is a miserly $7.25 an hour — which is actually lower, adjusted for inflation, than it was 50 long years ago. Raising it would support the legitimate demands of the strikers and underscore the pressing needs of the country’s growing ranks of low-wage workers.
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Monday, September 2, 2013
Labor, Then and Now
A Victory for Silica Dust Exposed Workers?
 Today, after a much-criticized delay on issuing a rule to limit workers' exposure to cancer-causing silica dust, the Obama administration put forward a proposed rule for public consideration. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that once the rule is in effect, it could save 700 lives a year and prevent nearly 1,600 cases of silicosis annually. In an OSHA press release, Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, commented, "Exposure to silica can be deadly, and limiting that exposure is essential. Every year, exposed workers not only lose their ability to work, but also to breathe. This proposal is expected to prevent thousands of deaths from silicosis—an incurable and progressive disease—as well as lung cancer, other respiratory diseases and kidney disease. We're looking forward to public comment on the proposal." Workplace safety advocates applauded the decision. In a press release issued by the non-profit National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, executive director Tom O'Conner noted that workers who are most exposed to silica tend to be those least able to advocate for themselves. "Low-wage immigrant workers and temporary workers are disproportionally represented in the industries with silica exposure—and are the most vulnerable to retaliation should they report potential hazards, injuries or illnesses," O'Conner said. "This new rule will... |
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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
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Long Overdue Silica Dust Rule Issued, Final Action Must Be Swift, Says Trumka
| Sixteen years ago, federal workplace safety officials began developing a rule to control and limit workers’ exposure to silica dust. Some 2 million workers are exposed to this deadly dust each year and, according to public health experts, more than 7,000 workers develop silicosis and 200 die each year as a result of this disabling lung disease. Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finally issued a proposed rule. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the new rule was welcome but calls the proposed standard “long overdue” and notes that the rule is still only a proposal. Workers exposed to silica dust will only be protected when a final rule is issued. Some industry groups are certain to attack the rule and try to stop it in its tracks. The AFL-CIO will do everything we can to see that this does not happen. We urge the Obama administration to continue moving forward with the public rule-making process without delay. The final silica rule should be issued as fast as humanly possible, to protect the health and lives of American workers Silicosis literally suffocates workers to death. It also causes lung cancer and other diseases. Says Trumka: Silica dust is a killer. |
Government workers' compensation payments surge in New Orleans
| new-orleans-city-hall.jpg Landrieu's budget director, Cary Grant, told the City Council's Budget Committee this week that he expects payments for workers' compensation claims -- primarily from firefighters -- will increase from $16 million in 2012 to $24 million by the end of 2013. Grant offered no theory for the 50 percent jump, but he said the administration has hired a forensic auditing firm from Sacramento, Calif., Bickmore Risk Services, to comb through the city's stacks of claims and payments to find ways to save money. Auditors will also examine the work of the claims management firm Landrieu hired last year: Hammerman & Gainer Inc. of New Orleans. Bickmore began its audit on Monday, said Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Courtney Bagneris, who has been filling in for the city's departed risk management director, Michael McKenna. She told the committee the administration expects to have a full report by mid-October. The city has roughly 1,000 outstanding workers' compensation claims, with more than three out of four coming from the Fire Department. To slow that trend, Bagneris said, the administration is developing a "light-duty program" that will let... |
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Sunday, September 1, 2013
National Labor Relations Board Launches Mobile App
As Labor Day 2013 approaches, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced the launch of a new mobile app, available free of charge for iPhone and Android users. The app provides employers, employees and unions with information regarding their rights and obligations under the National Labor Relations Act.
“The National Labor Relations Act guarantees the right of workers to join together, with or without a union, to improve their working lives,” notes NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce. “The promise of the law can only be fulfilled when employers and employees understand their rights and obligations. With this app, we are using 21st Century technology to inform and educate the public about the law and their rights.”
Last year, the NLRB received more than 82,000 public inquiries regarding workplace issues. “It is clear that the American people have questions about the law,” Pearce said. “This app can help provide the answers.”
The app provides information for employers, employees and unions, with sections describing the rights enforced by the National Labor Relations Board, along with contact information for NLRB regional offices across the country. The app also details the process the NLRB uses in elections held to determine whether employees wish to be collectively represented.
Each month, an average of 2,000 unfair labor practice charges and 200 representation petitions are filed with the NLRB. In 2012, the NLRB collected more than $44 million in backpay or the reimbursement of fees, dues and fines. More than 1,200 employees were offered reinstatement as a result of NLRB enforcement efforts.
The app is currently available for iPhone users on the Apple App Store and for Android users on Google Play.
Facing Fire Over Challenge to Louisiana’s Oil Industry
State Senator Gerald Long of Louisiana calls it “kind of a gentlemen’s agreement.”
For the generations since Mr. Long’s third cousin Huey P. Long was the governor, this state has relied on the oil and gas industry for a considerable part of its revenues and for tens of thousands of jobs. In return, the industry has largely found the state an obliging partner and staunch political ally as it has fought off curbs on its business.
Now, however, a panel of state appointees, created after Hurricane Katrina to be largely insulated from politics, showed just how insulated it was by upending the agreement.
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Radiation Near Japanese Plant’s Tanks Suggests New Leaks
A crisis over contaminated water at Japan’s stricken nuclear plant worsened on Saturday when the plant’s operator said it had detected high radiation levels near storage tanks, a finding that raised the possibility of additional leaks.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, said it had found the high levels of radiation at four separate spots on the ground, near some of the hundreds of tanks used to store toxic water produced by makeshift efforts to cool the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s three damaged reactors. The highest reading was 1,800 millisieverts per hour, or enough to give a lethal dose in about four hours, Tepco said.
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