Worker's Comp, Walker, and Wisconsin’s Wailing

Guest Blog by Thomas M. Domer

What’s the connection between worker’s comp and Wisconsin Governor Walker’s assault on public sector bargaining rights? The immediate effect is that public sector workers will earn less money, and when hurt on the job, get less worker’s comp benefits. Over the longer term, denying the unions’ right to bargain over health benefits and working conditions will have significant effects.

Many public sector workers (cops, firefighters, teachers, city and county workers), will fall into the “no health insurance” heap that affects many private sector employees currently. When their claims are denied by the self-insured employer (the city, county, or school district), employees will not be able to get timely needed medical care for their injuries. And, to be sure, cities, counties and school districts will be under tons of political pressure to tighten their belts and budgets by denying claims with greater frequency. Lastly, since unions won’t be able to bargain over working conditions, safety issues will arise at a predictably larger rate. Workers will be at risk by the “corner-cutting” measures put in place by the budget slashing, no tax increase political mandate the ruling party possesses.

Thomas M. Domer practices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (www.domerlaw.com). He has authored and edited several publications including the legal treatise Wisconsin Workers' Compensation Law (West) and he is the Editor of the national publication, Workers' First Watch. Tom is past chair of the Workers' Compensation Section of the American Association for Justice. He is a charter Fellow in the College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers. He co-authors the nationally recognized Wisconsin Workers' Compensation Experts Blog.

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Conference- The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and its Legacy: Out of the Smoke and the Flame

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and its Legacy
March 24, 2011; 9 a.m. — 6:30 p.m.
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016
Registration is Free and Open to the Public

Program Click here for a printable PDF version9 – 9:15 a.m. Musical performance from the dramatic oratorio From the Fire

Kris Kukul, pianist Matt Carr Emily Mattheson
Shaunice Alexander Carrie Crow Alicia Olatuja
Catherine Brookman Roe Hartrampf Aaron Schroeder

Music by Elizabeth Swados, www.trianglefromthefire.com

9:15 – 9:25 a.m. Welcome

William Kelly, President, Graduate School & University Center, CUNY
Gregory Mantsios, Executive Director, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
Christine Quinn, Speaker, New York City Council

9:25 – 10:45 a.m. Plenary: The Political Significance and Present Day Legacy of the Triangle Fire

Moderated by Paula Finn, New Labor Forum, The Murphy Institute, CUNY

The Triangle Fire in its Historical Context
Steve Fraser, New Labor Forum, The Murphy Institute, CUNY

From Fire to Ashes: The Changed Contemporary Political Landscape
Frances Fox Piven, Graduate Center, CUNY

The Unfinished Business of Triangle Protest: Challenges and Possibilities Confronting Labor Today
Sarita Gupta, National Executive Director, Jobs with Justice

11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Concurrent Panels

Global Perspectives on Sweatshops (LAWCHA)
Beth English, Princeton University; Mary Frederickson, Miami University; Judy Gearhart,* International Labor Rights Forum; Robert Ross, Clark University

Why No Fire This Time? Acquiescence and Resistance in Politics Today
Liza Featherstone, Journalist; Steve Fraser,* New Labor Forum, Murphy Institute, CUNY; Gerry Hudson, Executive Vice President, SEIU; Stephen Pimpare, NYU

Memorializing the Past: Using Memorials and Monuments to Teach NY History
Wendy Aibel-Weiss, Director of Exhibits and Education, Tribute WTC Visitors Center; Julie Maurer,* The Gotham Center for NYC History, Graduate Center, CUNY; Christopher Moore, Historian; Ruth Sergel, Artist; Brian Tolle, Artist; Suzanne Wasserman,* The Gotham Center for NYC History, Graduate Center, CUNY; Maribeth Whitehouse, Teacher, I.S. 190, Bronx, NY

Labor and Immigration Politics: Past and Present
Muzaffar Chishti, Migration Policy Institute, NYU; Janice Fine, Rutgers University; Ruth Milkman,*Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Mae Ngai, Columbia University

Labor Standards and the State
Melvyn Dubofsky, SUNY Binghamton; Terri Gerstein, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for Wage Protection and Immigrant Services, NYS Department of Labor; Rory Lancman, NY State Assemblyman and Chair of the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety; Ed Ott,* The Murphy Institute, CUNY

Grassroots Organizing for Workers’ Health and Safety Today
Luzdary Giraldo,* New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health; Barbara Rahke, Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health; Richard Witt, Rural and Migrant Ministry

Art and Working-Class Movements
Esther Cohen, Artist, Cultural Organizer; Ellen Todd,* George Mason University; Clyde Valentin, Hip Hop Theater Festival

Combating Domestic Sweatshops, a Roundtable (LAWCHA)
Eileen Boris,* University of California, Santa Barbara; Narbada Chhetri, Senior Community Organizer, Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice, NYC; Jocelyn Gill-Campbell, Domestic Workers United;Premilla Nadasen, Queens College, CUNY

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 – 2:45 p.m. Plenary: The Global Sweatshop

Moderated by Ruth Milkman, Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY

The Economic Role of the Global Sweatshop
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University & London School of Economics

Workers’ Resistance in the Chinese Sweatshop
Ching Kwan Lee, University of California Los Angeles

Protecting Workers’ Rights in the Global Economy
Jennifer Gordon, Fordham University School of Law

Worker Protest Today in Bangladesh
Kalpona Akter, Secretary General & Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity

3 – 4:30 p.m. Concurrent Panels

Garment Unionism and the Garment Industry: From Triangle to Today
May Chen,* former Vice-President Workers United, currently The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Richard Greenwald, Drew University; Katie Quan, former organizer for ILGWU, currently UC Berkeley; Andrew Ross, NYU

Teaching the Triangle Fire: A Conversation (LAWCHA)
Hillary Broder, Kennedy High School, Bellmore-Merrick, N.Y.; Carmelina Cartei, Women and Gender Studies Program at Hunter College, CUNY; Tara Finneran, Bronx Arts Ensemble Teaching Artist; Rob Linné,* Adelphi University; Sharon Papp, Adelphi University; Kimberly Schiller, Huntington Public Schools, N.Y.

Child Labor: Then and Now (LAWCHA)
Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League; Hugh D. Hindman, Appalachian State University; Kriste Lindenmeyer, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Laura Lovett,*University of Massachusetts

Global Sweatshops and International Solidarity: The Case of Bangladesh
Babul Akhter, Secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation; Mitch Cahn,President of Unionware; Bjorn Claeson, Sweatfree Communities, International Labor Rights Forum; Mark Levinson,* Workers United, SEIU

Feminism, Low-Wage Workers, and Organized Labor
Ileen DeVault,* School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University; Susan Feiner, Francis Perkins Center & University of Southern Maine; Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College

OSHA at 40: From Triangle to Today
Eric Frumin,* Change To Win; Gerald Markowitz, Graduate Center, CUNY; David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO

The Legacy of Triangle and Youth Labor Organizing in the US
Laura Binger, Food AND Medicine; Theresa Cheng, United Students Against Sweatshops; Jennifer Polish, STAND, Queens College, CUNY; Andres Puerta,* American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

Could Triangle Happen Today?
Peter Amato, Safety Consultant and former president of the NY chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers; Matt Connor, NYFD and The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Robert Solomon, National Fire Protection Association

4:45 – 6:30 p.m. Closing Plenary: The Contemporary Legacy of the Triangle FireModerated by Joshua Freeman, Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY

What is the Triangle Legacy?
Alice Kessler-Harris, Columbia University

From the Triangle Fire to the BP Explosion: Protecting Workers Today
David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA

Organized Labor and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century
Bruce Raynor, President, Workers United, SEIU

* Panel Chairperson
7 – 8:30 p.m. Gotham Center for NY History Plenary Discussion
(Separate Free Registration Required)

Rich Greenwald, Drew University
Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College
Ellen Todd, George Mason University
Jennifer Guglielmo, Smith College
David Von Drehle (Author)
Ruth Sergel (Artist, Organizer, Remember The Fire Coalition)

To Follow: Book signing of Arcadia Press’ The New York City Triangle Factory Fire

Related articles

• HBO To Air Special of Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• A National Celebration of the Workers' Compensation Centennial (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• The Triangle Fire Airs on PBS Feb 28, 2011 (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• "Kate Kelly: The Triangle Factory Fire Centennial and Why It Matters Today" and related posts (huffingtonpost.com)

Daylight Savings Time Switch May be Hazardous to Your Health

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The semi-annual tradition of changing the clock an hour ahead and an hour back has been reported to result in a high incident of work-related illness. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports, "More than 1.5 billion men and women are exposed to the transitions involved in daylight saving time: turning clocks forward by an hour in the spring and backward by an hour in the autumn. These transitions can disrupt chronobiologic rhythms and influence the duration and quality of sleep, and the effect lasts for several days after the shifts." This may result in an increase of work-related accidents in the days following the time adjustment.

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NIOSH Seeks Information About World Trade Center Cancer Claims

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The Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) serves as the World Trade Center (WTC) Program Administrator for certain functions related to the WTC Health Program established by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (Pub. L. 111-347). 

In accordance with Section 3312(a)(5)(A) of that Act, the WTC Program Administrator is conducting a review of all available scientific and medical evidence to determine if, based on the scientific evidence, cancer or a certain type of cancer should be added to the applicable list of health conditions covered by the World Trade Center Health Program.

The WTC Program Administrator is requesting information on the following:

• (1) Relevant reports, publications, and case information of scientific and medical findings where exposure to airborne toxins, any other hazard, or any other adverse condition resulting from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is substantially likely to be a significant factor in aggravating, contributing to, or causing cancer or a type of cancer; 
• (2) clinical findings from the Clinical Centers of Excellence providing monitoring and treatment services to WTC responders (i.e., those persons who performed rescue, recovery, clean- up and remediation work on the WTC disaster sites) and community members directly exposed to the dust cloud on 9/11/01; and 
• (3) input on the scientific criteria to be used by experts to evaluate the weight of the medical and scientific evidence regarding such potential health conditions. 

DATES: Comments must be received by March 31, 2011. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number NIOSH- 227, by any of the following methods: 

• Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, MS-C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226. 
• Facsimile: (513) 533-8285. E-mail: nioshdocket@cdc.gov. All information received in response to this notice will be available for public examination and copying at the NIOSH Docket Office, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226. The comment period for NIOSH-227 will close on March 31, 2011. 

All comments received will be available on the NIOSH Docket Web page at http:// www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket by April 30, and comments will be available in writing by request. NIOSH includes all comments received without change in the docket and the electronic docket, including any personal information provided.

For over 3 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 asbestos related disease. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

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Another Hernia Patch Recall by FDA

Image via WikipediaThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued another hernia and abdominal patch recall. The FDA on March 4, 2011 issued a Class 1 Recall Notice for Davol's XenMatric Surgical Graft.

The FDA indicated that the recall was issued because “Testing cannot confirm that all units of XenMatrix Surgical Graft are within FDA requirements for endotoxin levels. Several lots have been found to have elevated endotoxin levels. Endotoxins (pyrogens) are substances found in certain bacteria that, at elevated levels, can cause serious illness which can be fatal.”

This product was manufactured from June 1, 2010 through October 31, 2010 and distributed from July 1, 1010 through October 31, 2010. For more information, please see the FDA’s safety alert.

Litigation is pending against Davol, Inc. is pending in both federal and state court on behalf of patients who suffered serious injuries or complications related to the company’s Composix® Kugel® Mesh hernia repair patch.

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Brazilian Blowout Abandons Suits Against Oregon OSHA for Formaldehyde Findings

A company that makes a hair straightening product, Brazilian Blowout, has dropped a lawsuit that it had filed against Oregon OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) challeging the agency's findings that the product contained formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

OSHA had tested 105 samples of the air product from 54 hair salons and reported significant formaldehyde findings. The lawsuit, filed by the company, alleged that the testing was incorrect.

The report had concluded, "Oregon OSHA and CROET have concluded that there are meaningful risks to salon workers  when they are confronted with these hair smoothing products. Effective control of those risks depends upon accurate information regarding the potential hazards and the control measures  available, which in turn begins with an accurate understanding of the ingredients and the potential harm they may cause."

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Supreme Court Decided Not to Decide Illegal Alien Issue

The US Supreme Court has determined that States should be left to decided whether illegal aliens should be barred from collecting workers' compensation benefits.


A report in Insurance Journal provides further insight:

"The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a workers’ compensation insurance case that concerned an illegal immigrant in Louisiana who had sought coverage after a workplace accident. The Court’s refusal to consider the case means states are left to decide the issue of whether workers who entered the United States illegally may benefit from workers’ compensation coverage."

No. 10-841 Title: Vaughan Roofing & Sheet Metal, LLC, Petitioner v. Antonio Garcia Rodriguez Docketed: December 28, 2010 Lower Ct: Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit   Case Nos.: (09-1537, 09-1538, 09-1539)   Decision Date: May 5, 2010 Discretionary Court      Decision Date: September 24, 2010 ~~~Date~~~  ~~~~~~~Proceedings  and  Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dec 23 2010 Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 27, 2011) Jan 26 2011 Brief of respondent Antonio Garcia Rodriguez in opposition filed. Feb 9 2011 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of February 25, 2011. Feb 16 2011 Reply of petitioner Vaughan Roofing & Sheet Metal, LLC filed. (Distributed) Feb 28 2011 Petition DENIED.

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