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Trumka to Biden and Harris: OSHA Needs to Function in Pandemic |
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President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris met with a business and labor roundtable this week to discuss how to get people back to work safely in the pandemic. AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka said that a key ingredient would be the reentry of the federal government into workplace infectious disease standards.
Texas has no OSHA to step in when the federal version of the safety regulator is napping. Some state officials justify the absence of regulation by talking about how our state is adhering to all applicable federal regulations, toothless though they might be:
For four years, OSHA has been AWOL. There’s been no full-time director.
There are fewer inspectors today than at any point in the agency’s history. OSHA has been totally absent during this pandemic and workers across industries have been left to fend for ourselves. - Read More
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Tarrant CLC Rallies for Legislation to Shore Up USPS |
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Angi Defelippo of the Tarrant County Central Labor Council kindly sent photos of this week's American Postal Workers Union National Day of Action calling on Congress to take immediate action to shore up the U.S. Postal Service.
Whether it is part of the HEROES Act or a stand-alone bill, a measure that repairs damage a previous Congress did to USPS needs to be a high priority, especially after APWU, National Association of Letter Carriers and other union members showed how central the Postal Service is to democracy by delivering tens of millions of mail-in ballots under excruciating conditions.
USPS has bipartisan support and polls suggest it is the most popular federal institution. It’s high time our elected officials take action to remove barriers that have compromised the service’s finances and blocked its efforts to build new lines of business for the future.
Hat tip to the Tarrant CLC for these photos and video introductions from some outstanding union activists. - See Photos
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IATSE Wins The Internet With Twitter Post |
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Leave it to the union that represents people who work in entertainment lighting, to throw the most shade. Good grief - nice burn IATSE! - View Tweet |
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Tyson Managers Allegedly Made Cash Bets on How Many Workers Would Get Covid-19 |
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Managers and supervisors at a Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, allegedly forced employees to work in unsafe conditions during the coronavirus pandemic and even took cash bets on how many workers would get sick from covid-19, according to new filings in a lawsuit brought against Tyson by the son of a worker who died. At least five workers from the Waterloo facility have died since the pandemic began and at least 20 Tyson workers have reportedly died of the coronavirus nationwide.
The lawsuit, which was uploaded in its entirety by KCCI Des Moines, was brought by the son of Isidro Fernandez, a worker at the pork plant who died of covid-19 on April 26. The suit alleges that supervisors, led by plant manager Tom Hart, organized a “cash buy-in, winner-take-all betting pool” on how many workers would test positive for the coronavirus.
One supervisor allegedly told employees that “it’s not a big deal; everyone is going to get it” and reportedly referred to covid-19 as a “glorified flu” when workers expressed concern. |
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SEIU Texas Rallies for Increased Wages |
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Essential airport workers in Houston, TX shared their stories of sacrifice due to poverty wages of $7.25 an hour and even lower tipped wages for skycaps and others at $2.33 an hour.
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Indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton Is Under FBI investigation |
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The FBI is investigating allegations that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton broke the law in using his office to benefit a wealthy donor, according to two people with knowledge of the probe. Federal agents are looking into claims by former members of Paxton’s staff that the high-profile Republican committed bribery, abuse of office and other crimes to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, the people told The Associated Press. They insisted on anonymity to discuss the investigation because it is ongoing. Confirmation of the criminal probe marks mounting legal peril for Paxton, who’s denied wrongdoing and refused calls for his resignation since his top deputies reported him to federal authorities at the end of September. - Read More
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Texas AFL-CIO to Host ‘Virtual Conservation Dinner’ |
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In conjunction with the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, the Texas AFL-CIO will host a “Virtual Conservation Dinner” set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3. Since its founding, USA has overseen union volunteers in Texas who have improved public access to the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge and Goose Island State Park. Volunteers have also engaged in storm recovery and youth development activities.
To ensure we can pick up our conservation efforts in Texas full force once we get past this crisis, we invite you to join us for our first Virtual Texas AFL-CIO Conservation Dinner. The event will be live-streamed, with a few familiar faces from the USA, at 6PM CST on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. For more information, go to: https://Texas2020.givesmart.com |
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Song of the Week - "War On The Workers" by Anne Feeney
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Stay safe. Have a good weekend...after all, we fought for it. |
