Asbestos "Compensation" -- Return of the Living Dead

The Corporate Lobbyist-in-Chief President was in the headlines the other day whining about how unfair it is for American businesses (who only want to provide jobs for workers)to be forced to pay billions of dollars and face bankruptcy to pay off lawsuits by victims of asbestos exposure -- of course neglecting to mention the fact that the reason we are in this mess is that the predecessors of the Halliburtons who today face massive liability hid the hazards of asbestos from worker for decades.

I haven't written much lately about the asbestos compensation battle. Maybe I haven't written about it because I'm bored, or just disgusted. Not bored with the pain and suffering that's killed hundreds of thousands, just bored and disgusted with the the same old battle between corporations trying to save a few bucks off the backs of the workers they've sentenced to a painful deaths versus the unions & attorneys attempting to salvage some dignity and meaningful compensation for workers who have only a short life and painful death to look forward to.

The whole discussion is almost surrealistic. Compensation implies that you are attempting to make good on past injuries -- as if what's done is done, and now we just have to make the best of it.

And then I read that last week a federal judge sentenced Alex Salvagno, 38, to to 25 years in prison, and his father, Raul, 71, to 19 years for their roles in directing a massive asbestos cleanup scam. The judge also ordered them

to pay more than $23 million into a fund to compensate businesses, institutions and homeowners that face additional and costly cleanups.

Also, Alex Salvagno will have to pay the federal government $2.03 million and Raul Salvagno $1.71 million in money laundering fines.

The Salvagnos were found guilty in May of racketeering and conspiracy to violate environmental laws for rushing asbestos abatement jobs at 1,555 buildings, most of them in the Capital Region.

***

Witnesses testified that Alex Salvagno's company, AAR Contractor of Latham, profited by forcing its workers to clean up asbestos as quickly as possible, by using illegal methods that jeopardized the health of employees and, in many cases, left deadly fibers behind. Their shoddy work went undetected because Salvagno secretly co-owned a firm, Analytical Laboratories of Albany, which was supposed to be testing the job sites.The prosecution argued successfully that AAR's practices had jeopardized the health of workers who were ordered to rip out the insulating material from ceilings, boiler rooms and around pipes without first wetting it, as law required.

That sent clouds of the dangerous material floating into the air. In addition, workers testified they were discouraged from wearing respiratory equipment by Raul Salvagno, who supervised AAR's work crews.

Dr. Stephen Levin, an associate professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, testified in October that an estimated 100 employees who worked for more than four years for AAR will almost certainly get sick and die.

The same prosecutor, Craig Benedict, who won this case also won a 14 year jail sentence against another contractor in 2003 for illegaly removing asbestos in 1100 buildings. The troubling thing is that the Syracuse-Albany area is not an area that has a high amount of asbestos abatement activity; it just has a prosecutor who is good at finding and winning these cases. Imagine what' going on in the rest of the country where no one is looking.

Asbestos related disease will continue to be a major problem in this country for decades. The Environmental Working Group Action Fund released a report last year that found that over 100,000 people will die of asbestos-related disease over the next decade. And those are from exposures that occurred ten, twenty or thirty years ago.

But despite the tragedy of asbestos and obvious guilt of the companies involved, there is general agreement that the current court-focused liability system isn't working very well for victims or the companies. The problem is how to fix it. The two sides, the insurance companies and companies with asbestos liabilities on one side, and the labor unions and trial lawyers on the other -- reached a basic agreement last year on one basic issue -- that there should be a trust fund which would provide compensation to those current sick, as well as to workers who will become sick. It often takes up to 30 years for asbestos exposure to cause cancer.

The main sticking point was how big the fund needed to be. And it's not an easy calculation. The AFL-CIO and trial lawyers have been trying to figure out how many workers are sick today, how many have been exposed, how many of them will become sick, and how much it will cost to compensate them. They figured last year that a $149 billion fund would be needed. The other guys estimated that tens of billions less would be needed. The Republican bill, needless to say, supported the lower fund, but without the support of Democrats and labor, there weren't enough votes in the Senate to pass a bill.

Now even that agreement seems to be falling apart. Moderate Republican Arlen Specter (PA) has taken over the Judiciary Committee from Orin Hatch and is holding a hearing about the issue on Tuesday. Exxon Mobil Corp., E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., and other corporations have now announced that they will oppose legislation contemplated by Specter (R-PA) because they fear that his trust fund will be too close to what labor wants.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney condemned their decision:

Recent statements from a number of prominent business leaders withdrawing their support for creation of a victims’ trust fund represent a serious setback for those who suffer from asbestos disease and for the companies that truly want a fair solution to the crisis. Apparently these business leaders read the results of the November election as license to ignore the plight of asbestos victims and the responsible efforts of a number of other companies to join in the creation of a national trust fund to guarantee asbestos victims fair compensation for their tragic circumstances.

Other sticky issues from previous years' debates include whether or not coverage applies to worker who "just" have asbestosis, as opposed to cancer, what the criteria will be for claiming compensation, and the fate of family member who were exposed when their spouse came home covered with asbestos dust.

While it's hard to say what this year's bill will eventually look like, under a bill introduced last year by Senator Orin Hatch, eleven companies that are negotiating some of the largest potential asbestos-exposure payouts to victims would have saved over $15 billion. One of those companies was Vice President Cheney's old employer Halliburton, which bought Dresser Industries along with its asbestos liabilities. (Last week a district judge approved an order that will settle asbestos lawsuits against Halliburton.)

The bottom line is what we are dealing with here is payback -- President Bush paying back "them that brought him to the dance" by going on the offensive for "fair" asbestos compensation, as part of his campaign for tort "reform" (but that's a story for another day.) What's different this year? Apparently Bush is no longer embarassed to be championing a cause that could help his VP's old company. Then we have is corporate buddies, as John Sweeney says, apparently hoping to cash in their election IOU's to use Bush's alleged "mandate" and the few extra seats in the Senate to try to muscle through some kind of legislation that will save them even more money than Arlen Specter's compensation trust fund would -- legislation that will, once again, screw workers that have already been screwed in ways for which they can never truly be compensated.

And finally, if the recent convictions in upstate New York are any indication, we aren't even close to seeing the bottom of the barrel of asbestos-related disease in this country.



(More on asbestos comp on Laborblog and Dispatch from the Trenches.)

(Update on January 10, 2005 Congressional hearing here.)

As If That Wasn't Bad Enough...More on Rail Safety

New York Times reporter Walt Bogdanich who has been following the safety problems of the rail industry and weakened oversight by the Bush administration is giving us even more to worry about in the wake of the South Carolina rail accident and chlorine leak that has killed eight nine (or more?).

First, more than half of the nation's 60,000 pressurized rail tank cars did not meet industry standards:

Just how ruptured tank cars can endanger a community was underscored three years ago when a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train derailed just outside Minot, N.D. Five tank cars carrying a liquefied type of ammonia gas broke open, releasing toxic fumes that killed one resident and injured more than 300.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in a report on the accident released last year, said the steel shells on the five ruptured tank cars had become brittle, causing a "catastrophic fracture" that released clouds of toxic vapors. Those cars, the safety board found, were built before 1989 using steel that did not - as it does now - undergo a special heat treatment to make it stronger and less brittle. Tank cars built after 1989 use this specially treated steel.

***

The safety board warned that of the 60,000 pressurized tank cars in operation, more than half were older cars that were not built according to current industry standards, leaving them susceptible to rupture. And because these cars may remain in service for up to 50 years, some older ones could still be hauling hazardous materials until 2039.

Among the hazardous materials carried by the tank cars are liquefied ammonia, chlorine, propane and vinyl chloride. In most cases, the cars are owned by chemical or leasing companies, not the railroads.

And if that wasn't reassuring, it seems that more than three years after 9/11, the security of rail cars carrying highly hazardous chemicals is not much better than the security of chemical plants:

Federal authorities have been working with railroads and the chemical industry to improve security for trains. But there is still much to be done, particularly given the structural weaknesses of many tank cars, current and former federal officials say. George Gavalla, a former associate administrator for safety at the Federal Railroad Administration, said railroads had promised to beef up security when there was a credible terrorist threat.

So when such a threat arose a year ago in Las Vegas, Mr. Gavalla said, he sent an inspector there on New Year's Eve to assess the security measures in place. Those measures, he said, were virtually nonexistent.

When the inspector visited a rail yard 13 miles from the airport, he found no one watching over six tank cars with markings indicating that they might contain chlorine gas, according to a memorandum that he wrote about his visit. Two hours later, he visited another rail yard with four tank cars possibly carrying poisonous gas and they, too, were unguarded, the memorandum stated.

Finally, if all that's not bad enough, John Lowe over at Impact Analysis reveals that a request for comments on "the need for enhanced security requirements for the rail transportation of hazardous materials that pose a toxic inhalation hazard (TIH)," presented by the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security last summer states that the agencies are considering whether to require the removal from rail tank cars used to transport TIH materials of identifying marks, names, stenciling, placards, or other markings that could help a terrorist or criminal identify a target.

Great idea, if you want every emergency responder in America to resign. The key to addressing hazardous materials accidents safely -- to protecting the lives of the emergency responders and the surrounding community -- is swift and accurate identification (preferably from a distance) of the material that has been released. Nothing would undermine the safety of the American people more than hiding the identify of the contents of the fleets of trucks and railcars carrying hazardous materials through our towns and cities every day.

Can the safety of rail cars be improved? Who's going to make sure its done and that it's effective. Is it really possible to have safe transport of highly hazardous substances? The best solution is, of course, right under our noses:

Rick Hind, a toxics specialist at Greenpeace, the environmental group, said that the best answer would be for industrial plants to substitute less toxic substances for chlorine and other hazardous materials.

Safer technologies have emerged in some areas, Mr. Hind said, and switching to them would reduce the sense that the plants and trains are "a target-rich environment."

Koufax Awards

The Koufax Awards for the best lefty bloggers are up. There are a number of categories, and thanks to you, my faithful readers, Confined Space has made it to the semi-finals in two categories: Best Single Issue Blog and Best Expert Blog.

So, who to vote for in which category? That's a hard one....

Me and Me in both.

But you can only vote for one in each. (Just click on the links above, scroll to the bottom and write the following words: "Confined Space." Or you can just send an e-mail here: Or here: daem@mindspring.com. It's always kind of embarassing asking people to vote for me. On the other hand, if I was really a shrinking violet, I wouldn't be writing this.)

Thank you.

The best part of these awards (aside from the fame, fortune and groupies) is that it shines the light on so many good blogs that you wouldn't ordinarily see. So check out the other blogs in these categories as well. If I wasn't voting for Confined Space, I'd seriously consider Informed Comment (the truth about Iraq), Effect Measure (Bringing Public Health to the public) as well as The Daily Howler (The Media) and Labor Blog (Labor Issues) among others.

and also make sure to visit:

• Best Blog by a Non-Professional/Sponsored Blog: My personal first choice here is Suburban Guerrilla, great political analysis that somehow makes you smile (or is it wince?) at the absurdity of it all. Also make sure to check out This Modern World, Alas, A Blog, Body and Soul, Liberal Oasis, Majikthise and Nathan Newman.
  
  
• Best Group Blog My recommendation: The American Street, Alas, A Blog, Seeing the Forest
  
  
• Most Humorous Blog: I'd have to go with Rude Pundit (although I'm a bit of a sicko), as well as Tbogg, Opinions You Should Have
  
  
• Best Writing:
  
  Oh hell, this is just too hard. Take a couple of hours off -- or the whole day -- and just read them all. I'm sure there are jewels out there that I haven't even heard of.
  

More categories soon.

Finally, while you're there, be sure to check out

Oh, and while you're there, don't forget to check out Wampum: Progressive Politics, Indian Issues, and Autism Advocacy They're the kind people who are working their butts off to bring us these awards.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program.....

Company Kills, Refuses To Learn Lesson, And Gets Probation?

Brenda Whiteye is "not happy with the judicial system." After reading about what happened to her husband and how those responsible were punished, I think you'll agree that "not happy" is probably a classic understatement of her true feelings.

Whiteye's 52-year old husband, Robert, was crushed to death in 1999 when an inadequately protected 18 foot deep trench collapsed on top of him. Because workers (or their family) can't sue their employer, family members of workers killed on the job would normally have to be satisfied with an often insignificant fine against the company. But in this case, the company received a "willful citation." According to MIOSHA:

A willful violation represents an intentional disregard of the requirements of MIOSHA regulations, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

And in cases where willful violations have led to a fatality, a criminal case can be made. The New York Times ran a series at the end of 2003 showing that this opportunity is rarely used by federal OSHA. But the Michigan Attorney General's office -- then under the supervision of now-governor Jennifer Granholm -- decided to fine the company, Lanzo Construction, $657,000 and bring criminal manslaughter charges against the company's vice president, Angelo D'Alessandro. A conviction could have sent D'Alessandro to prison for 15 years.

According to a MIOSHA Newsletter,

“Lanzo Construction Company has shown a complete disregard for protecting their employees, as evidenced by their past history and the
significant number of alleged wilful violations in this incident,” said [Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services (CIS) Director Kathy]Wilbur.

***

The investigation revealed that Angelo D’Alessandro and Lanzo Construction knew of the substantial risk of injury to employees engaged in trenching work, and failed to provide trenching support to prevent injury to their employees.

D’Alessandro and company officials were at the job site and made no effort to protect their employees. Additionally, they failed to furnish Whiteye a place of employment free from recognized hazards that were likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Lanzo construction appealed the fine and fought the manslaughter conviction.

Manslaughter charges were latter dismissed by the judge, and yesterday she sentenced the company (not D'Alessandro) to probation. What does "probation" against a company mean? No one really knows.

But it turns out, this isn't the only reason Brenda Whiteye is not happy. Browsing through the latest copy of the MIOSHA Newsletter, I ran across an article describing a $214,000 penalty against the D’Alessandro Contracting Group "for allegedly failing to adequately protect employees from trenching and excavation hazards." D'Alessandro, D'Alessandro, where have I heard that name? Sure enough,

On June 25, 2004, MIOSHA opened a complaint investigation with Lanzo Construction, and were advised by a company official during the investigation that the company name had been changed to D’Alessandro Contracting Group.

***

MIOSHA conducted an inspection of the excavation site from June 25 to July 20, 2004.

Conditions found during the inspection revealed very dangerous exposures, similar to those documented at previous inspections of Lanzo Construction excavation sites. Employers in the excavation business have a duty to know and abide by all legal requirements involving excavating and trenching.

“What’s most troubling about this case is that the company continues to place its workers in harm’s way,” said MIOSHA Director Doug Kalinowski.

What's equally troubling is the frustration and anger that Brenda Whiteye and others in her situation must be feeling. You have a company with numerous health and safety violations that kills your husband, fights the penalty, escapes from the criminal charges, changes its name to hide its criminal history, and then continues to endanger other workers like nothing's happened. And Brenda Whiteye's feelings are shared by the families of thousands of other workers every year.

So where do they turn? Where do they go for some kind of justice? Nowhere, according to our legal system. According to the National COSH Campaign to Stop Corporate Killing

Killing a worker is currently considered a misdemeanor under federal law, with a maximum sentence of six months in jail. Even for willful violations, fines are typically under $25,000. Conviction for unlawful aerial harassment of mule deer, in contrast, can bring up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

But it doesn't have to be that way. We need to find a Congressman and Senator to introduce legislation into Congress calling for more severe and more certain punishment -- fined and jail time that will assure that employers will no longer be willing to cut corners and take their chances on a traffic ticket from OSHA. (Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and Congressman Major Owens (D-NY) introduced legislation last year.)

And every time a worker is killed in this country, family members, friends and the newsmedia should ask their Senators (many of whom will be up for re-election in 2006) and Congressmen (all of whom will be up for re-election in 2006) whether they're supporting the workplace killers legislation.

It might be a good issue to draw a distinction between politicians who are pro-worker and those who aren't. The Bush administration and Congressional Republicans weren't too happy with the Corzine bill:

[Former] Commerce Secretary Donald Evans called the Corzine-Kennedy proposal "just another policy to destroy jobs." House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the proposal would be "the worst thing that you could do -- telling a small business person that they could go to prison over an OSHA violation."

I don't know about that . Personally, I think "the worst thing you could do" would be to let a company willfully kill a worker and then do almost nothing about it when they put workers into the same hazard over and over again.

Let's make our judicial system something that fights for the Brenda Whiteyes of this nation.

"The uninterrupted flow of hazardous materials is necessary for the health and safety of the U.S"

Following up on yesterday's post about the ">South Carolina chemical train accident that killed eight, mostly due to exposure to chorine fumes (and particularly the chilling photo at the end), I ran across this article that a friend sent me a few months ago.

The vulnerability of chlorine shipments through the capital has become a hot topic since the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks on the United States. Activists say the availability of high-powered rifles and other weapons and the accessibility of urban rail lines make shipping highly toxic materials through cities such as Washington a bad idea.

In an oft-cited presentation to the District of Columbia Council, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientist Jay Boris said the rupture of a rail tanker carrying a toxic chemical in central Washington could quickly cause mass death.

In a "worst-case scenario" involving a stiff breeze, a large holiday crowd on the National Mall and "the absence of an early warning and concerted action," Boris said, "Over 100,000 people could be seriously harmed or even killed in the first half an hour."

Turns out we don't really have to worry about such an eventuality. Why not? Could it be that the Department of Homeland Security or maybe the Transportation Department decided to reroute hazardous cargo around large cities like Washington D.C., instead of right through the middle?

Of course not. The rail companies oppose it. Instead, the administration is developing a voluntary program with the industry. After all, as Association of American Railroads President Ed Hamberger testified at a hearing last May (presumably with a straight face,) "The uninterrupted flow of hazardous materials is necessary for the health and safety of the U.S., as well as its economic growth." Yeah, I'm sure we'd all agree with that. (Well, maybe not the families and friends of the 8 people killed in Graniteville earlier this week, or the two killed by chlorine last year in Texas after a rail accident released chlorine gas.)

This is all very interesting on a number of levels.

• 
  It took 9/11 to raise to the front pages the hazards involved in transporting highly hazardous chemicals through highly populated areas, even though the hazard has existed for many decades.
  
  
• We've never a chemical-related fatality from terrorism, although we've had a number of fatalities due to just plain chemical "accidents."
  
  
• We've invaded two countries, killed tens of thousands of people, and spent hundreds of billions of dollars to get tough on terrorism; we force little old ladies to remove their shoes at the airport and then feel them up pat them down; we keep terrorism "suspects" in prison indefinitely despite the fact (or because) we don't have enough evidence to charge them with a crime -- but meanwhile, here at home, we relax government oversight of the railroads and rely on voluntary standards to protect ourselves from terrorism and very real accidents that are killing innocent people.

I mean, we wouldn't want to piss off any big contributors or anything.

So, am I missing something here, or are we living in a crazy screwed up world?

With January 20th less than two weeks away, I guess the answer is obvious.

Just Be Careful Not To Breathe

This is pretty damn scary:

Graniteville, S.C. — A freight train carrying chlorine gas struck a parked train early Thursday, killing eight people and injuring at least 200 others, nearly all of them sickened by a toxic cloud that persisted over a small South Carolina textile town at nightfall.

Authorities ordered all 5,400 people within two kilometres of the crash to evacuate in the afternoon because chlorine was continuing to leak and the gas was settling near the ground as temperatures dropped. They were unsure when the gas leak might be sealed.

State Senator Tommy Moore said Thursday night officials at Avondale Mill, the textile plant where the crash happened, told him eight people were found dead following the accident, including five inside the mill.

Eight people were in critical condition Thursday night after the wreck of Norfolk Southern trains, in which 16 cars derailed.

Mr. Moore said he was told all the deaths were caused by inhaling chlorine fumes, except for the engineer of the moving train, who died in the crash. Sheriff's Lieut. Michael Frank said one person was found dead in a home and another was found in a vehicle.

This is depressingly reminiscent of a train derailment involving chlorine last summer that killed two people in their home over a mile away.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the kind of thing that we can expect more frequently as federal oversight over the railroads is weakened and the foxes take more control over our national chicken coops.

Is this what people voted for on November 2?



Anyway, I'm sure glad it can't happen in my neighborhood:

Thanks to a reader for the heads up on this.



UPDATE: They've been having a bad time with trains in Graniteville lately and especially at Avondale Mills. This is from November 11:

GRANITEVILLE, S.C.

Five textile mill workers were killed Wednesday morning when their car collided with a Norfolk Southern research train about 12 miles from the Georgia-South Carolina state line.

The train, which consisted of a locomotive and two cars, was traveling 45 mph in a 49 mph zone and collided with the four-door Buick at Ascauga Lake Road Crossing in Graniteville around 8:15 a.m.....The five victims had just finished an 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift at an Avondale Mills Inc. plant nearby.

***

Working the late-night shift can be tiring, said Lucy Padgett, a lab technician and 15-year employee who now works an earlier shift. Padgett said she would be extremely tired going home after the 12-hour shift when she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"I have drifted off" at the wheel, she said

***

Some residents complained about the lack of crossing arms at the crash site, which is at the intersection of two state roads. The site's flashing lights were working, officials said.

"If you ask me, the state ought to put those bars there," said Christopher Davis, a former mill worker who lives a few miles from the accident site.

***

"Anytime you got a railroad crossing and you got all these mills here ... changing shifts at the same time, and you got all these people rushing to get to work and you got a bad railroad crossing, you got a recipe for disaster, and you're going to get one," Tom Ryan, [a mill retiree] said.

Welcome To Minesafety Watch

The world of workplace safety and health blogs has doubled in the past week with the birth of Minesafety Watch.

It's written by Kathy Snyder, formerly of the public information office at the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Welcome!

APHA Calls for OSHA Workplace Violence Standard

The American Public Health Association at their recent conference, passed a resolution calling upon the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to "promulgate an enforceable standard on occupational violence prevention."

Despite former OSHA director John Henshaw's reluctance to recognize workplace violence as a legitimate problem for OSHA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that workplace violence --including assaults and suicides-- accounted for 16% of all work-related fatal occupational injuries in 2003. Homicides have consistently been one of thethe top three causes of workplace fatalities. The number of workplace homicides was higher in 2003 -- the first increase since 2000 -- although the 631 workplace homicides recorded in 2003 represented a 42 percent decline from the high of 1,080 workplace homicides recorded in 1994.

There were almost 18,000 serious injuries and illnesses resulting from workplace assaults in private industry in 2002.

APHA also stated that:

Federal health and safety agencies should increase funding for occupational violence prevention research, especially intervention research, evaluating the impact of violence prevention strategies.

OSHA has published two guidelines on preventing workplace violence (for health care workers and for late night retail workers) in addition to numerous fact sheets. And a long time ago, seemingly in a galaxy far away, federal OSHA used to cite employers for failure to protect employees from workplace assaults. CalOSHA still does.

2004 In Review: Top Ten Workplace Safety & Health Stories of 2004

In no particular order....

1. Attempted NIOSH Reorganization: Apparently fearing that occupational safety and health was becoming far too important, Centers for Disease Control Director Julie Gerberding reorganized the agency, burying NIOSH deeper down the CDC hierarchy. Being truly a uniter, not a divider, Gerberding managed for the first time in memory to bring the entire health and safety and public health establishment -- labor, management, and professional associations -- together in strong opposition to the move. The proposal didn't even make much sense to Congress which ordered the CDC to maintain the old reporting relationships for NIOSH.
   
   
2. Terrorism: Meanwhile, not wanting to be outshown by John Ashcroft, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) made its contribution to the war on terror by firing two veteran employees (who happened to be Iranian citizens). Seems they had failed a security screening. The reason? Well, no one would say exactly. They had been working in Morgantown, West Virginia on such high security issues as latex allergies.
   
   OSHA, meanwhile, despite the appalling health effects on unprotected World Trade Center workers, announced that it will enforce emergency safety measures -- except in actual emergencies, when it would, instead, provide technical assistance.
   
   
3. John Henshaw Rides Into The Sunset: If John Henshaw’s primary objective was to steer OSHA into obscurity and irrelevance, he can happily retire with mission accomplished. His main achievement was the creation of the Alliance program -- partnerships with his “business buddies” (but not with unions) -- that has replaced the development of standards. Happy trails, John.
   
   The Government Accountability Office, meanwhile, is not quite so passionate about Henshaw's babies. The agency has warned OSHA to slow down on the voluntary programs that are eating up a growing percentage of OSHA’s miniscule budget until their effectiveness can be objectively assessed.
   
   No word yet on who will replace Henshaw, but acting (in the truest sense of the word) in his place is Jonathan Snare, a Texas Republican political operative who, before coming to Washington, played a major role in the infamous Texas re-redistricting and made money defending Metabolife, whose main product, ephedra, was finally banned by the FDA after killing more than 150 people.
   
   
4. Hispanic "Summit:" In response to disproportionately high numbers of Hispanic worker deaths in American workplaces, OSHA staged a Hispanic Summit, but all we got was a Republican press opportunity in an important swing state. Meanwhile, Hispanic workers continue to die in high numbers.
   
   
5. OSHA Sets New Record in Do-Nothingness: The Bush administration is finishing the first four-year term in the history of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration without issuing a single significant worker protection standard. In fact, the agency has gone backwards, not only repealing the ergonomics standard in 2001, but also removing from the regulatory agenda three dozen standards that were in progress, including a standard to protect workers against tuberculosis. And after four years, the agency has still not issued a standard requiring employers to pay for workers' personal protective equipment, four years after coming into office with the standard almost finished.
   
   
6. Popcorn Lung: Several successful trials and settlements against the makers of diacetyl, a butter popcorn flavoring that disintegrated the lungs of untrained and unprotected workers, have once again proven the bankruptcy of our chemical regulation system which considers chemicals innocent until proven guilty and uses American workers as canaries.
   
   
7. Asbestos Compensation: Despite good-faith efforts on the part of labor and trial attorneys to bring order to the chaos of compensation for victims of asbestos exposure, the insurance industry and responsible companies managed to persistently clutch failure from the jaws of success by trying to greedily suck every penny they can from any settlement. Or maybe they were just waiting to see if Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who opposed the industry bailout, could be beaten.
   
   Hmm. Maybe they weren’t so dumb after all.
   
   
8. Reactive Chemicals: The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) gave OSHA a big thumbs down for refusing to act on the CSB’s two year-old recommendation that OSHA revise its Process Safety Management standard to include reactive chemicals. The CSB recommendation was based on a study showing that reactive chemical incidents had led to 167 serious accidents over 20 years, causing 108 fatalities and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. Instead of revising the standard, OSHA formed an industry alliance and put more information on its website. The CSB was not amused, calling OSHA’s half-way measures an "Unacceptable Response."
   
   
9. Hexavalent Chromium Proposal: At the 12th hour of the court-ordered deadline, OSHA issued a proposal for a standard to protect workers against cancer-causing hexavalent chromium. Construction unions are unhappy that the standard leaves out hexchrome in concrete leaving workers vulnerable to serious skin problems. Industry, on the other hand, is upset that OSHA is proposing a new permissible exposure limit that that might actually protect workers. They fear OSHA will run them out of business. Where have we heard that before?
   
   And finally
   
   
10. ReElection of George W. Bush: Exploiting the emotional red-herring issues of “values” and fear (of matrimonial homosexuals and brown-skinned terrorists), while trashing John Kerry with lies, corporate American managed to narrowly reelect their puppet man, Dick Cheney Karl Rove George W. Bush.
    
    Meanwhile, hiding behind the fear & values curtain was a major victory for corporate America's traditional campaign to increase its profit margins, strengthen its control over American society and continue the same old attacks on workers, consumers and the environment. There are now so many foxes guarding the chicken coop that chickens may have to be added added to the endangered species list.
    
    Maybe Bush and John Kerry should have debated workplace safety and health issues.

Let's try to make some better news in 2005.

OSHA: "No Longer Much of a Problem" For Business

National Public Radio's Peter Overby began a series on OSHA under the Bush administration last night on All Things Considered.

He starts out noting that OSHA was traditionally one of the two regulatory agencies that American business feared the most -- the other being EPA: "EPA still causes trouble, but the word around Washington is that OSHA is not longer much of a problem." Overby notes that under Bush, "OSHA changed course with a speed not often seen in government."

He includes another gem from Mark Friedman, Director of Labor Law for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Friedman alleges that "There is no reason why workers should have a voice in negotiating health and safety policy" because OSHA doesn't enforce against workers.

Oy

Note to MSHA: Workers’ Deaths are NOT "Mishaps"

(By Confined Space guest blogger and former MSHA official, Celeste Monforton)

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rang in the New Year with the agency’s annual announcement of the year-end tally of work-related deaths at U.S. mining operations.

The acting assistant secretary declared that fatalities in the mining industry fell to an all-time low, yet the MSHA chief’s pronouncement may be premature. A number of the deaths that occurred at mine sites are still being investigated. Whether or not we accept MSHA’s fatality count is a legitimate question, and should be explored. But for today, simply consider the belittling language used by MSHA’s chief to characterize the mining fatalities. MSHA’s news release indicates

"…16 miners died in underground mining mishaps."

Mishaps?? Mishaps?? The American Heritage Dictionary defines a “mishap” as bad luck or misfortune. I doubt the family of 39 year-old Raymond Grof would call his dreadful death at the Barrick Goldstrike mine a mishap. Mr. Grof died in a Nevada underground gold mine on August 24, 2004 when a rolling haulage vehicle pinned him against a concrete wall. MSHA’s inspectors identified a number of hazards that contributed to Mr. Grof’s death, including parking brakes that were not maintained, and broken brake indictor lights and switches. It is revolting for MSHA’s chief to dismiss an employer’s negligence and suggest that a worker’s death is simple misfortune.

Elsewhere in MSHA’s news release, the agency reports:

"Roof fall accidents in underground mines, a long-time safety nemesis for coal miners, killed three miners last year…"

Nemesis?? Nemesis?? Now, we personify roof falls? Bad roof…baaad for collapsing on that miner. Hello!! Roof falls are preventable! Someone should remind MSHA’s chief of the June 17, 2004 roof fall that killed 26-year old Eric Chaney at the Dags Branch coal mine in Pike County, Kentucky. MSHA’s accident investigators found a number of violations of safety standards, including the employer’s failure to install a warning device or barrier in the area beyond the permanent roof supports. Blaming the roof will not save miners’ lives.

As the Kentucky mine safety agency notes: All accidents are preventable; we simply fail to prevent them.

Weekly Toll

One Killed In Workplace Shooting

Mountain Lake, Minn. - A 57-year-old rural Odin man was fatally shot Friday by a co-worker at a business near Mountain Lake, authorities said. The 30-year-old suspect, also of rural Odin, allegedly entered Fast Distributing Inc. about 7:30 a.m. Friday and shot co-worker Howard O. Hockel with a shotgun, according to a statement from Cottonwood County Sheriff Robert Haken. "People who were working there heard two shotgun blasts," Haken said. Hockel died at the scene, Haken said. State Department of Public Safety spokesman Kevin Smith said no one else was wounded. Authorities were not considering the shooting a workplace crime because the two men had previous contacts with each other, Haken said. Authorities say this was not a random incident and that the two men had argued previously.

Peru construction worker found dead

Kokomo, IN - A Peru Utilities employee discovered the body of a Plymouth man Wednesday in the pumping station at Canal and Cass streets. The body of James E. Collins, 58, was found around 7:08 p.m., pinned between a scissor lift and an I-beam on the ceiling, according to Peru Police officials. It appears Collins was working on the I-beam when his head got stuck between the scissor lift and the I-beam, according 911 central dispatch reports.


Avis employee killed in company van crash in Revere

Boston, MA- A van full of Avis car rental employees careened off Route 1A in Revere, flipped and slammed into a utility pole, killing the driver and injuring six passengers, police said. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the Ford van - an Avis rental vehicle - to lose control and crash on the north side of the highway just before Bell Circle about 9:30 a.m., Sgt. Peter Papasodora said. Suffolk District Attorney's Office spokesman David Procopio identified the driver as Ronald Martin, 39, of Mattapan. Police would not release the identities of the passengers. One was hospitalized with serious injuries, the other five suffered minor injuries.


Restaurant manager killed during robbery

Dallas- South Dallas resident, father of two in 'wrong place at the wrong time'. Jose Aquileo Pérez regularly swung by the Old East Dallas location of Taquería Pedritos to do after-hours paperwork. About 1 a.m. Monday, the 41-year-old father of two, who managed the Oak Cliff location of the popular Mexican eatery, found himself caught in the middle of a violent robbery that ended with his death. A 46-year-old employee who was shot after he and Mr. Pérez were cornered in a small upstairs office and storage area remained in critical condition at Baylor University Medical Center, authorities said.


Construction worker dies when his ladder hit wires

STICKNEY, Ill.- A construction worker died over the weekend after his ladder hit electrical wires.A Cook County sheriff's spokeswoman says 23-year-old Roman Pezdek and two other men were working Saturday on a home near Stickney. When Pezdek tried to take down a ladder, it struck the high-tension wires. He was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. An autopsy yesterday confirmed that he died of electrocution and his death was ruled an accident.


Gas Station Worker Shot Dead

NEW ORLEANS -- A 56-year-old gas station employee was shot and killed late Sunday. New Orleans police found the man with an apparent gunshot wound to the head after responding to a "shots fired" call from the Chevron gas station at 10422 Chef Menteur Highway. Emergency workers pronounced him dead at the scene. Investigators said three unknown black men entered the store and demanded money at about 8:45 p.m. One of the men produced a handgun and shot the victim once in the head. The robbers took an undetermined amount of cash and fled the scene on foot. The victim's name has not been released. Police are trying to notify relatives about the incident.


Texas truck driver dies after he's hit by falling poly pipe

Gillette WY- A Texas man died Monday morning when he was hit in the head by falling pipes at a work site west of Gillette, according to the Campbell County Sheriff's Office. Ronnie Keith Green, 38, suffered massive trauma to his skull when a set of polyethylene pipes fell while they were being unloaded from a tractor-trailer near Kingsbury Road, sheriff's Investigator Steve Bagwell said. As a forklift was being used to unload the pipes, the forks went too far into the stack and pushed a set on the trailer's other side, Bagwell said. The other set fell and hit Green, who died at the scene.


Manager dies at U.S. Steel

Valparaiso, IN- A 36-year-old supervisor was killed by gas Tuesday at U.S. Steel’s Gary Works blast furnace plant, the fourth man to die in a local steel mill this year. Karl D. Richards, 36, of Valparaiso, was a manager in the plant’s No. 13 blast furnace, its largest. U.S. Steel officials said he was found unconscious in the morning and was transported to the Methodist Hospitals in Gary.


Tree falls across forest road, kills crewman

LAKE ARROWHEAD CA- An Alpha Tree Service employee working near Lake Arrowhead died Tuesday when a tree fell on the truck he was driving. The accident occurred shortly before 9:30 a.m. as Greg Russ, 32, was driving a hopper truck south on Highway 173, according to San Bernardino County Fire Engineer Alan Mackay. The large trucks have removable bins on the back and are used to haul away trees.


'We lost one of our bravest’

LEAGUE CITY TX— League City resident Nito Guajardo had been with the Baytown Fire Department for less than a year when he was killed battling a house fire Monday. He was 24. Four other firefighters and two Emergency Medical Services workers were injured in the blaze in the Country Club Oaks subdivision. All six had been treated and released by Tuesday.


Jeweler fatally shot in store

Long Island,NY- A man walked into a jewelry store in upscale Glen Head yesterday afternoon, engaged an employee in lengthy conversation about merchandise and then shot him several times during an apparent robbery, Nassau police said. Police said the employee, identified by neighbors of the J & J Jewelers as Tom Renison, the son-in-law of the store owners, died about a half hour after the 4:30 p.m. shooting.


Man charged in gas station slayings

St. Paul,MN- A 22-year-old man — at large and believed armed and dangerous — was charged Tuesday with murder and attempted murder in a double shooting at a North Minneapolis gas station this past weekend. Three witnesses identified Robert Leroy Banker Jr. as the lone gunman in the shootings at 4501 Lyndale Ave. N., according to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court. Investigators said a surveillance camera recorded Banker entering the store about 1 p.m. Saturday, glancing at two employees before going into a bathroom. Moments later, he exited the bathroom, walked to the counter and fired a handgun at the employees "without comment or provocation" then ran away, the complaint said. Employee James Keultjes was shot in the head and later died. Saleh Al Bubbeiry was shot twice and remains hospitalized at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.


Industrial Accident Claims Life

Dinwiddie, VA -- One person died and another had to be flown for medical treatment after an industrial accident yesterday at TXI Chaparral Steel, police said. No details of the fatal incident were released by authorities yesterday. A person answering the phone at Chaparral's steel recycling plant said "there is no comment" from the company. First responders from around Dinwiddie County rushed to the scene after an emergency call at 5:46 p.m. about the accident. Units from Namozine, Carson and Ford all responded, along with a ladder truck from Petersburg, authorities said. The Chaparral Steel plant is a $400 million facility that produces more than one million tons of steel product per year through recycling. The plant mainly produces structural beams for general construction and manufactured housing.


Town Used to Deaths at Sea Fears There Will Be MoreNew Bedford Awaits Word on Crewman

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- Even by the hard-bitten standard of the livelihood they chose, it was a cruel time and place to be lost at sea, tossed in the heaving, frigid swells, a few days before Christmas. A local scallop boat, the Northern Edge, capsized Monday afternoon about 45 miles southeast of Nantucket, and five crewmen were missing. The news spread like a fog across this port town, which has not lost so many fishermen in a single instance in more than a decade. By Tuesday evening, a Coast Guard jet and helicopter and two cutters had covered about 1,500 square miles in the region where the ship disappeared. An empty life vest and a floatation ring were all that was spotted. A sixth crewman, Pedro Furtado, was pulled from a life raft by the fishermen aboard another New Bedford boat, the Diane Marie, soon after the 76-foot Northern
Edge sent out a distress signal at 4:44 p.m. Monday.


In the Line of Duty: Kenneth Leonard

CLEVELAND, December 16 -- Brother Kenneth Leonard of BLET Division 5 (Los Angeles, Calif.) was killed in a head-on collision between two Union Pacific freight trains on December 10. Brother Leonard joined the BLE on November 1, 1992. Brother Leonard, 44, engineer of the eastbound train, was taken from the accident scene to a hospital where he died. It wasn't immediately known what his injuries were. Four other crew members were taken for medical treatment as a precaution for what were considered minor injuries. Five locomotives and seven rail cars were derailed. One train hauling 87 freight cars was en route from Los Angeles to Dallas, the other, with 35 cars, was heading west from Chicago to Los Angeles.


Man who died at grain elevator is identified

Kansas City - Authorities today identified the man who died when he fell down the elevator shaft of a Northland grain company as Bradley Droge. Droge, 42, a Kansas City, Kan. resident, died Wednesday afternoon at a Bartlett Grain Co. facility at 5801 N.E. Birmingham Road in Kansas City, North.


Worker dies in fall from scaffold

Jersey City,NJ- Worker's fatal plunge classified as accident. A tragic incident Wednesday in which a Highland Park man fell 40 feet to his death in a Jersey City warehouse has been classified as an industrial accident, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday. T he dead man, 58-year-old Amado Lopez, worked as a forklift operator at the East Coast Warehouse and Distribution Center on Port Jersey Boulevard, said DeFazio. Lopez died after he fell onto the warehouse's concrete floor around 4 p.m., having lost his balance from atop a stack of pallets filled with cases of beer, DeFazio said.


One of three charged in Mason County worker's death admits guilt

LUDINGTON, Mich. One of three men accused of killing a migrant worker in Mason County has admitted to his role in the crime. The sheriff's department says 29-year-old Luis Fernando Ruiz-Meja was killed during a robbery attempt at a migrant housing unit near Ludington in late September. Authorities say Donald Case Junior pleaded guilty yesterday.


Fall kills demolition worker

Denver,CO- Man plunges down elevator shaft at ex-postal building A demolition worker died after falling four stories down an empty elevator shaft at the former U.S. Postal Service terminal annex in Lower Downtown Denver. Labor Department officials are investigating the Tuesday accident that killed the worker, identified by the Denver coroner's office as Kerry Sharp, 43, of Denver. Phone calls to Sharp's home were not returned.


Debris kills construction worker on job

LENOIR CITY TN - A construction worker was killed Wednesday in Loudon County when he was pinned under a piece of debris that fell from a house he was working on, authorities said. Adam Southern, 33, of Maryville, was backfilling the foundation of a new house on Nichols Road when a safety bar on his tractor got caught on a concrete truss overhead, according to Loudon County Sheriff's Office Deputy Dewayne Drinnen.


Officer dies 10 months after crash

PHOENIX AZ- A 60-year-old Phoenix police officer died Wednesday night as the result of injuries he suffered 10 months ago in a deadly car crash. Officer Darrol Yoos died of a heart attack, but doctors told authorities that his extensive injuries and months of hospitalization from the accident weakened his heart. "It just finally took its toll on him," said Sgt. Lauri Williams, a spokeswoman for the Phoenix Police Department.


A trench collapse two days before Christmas claimed the life of a young construction worker laboring on the Yost Road widening project.

PEARLAND TX— Arturo Fierro, 21, became trapped last Thursday after a water main burst in the 10-foot deep trench where he was working in with two other men, according to Rick Fernandez, public information officer with the Pearland Police Department,The other two escaped, Fernandez said, but they were unable to rescue Fierro, who was quickly submerged by the water gushing into the trench and possibly pinned down by the weight of the dirt falling from the unshored walls of the trench. Rescuers at the scene spent more than five hours working in the cold water and mud to retrieve Fierro's body. As one worker used a backhoe to scoop out the ever-rising waters from the hole in an attempt to reach him, others assembled plywood shoring and lowered it into the hole in an attempt to contain the dissolving dirt walls.As hours ticked by, the rescue attempt turned into a recovery effort, leaving workers staring blankly into the trench where Fierro's body lay submerged.


Trucking worker is shot to death

WOODBRIDGE NJ - A Bridgewater man was shot to death inside his office at an Avenel trucking company yesterday, authorities said. A customer at Brandywine Trucking, located at 1130 Route 1 in Avenel, called police at 1:03 p.m. and said someone needed help. Police arrived at the scene and found Jerome O'Brien had been shot in the chest. He was pronounced dead at 1:17 p.m., said Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Kapsak.


Tow truck driver shot in Klamath Falls

Klamath Falls, OR- A man sought for a double homicide in Washington and the murder of a Chemult two truck driver fatally shot himself early Monday, the Klamath County district attorney's office said. The tow truck driver was identified as Marvin Erickson, 67, who had been shot several times. State Police said an Oregon Department of Transportation worker found a car stuck in a snowstorm, noted the license number and called a tow truck. They said the driver of the car, Brian Pennington, 44, of Lacey, Wash., then reportedly shot the tow truck driver. Lacey then drove to the parking lot of a restaurant where state police and Klamath County sheriff's deputies were assembling after learning that Pennington was wanted for homicides in Olympia, Wash. Lacey drove behind the restaurant and shot himself in the chest, authorities said.


Guard Is Burned to Death in Elevator, and Two Boys Are Charged

New York- On Christmas night at the Ocean Village apartments in the Rockaways, teenagers were setting fire to the holiday decorations in the hallways. This was not remarkable in itself, residents said - hallway fires were routine, and teenagers had been burning wreaths and bows off apartment doors all week. But on Saturday night, a security guard named Raymond James tried to do something about the fires. He pulled a smoldering cart of garbage into an elevator on the fifth floor of the apartment building, at 146 Beach 59th Street in Arverne, to get it out of the hallway. After the door shut, the cart burst into flames. By the time the elevator door opened in the lobby, belching clouds of black smoke, Mr. James, 32 years old and a father of four, had burned to death.


Truck driver killed in interstate crash

MUNCIE IN- A Louisville truck driver was killed early Monday when his truck sideswiped another and then crashed along Interstate 69 in western Delaware County. Gary R. Thomason, 53, sideswiped a semitractor-trailer that had pulled to the side of the road for repairs. Before leaving the highway and crashing head-on into a tree, Thomason's truck came so close to the broken-down semi that it tore off a set of steps below the driver's side door, narrowly missing a repair man from a truckstop at the nearby Ind. 28 exit


Farmer killed by his own bull

TOWN OF FOUNTAIN PRAIRIE, WIS- A rural Fall River man is dead after being attacked by his own bull on his property late Sunday or early Monday. The Columbia County Sheriff's Department found Jeffrey T. Peeper, 48, in a field north of Fall River near McDonald Road shortly before 4 a.m., Columbia County Coroner Marc Playman said. Assistant Columbia County Coroner Lou Brady pronounced Peeper dead at the scene. Family members originally found Peeper in the field. They had gone out looking for him because he didn't return to the residence late that evening after farm chores, they said.


BANGOR CITY EMPLOYEE KILLED

Bangor,ME- Bangor Police say Ron Raymond, 53, died in an apparent workplace accident in Norumbega Park in Bangor Monday. Raymond lived in Glenburn, and was a long-time employee of the city. Raymond was called to fix a small bucker loader which had broken down. Somehow, he was crushed underneath the machine. "Due to the size of these vehicles, they typically are worked on where they've broken down, if at all possible. Currently the Bangor Police Department and Department of Labor are investigating this incident," says Paul Kenison with the Bangor Police Department.


Feds Investigating Accidental Death at Rice Mill

STUTTGART, AR - Federal safety investigators are looking into the accidental death of a worker who fell at a rice mill in Stuttgart. Clifton Darnell Guydon, 42, of Stuttgart, died at the Producers Rice Mill on December 18. He fell 26 feet from a roof to be refurbished by McCollum Roofing of Stuttgart.


Truck driver dies in Interstate 91 crash

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. (AP) _ A Connecticut truck driver was killed Tuesday morning when his tractor-trailer rig crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 91 and plunged into the Black River. Eduardo Gonzalez, 32, of Wallingford, Conn., was pronounced dead at the scene when the truck's cab was pulled from the water at about 2:30 p.m., seven hours after the crash.


Boom operator dies at workplace

JEFFERSON, ME -- A West Bethel man was killed Tuesday after being ejected from a work truck at a wood lot on South Clary Road. Neil Gilbert, 51, was working as a boom operator on a pulp truck at around 8:30 a.m., when the vehicle slid down a sloped, unpaved road and flipped over, police said.


Oilfield worker killed in fall

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo.-- An investigation continued into the death of an oilfield worker who fell 90 feet from a drilling rig. Phillip Pepper, 43, died Wednesday night after falling from a rig about 70 miles northeast of Rock Springs, according to Sweetwater County Sheriff Dave Gray. Rig worker dies after equipment hits him20-year-old was helping stabilize pipe. An oil rig worker died Monday evening after being struck by equipment, which knocked him from a catwalk and left him dangling from his safety harness about 20 feet from the ground, KRIS 6 News reported. Chaise Joel Richard, 20, of Alice, was helping stabilize casing pipe being threaded into a well hole by other workers when the accident occurred at 6:48 p.m. at a site in Live Oak County, Sheriff Larry Busby said.


Explosion leaves crater, three dead

Blaine, MN- A possible gas leak destroyed a 2,166 square-foot commercial building along Highway 10 in Ramsey, killing three people and leaving one man in critical condition. Firefighters were called to the explosion at Premier Commercial Properties building Tuesday at 9:45 a.m. When they arrived they found motorists and neighboring business members attempting to dig out Robert Lee (Bob) Smith, 60, Coon Rapids. Smith was airlifted at 10 a.m. to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) with second- and third- degree burns. Smith’s condition was upgraded from critical to serious late Wednesday. While firefighters attempted to extinguish flames in the northwest corner of the site from an active gas pipeline, other fire fighters and law enforcement officers formed a bucket brigade to remove debris and search for three victims. The bodies of two employees of Riverview Community Bank were discovered at about 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. Lois Gale Self, 49, of Elk River and Ann Kris Talle, 43, of Anoka, were employees of Riverview Community Bank. Lorraine Melton’s body was found early Tuesday evening.


Pilot error, ice led to plane crash that killed four

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Cessna crashed into a wooded hillside and burst into flames, killing Jochman and three passengers: Laura Jones, 44, of Tampa; Hani Boutros, 27, of Brandon; and John Saunders Jr., 40, of Tampa. John Saunders Sr., 58, of Tampa, the sole survivor, was badly hurt. All of the passengers worked for the Saunders Financial Advisory Group, a Tampa company that advises firms on 401(k) plans and other employee benefits. The group was traveling to Greeneville for a meeting with Forward Air Corp. after a stopover in Columbus, Ohio.


Construction Worker Killed When Trench Collapses

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A construction worker was killed in north Raleigh Friday morning after a trench collapsed and buried him in a mound of dirt, authorities said. It happened shortly before 10 a.m. at 11903 Pawley's Mills Circle, where a house was being built at Wakefield Plantation, near Capital Boulevard. Jose Martinez, 32, worked for BB&K Construction, a subcontractor of Atlanta-based Beazer Homes. Authorities said he was digging a trench for the foundation of the home when he slipped and fell into the hole and it collapsed in on him.


Factory worker dies from explosion at metals plant

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A man who was severely burned in an explosion Tuesday at the Wabash Alloys plant in Dickson has died. John Peek of Humphreys County died at the burn unit at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Authorities say Peek suffered second and third-degree burns over nearly all his body.


Yaffe workers start cleanup after explsion that killed two

Muskogee,OK- Fourteen people who were not employees were injured by the Tuesday blast, and the concussion was felt 45 miles away. Windows were knocked out and some homes in an eight-block radius around the plant were damaged. Yaffe melted aluminum in the furnace that exploded about 8 p.m. Tuesday. Two metal warehouses containing aluminum, copper, brass and other metals, one on each side of the furnace area, were heavily damaged. The bodies of the two workers who died, Joaquin Barbosa Prado, 40, the father of six, and Ernesto Chavez, 24, both of Muskogee, were recovered in the furnace area early Wednesday. Both were burned beyond recognition.


Peoria, Illinois Police Officer Dies in Car Accident

PEORIA, Ill. -- An on-duty Peoria police officer has been killed after a squad car hit a utility pole. Cristy Tindall, 33, died in the crash, which happened Thursday night around 9:30 p.m., said Peoria County Deputy Coroner Johnna Ingersoll. Tindall was a ten-year department veteran.


Attendant at gas station shot dead

NY- A gas station attendant known around a Queens neighborhood as helpful and friendly was shot and killed at work early yesterday, police said. The victim, whose name was not released pending family notification, was found with money in his pocket, and money was left in the cash register of the Emporium gas station at 187-46


Runaway trailer kills driver

TN- A runaway 12-foot trailer hit and killed a truck driver on impact as he stood outside his rig on Distribution Drive near South Mendenhall. The bizarre accident happened at 8:36 a.m. Monday when a trailer from a FedEx bob truck apparently became unhitched as its driver was heading to Pemko Manufacturing Co. at 5535 Distribution Drive. Memphis police Sgt. Vince Higgins said the trailer crushed a driver with Shipper's Transport in Nashville. That driver, whose name hasn't been released, apparently was making his vehicle checks as he waitedto pull in his empty rig for warehouse workers to load.


Man kills retirement home manager, then himself in Palatka

PALATKA, Fla.- A 71-year-old man killed the manager of his retirement home and then himself Monday in an apparent murder-suicide, police said. Police identified the victim as Caroline Rawls, 43, manager of Holly Ridge Senior Apartments. The man's name was being withheld until relatives are notified. Their bodies were found in the building's first floor office by a maintenance worker checking the room after witnesses reported hearing gunshots. Police also found a .410-gauge shotgun at the scene. The man was involved in legal proceedings stemming from a prior battery incident with another resident, and that case had been the subject of a dispute between Rawls and the gunman, said Police Chief Gary Getchell.


Investigation of fatal accident at Boone mine continues

CHARLESTON, W.Va.- State and federal authorities are trying to determine what caused a section of high wall to fall onto an excavator at a Boone County surface mine, killing the machine's operator. The accident occurred at about 2 a.m. Saturday November 21, at Independence Coal's Red Cedar Surface Mine near Clothier. Independence Coal, a subsidiary of Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy, operates the mine as Endurance Mining, according to federal Mine Safety and Health Administration records. Kevin Lee Lupardus, 41, of Mabscott, was operating the excavator when a "large section" of the highwall fell onto the machine's cab, said Terry Farley, an administrator with the state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training.


Fatal shooting of convenience store owner quickly follows rape, car theft, robbery attempt.

TX-A rapid-fire wave of violence devastated a Southeast Side neighborhood early Sunday, robbing residents of a quiet weekend morning - and a beloved convenience store owner. The vicious crimes started with a rape and continued with a car theft and attempted robbery before ending with the fatal shooting of 53-year-old Hasmukh Patel, owner of Mini Food Mart, leaving the neighborhood and police stunned


Two die in crash with school bus

Houston County, TN- Wrecker service employees from Erin killed, children unhurt. Two Houston County men were killed Friday on state Highway 48/13 when the northbound wrecker they were traveling in was struck by a southbound Clarksville-Montgomery County school bus. The four passengers on the bus, all students at Montgomery Central Middle School, were not injured in the crash, according to Elise Shelton, schools spokeswoman. The driver of the bus, Lynette Graham, 31,was taken to Gateway Medical Center with multiple injuries, including a compound leg fracture. "We've got another one here," Emergency Medical Service's Lt. Gary Perry said shaking his head at the scene of the crash, "It looks like we've broken that (highway fatality) record for the year." The deaths of Samuel K. Bobbitt, 52, and Kerry H. Underwood, 45, both of Erin, were the 37th and 38th traffic fatalities on Montgomery County roads this year - numbers that pass the previous annual county record of 36, set in 1981.


African casino workers die in crash of van

TN- A three-vehicle crash Friday morning on South Third Street killed three West African casino workers and hurt nine other people, Memphis police said. Two of the dead were Mamadou Sarr, 57, who worked for the Grand Casino, and Younouss Dia, 36, who worked for the Sheraton, according to Valerie Morris, spokesman for Caesars Entertainment, which owns both casinos. The third person who died wasn't identified by police or Caesars. Those killed were in a van that held 15 passengers, on their way home from work in Tunica. Most of the van's passengers were from Senegal, Morris said.


Police investigate cab driver's death

NORWALK, Conn.- A city taxi driver was shot and killed while working early Saturday morning, police said. The driver was dispatched to pick up a passenger at an Ely Avenue address around 4 a.m., Cablevision 12 News reported. He was later found near that address shot in the chest, and his taxi cab had crashed through a fence. Police said they do not know if he ever picked up the passenger. The man was pronounced dead at Norwalk Hospital. Authorities did not release the driver's identity


Worker killed on job is identified

CA- OCEANSIDE -- A construction worker killed Wednesday when lumber being moved by a crane fell on him at a work site was identified as Nathaniel Shane Ingram, 34, of San Marcos, the Medical Examiner's Office said. Ingram was among several workers building a two-story residential structure on South Pacific Street when lumber slipped from the sling of a crane and fell on him about noon, authorities said. State occupational health and safety investigators were called to the site.


Officials investigate worker's death

BENSON NC -- State labor officials are investigating a workplace accident that killed a man Tuesday, authorities said Wednesday. Sandy McLean, 44, was killed when a tractor-trailer truck pinned him against a loading dock about 6:30 a.m., said Juan Santos, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Labor. McLean worked at Smithfield Packing Company on Gilbert Road in Benson. McLean was pronounced dead at WakeMed, Santos said.


Firefighter dies from injuries

AZ- St. David Volunteer Firefighter Thomas C. Baker, 54, died Friday, Nov. 19, due to complications from a heart attack and stroke he suffered while responding to a fire call two years ago. Baker's wife, Joy, said her husband responded to a structure fire on Feb. 24, 2002, when he had a heart attack and then a major stroke.


Tree Service Worker Killed

A Lakeland tree service worker died on the job Tuesday night after a car ran into him from behind. Stephen Shearon, 21, died instantly and became Polk County's 115th traffic fatality this year. About 6 p.m., the Bozeman Tree Service worker was directing traffic, said Polk County Sheriff Sgt. Tom Dixon, when 72-year-old W.J. Christopher's Chrysler ran into him on State Road 559 and Reflection Boulevard.

Cabdriver shot in east Charlotte

FLORIDA- Crime scene tape surrounded the victim's cab Thursday night. A cab driver was shot and robbed Thursday in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Police believe the gunmen got in when the complex's gates were supposed to be locked. The cab's driver, Navidd, was not working at the time of the incident, but was in his car at the Delta Crossing Apartments in East Charlotte. There was no word on his condition Friday morning, but witnesses said he had been shot in the stomach and was alert and talking when the medic took him to the hospital.


Worker found dead under pile of cottonseed

VALDOSTA, Ga.- A worker at a company that stores cottonseed was found dead Tuesday in a two-story pile of seed, two days after he disappeared. The family of Rene Perez Ramirez, 22, reported him missing to the Valdosta Police Department on Sunday. He was last seen that day in the breakroom of Western Hay Co.. According to reports, one of Ramirez's coworkers stepped forward Tuesday, stating that he was known to take naps in the company's cottonseed bins. Police Lt. Bernard Robinson said the pile kept shifting and sinking as officers tried to reach what they suspected to be the body of Ramirez. A bulldozer was brought in to assist the officers, and a few hours later the victim was found.


POLICE INVESTIGATE DEATH OF GIFT SHOP CLERK

CAVE CITY, KY- State police are investigating the death of a gift shop clerk who was found dead at her workplace in Cave City on Sunday as a homicide. Several tourists from Louisville entered Abner's Gift Shop on Mammoth Cave Road about 10:15 a.m. Sunday and found Veronica Rothwell, 36, of Smiths Grove dead. The cash register was missing, said Trooper Todd Holder, a Kentucky State Police public affairs officer. Police have no suspects and do not think there was a video surveillance system in the store, he said. Holder declined to say how Rothwell died, but said her body was sent to the state medical examiner for an autopsy.


Accident at plant in NLR kills man

William Pearson, a 34-year employee of Koppers Industries, a business that manufactures railroad ties, was somehow injured by railroad cars at the company's Edmonds Street plant.


Man charged in deaths of Forsyth deputy and civilians

WALKERTOWN, N.C.- Police charged a man with murder Friday, hours after a deputy sheriff and two civilians died in a shooting that stemmed from a dispute between former neighbors. Denny Carson Booth, 59, of East Bend was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, Forsyth County Sheriff Bill Schatzman said at a news conference.


Clerk Killed

CA- Authorities today released the name of a 45-year-old clerk fatally shot during a robbery at an Ocean Beach liquor store. arial;">Rich Hemmes was shot at Prime Market Liquor, 4161 Voltaire Street, around 8:10 p.m. Wednesday, San Diego police and county Medical Examiner's officials said. The man who shot Hemmes remained at large today, police said.


Girls find cab driver shot dead

STOCKTON -- Three girls walking to Marshall Middle School on Friday stumbled upon a taxicab driver shot dead behind the wheel of his cab. Chandrika Dip, 52, of Stockton was shot in the head, officials said. The meter was still running when police arrived, said Roger Collins, manager of City Cab & All Airports.


Officer Is Dead After Standoff in Connecticut

EWINGTON, Conn. - An overnight standoff between dozens of law enforcement officials and a gunman who shot a local police officer and then took him hostage ended on Friday when the gunman cut off communication with negotiators and killed himself, the authorities said The standoff began late Thursday when Officer Peter Lavery, a 17-year veteran of the Town of Newington Police Department, responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at 57 Mountain View Drive in this suburb six miles south of Hartford. A woman who had called in the complaint met Officer Lavery and another officer outside the house and told them the suspect, who neighbors say was her boyfriend, was still inside. As the officers descended steps to the basement, the suspect, who was holed up there, shot Officer Lavery with an assault

Is Bush's NLRB Pro-Employee?

Ok, they won, we lost. They don't like the labor movement or even the whole idea of workers organizing and they will do anything they can to weaken weaken unions ant take away workers' rights, including stacking the National Labor Relations Board (and the courts) with anti-labor zealots. We know it. They know it. That's life.

But it's particularly irritating to read NLRB Chairman Robert Battista characterize a stream of recent anti-labor decions as neither "pro-business or pro-union. I'd like to say they're pro-employee."

Oh, really? Pro employee? Do these actions sound "pro-employee" to you? For example,

• Denying nonunion employees the right to have a co-worker present when managers call them in for investigative or disciplinary meetings;
  
  
• Making it more difficult for temporary workers to unionize;
  
  
• Making it more difficult for unions to obtain financial information from companies during contract talks, even when the company claims that it is "in distress" and "fighting to stay alive"
  
• Ruling that graduate students working as teaching assistants do not have the right to unionize at private universities

And looming in the not-too-distant future is a board hearing on

several cases that question the legitimacy of card checks, one of labor's most
successful tactics in adding members recently. In the procedure, companies agree
to grant union recognition after a majority of workers sign cards saying they
want a union. By agreeing to card checks, companies waive the right to hold a
secret ballot to determine whether workers favor organizing.

Can someone explain to me how any of these Board decisions -- which in the words of AFL-CIO General Counsel Jonathan Hiatt "take away worker rights, deny workers protection in organizing and collective bargaining, and give employers more latitude" -- can be interpreted as "pro-employee?"

So come on guys, if you're going to be anti-union anti-worker, at least don't insult our intelligence.

The Secret to Wal-Mart's Success: Corporate Crime

They've got it all figured out:

Al Zack, who until his retirement in 2004 was the United Food and Commercial Workers' vice president for strategic programs, observes that appealing to the poor was "Sam Walton's real genius. He figured out how to make money off of poverty. He located his first stores in poor rural areas and discovered a real market. The only problem with the business model is that it really needs to create more poverty to grow." That problem is cleverly solved by creating more bad jobs worldwide.

In a chilling reversal of Henry Ford's strategy, which was to pay his workers amply so they could buy Ford cars, Wal-Mart's stingy compensation policies -- workers make, on average, just over $8 an hour, and if they want health insurance, they must pay more than a third of the premium -- contribute to an economy in which, increasingly, workers can afford to shop only at Wal-Mart.

To make this model work, Wal-Mart must keep labor costs down. It does this by making corporate crime an integral part of its business strategy. Wal-Mart routinely violates laws protecting workers' organizing rights (workers have even been fired for union activity).

It is a repeat offender on overtime laws; in more than 30 states, workers have brought wage-and-hour class-action suits against the retailer. In some cases, workers say, managers encouraged them to clock out and keep working; in others, managers locked the doors and would not let employees go home at the end of their shifts. And it's often women who suffer most from Wal-Mart's labor practices. Dukes v. Wal-Mart, the largest civil rights class-action suit in history, charges the company with systematically discriminating against women in pay and promotions.

Given the poverty they have in common, it makes sense that Wal-Mart's workers often express a strong feeling of solidarity with the shoppers. Wal-Mart workers tend to be aware that the customers' circumstances are similar to their own and to identify with them. Some complain about rude customers but most seem to genuinely enjoy the shoppers.

Happy New Year

Anyway, hopefully it will be happier than 2004.

I'm not feeling very creative at the moment, so for some creative New Year's humor, check out Mick Arran's TOP TEN NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD MAKE IN ORDER TO PROMOTE A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER PLANET