{"id":2341,"date":"2018-04-27T14:40:24","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T13:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=2341"},"modified":"2018-04-27T14:40:24","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T13:40:24","slug":"usa-for-28-april-national-cosh-announces-dirty-dozen-employers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=2341","title":{"rendered":"USA: For 28 April National COSH Announces \u201cDirty Dozen\u201d Employers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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National COSH<\/a> Announces \u201cDirty Dozen\u201d Employers Who Put Workers\u00a0<\/strong>and Communities at Risk with Unsafe Practices
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\"\"<\/a>The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) announced today\u201cThe Dirty Dozen\u201d<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0employers of 2018, highlighting companies that put workers and communities at risk due to unsafe practices.\u00a0The Dirty Dozen 2018<\/strong>\u00a0report is released in observance of Workers\u2019 Memorial Week, honoring workers who lost their lives on the job, as well as those who have suffered workplace injuries and illnesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking to see workers lose their lives when we know these tragedies could have been prevented,\u201d said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of National COSH. \u201cTime and again, employers are warned about unsafe conditions. When companies fail to correct safety hazards, it is workers who pay the ultimate price.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cDirty Dozen<\/strong>\u201d for 2018 are:<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Seattle, Washington:\u00a0Seven workers killed at Amazon<\/strong>\u00a0warehouses since 2013 \u2013 including three workers within five weeks at three separate locations in 2017.<\/p>\n

Case Farms<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Troutman, North Carolina:\u00a074 OSHA violations per 1,000 employees<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 more than four times higher than any other poultry firm.<\/p>\n

Dine Brands Global, Inc. (IHOP and Applebee\u2019s)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Glendale, California:\u00a0Demands for sex, groping, threats of violence against workers<\/strong>. More than 60 complaints about sexual and harassment and abuse.<\/p>\n

JK Excavating<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Mason, Ohio: 25-year-old Zachary Hess, buried alive in December 2017. The company was previously cited three times by OSHA for failure to protect workers from trench collapse.<\/p>\n

Lowe\u2019s Home Improvement<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Mooresville, North Carolina: 56 U.S. deaths are linked to exposure to paint strippers containing methylene chloride, including 17 workers who died while refinishing bathtubs. The retail giant still sells products with this deadly substance, despite appeals from workers, consumers and families.<\/p>\n

Lynnway Auto Auction<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Billerica, Massachusetts:\u00a0Five dead in preventable auto crash<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 including a 37-year-old mom working her first day on the job. Lynnway was cited by OSHA and warned of vehicle safety hazards in 2014.<\/p>\n

New York and Atlantic Railway<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 New York, New York:\u00a0Workers suffer amputation, brain injury and impaired vision<\/strong>. Immigrants workers face racial slurs and other discrimination, and do not have proper safety training or equipment.<\/p>\n

Patterson UTI Energy<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Houston, Texas:\u00a0Five workers dead in an explosion<\/strong>\u00a0in Quinton, Oklahoma. 110 OSHA violations and 13 workers dead in the past decade.<\/p>\n

Sarbanand Farms<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Sumas, Washington:\u00a0Farm worker dies after complaining of headaches<\/strong>. 70 co-workers go on strike to protest unsafe conditions and are immediately fired, then evicted from company housing.<\/p>\n

Tesla Motors<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Fremont, California: Recordable injuries are 31% higher than industry average; serious injuries are 83% higher. Company claims recent improvement in injury rates, but CAL\/OSHA now investigating reports that the company failed to report serious injuries.<\/p>\n

Verla International<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 New Windsor, New York:\u00a0Explosion kills a worker at cosmetics plant<\/strong>. Company previously cited for poor handling of chemicals that led to deadly blaze; safety consultant says disaster was \u201ceasily preventable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waste Management<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Houston, Texas:\u00a023-year-old worker killed at a recycling facility<\/strong>. Company failed to lockout\/tagout machinery during repairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother didn\u2019t need to die, and we don\u2019t want to see this kind of tragedy happen to other families,\u201d said Brian Wynne. Brian\u2019s brother Drew, who owned a coffee roasting business, died from exposure to methylene chloride that was contained in a Goof Off paint stripping product he purchased at Lowe\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The Wynne family has joined a campaign to convince the giant retailer to stop selling products containing methylene chloride, which is linked to more than 50 deaths and can be toxic in very small doses. \u201cWe\u2019ve been meeting with members of Congress, senators and anyone who will listen,\u201d said Brian Wynne. \u201cWe will leave no stone unturned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWorkers at Tesla have been speaking up about health and safety concerns for over a year,\u201d said Jonathan Galescu, a worker at the company\u2019s Fremont, California assembly plant. \u201cWe\u2019re making clean cars \u2013 we shouldn\u2019t have to put up with dirty jobs. Too many workers are getting hurt and management seems to be trying to sweep the problem under the rug.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reports in May and December 2017 from Worksafe, a National COSH affiliate based in Oakland, documented recordable and serious injury rates at Tesla much higher than average for the automotive industry.\u00a0 Based on\u00a0recent reports from RevealNews.org<\/a><\/strong>, CAL\/OSHA is investigating whether Tesla is failing to record serious injuries that occur inside its manufacturing plant.<\/p>\n

Data presented in the National COSH \u201cDirty Dozen\u201d report show that workplace deaths in the U.S. are on the rise. According to the latest information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 5,190 deaths from workplace trauma in 2016, an increase of seven percent from 2015 and a 12 percent increase since 2012.<\/p>\n

The budget for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has declined by 12 percent since 2012 and the agency has 132 fewer employees.<\/p>\n

OSHA and other safety agencies, including the National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), were targeted for further budget cuts in FY 2018, along with the elimination of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and Susan Harwood Training grants. Harwood grants assist unions, COSH groups, employer associations and other non-profits in providing training to vulnerable workers.<\/p>\n

Worker and their unions, COSH groups, worker centers and safety advocates carried out a sustained outreach effort to members of Congress and convinced a bipartisan majority to avoid dangerous cutbacks in programs that protect workers and families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more resources for research, training and enforcement, not less,\u201d said Goldstein-Gelb. \u201cOtherwise, employers like the Dirty Dozen get the message that it\u2019s okay to cut corners on workplace safety. It\u2019s not okay\u2013 ever \u2013 when a worker doesn\u2019t come home to his or her family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cDirty Dozen 2018\u201d report is available on the National COSH website\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0Workers\u2019 Memorial Week infographics are available in English and Spanish\u00a0here<\/a>.
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Workers\u2019 Memorial Week is a global event to honor workers who lost their lives on the job and their families, as well as recognize those who suffer from occupational injuries and illnesses. In the United States, dozens of activities in 35 states will remember fallen workers.\u00a0A listing of events is available on the National COSH website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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