A circuit court denied on Thursday, June 11, a petition filed by labor unions that would have forced the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an emergency safety rule to address COVID-19.
Reactions to the final silica rule issued last week by OSHA have been sharply – and predictably – divided. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said that millions of workers “can literally breathe easier knowing that they will not have to sacrifice their lungs and their lives by working in deadly silica dust. The new OSHA silica rules—nearly 20 years in the making—will save hundreds of workers’ lives a year.”
In the U.S., employed Americans who report being members of labor unions are significantly less likely than nonunion employees to say they are “completely satisfied” with six of 13 job aspects, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
On January 2,Charlene Obernauer stepped into retiring executive director Joel Shufro's size large shoes at the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health. Obernauer spent the past four years running another coalition-based labor advocacy group, Long Island Jobs with Justice.
