Posts tagged OSHA
Amazon’s new robot can recognize objects!
November 16, 2022 // The company says it can run operations more efficiently and safely by using robots in its warehouses. Amazon, “Sparrow “By taking on repetitive tasks, it will allow our employees to focus their time and energy on other things, while also increasing safety.” sparrow, It will help us increase efficiency by automating a critical part of our order fulfillment process so we can continue to deliver fast to our customers.” He added that he was able to create more than 700 new job categories using robots.
READOUT: At US Department of Labor, Workers’ Voice Summit stresses collaboration in addressing workers’ rights concerns
October 6, 2022 // Event focused on workforce equity, expanding accessibility for underserved workers U.S. Department of Labor officials gathered with workers, union representatives and labor organizers from a range of industries to discuss the value of building relationships and collaborating on ideas to address workers’ concerns at its Workers’ Voice Summit, Sept. 27-29, 2022. Hosted by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the three-day summit focused on trends affecting workers and the need to foster open dialogue to identify workplace problems and find solutions. Participants also discussed the benefits of advancing equity and making the department more accessible to underserved workers and their advocates. Officials from the department’s Wage and Hour Division, Office of the Solicitor, Women’s Bureau, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, and Office of Public Engagement also joined the event.
Biden’s Recordkeeping Rule is Another Flawed Obama-era Rerun
June 30, 2022 // “The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) should abandon this proposed rule because it completely ignores worker privacy concerns and adds burdensome new requirements with little value in keeping workers safe. With this proposed rule, the administration seemingly intends to reward its Big Labor allies and to continue its crusade against job creators and their employees without improving workplace safety.” “Among the egregious provisions this proposed rule revives from the 2016 rule is the requirement that certain establishments submit detailed injury and illness data that contain confidential and personally identifiable worker information. These forms contain sensitive employee information such as employee names, date of hire, job titles, gender, descriptions of injuries and body parts affected, employee’s home address, date of birth, and treatment for each recorded injury. This is sensitive employee information which the government is obligated to protect.”
Congress thwarted Biden on unions. Or did it?
June 24, 2022 // “One of the biggest problems with this DOL is its obvious union favoritism,” the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said at a hearing this month. “This department has bowed low enough before union bosses to taste dirt. How many times has the Biden administration’s DOL kowtowed before union bosses instead of standing up for workers?” From installing former union official Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, to outfitting the National Labor Relations Board with union alums, to issuing a spate of union-friendly executive orders, the White House has taken significant steps toward expanding union membership despite the challenges presented by a narrowly divided Congress. Steve Rosenthal, Rep. Donald Norcross, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Doug Parker, Alice Stock, Lauren McFerran, Bobby Scott, Nick Niedzwiadek
NLRB stretches its wings under Biden’s appointees
May 10, 2022 // What Biden may ultimately hang his hat on are his appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, where, in addition to swinging the board back to a Democratic-appointed majority, Biden booted GOP General Counsel Peter Robb and put in Jennifer Abruzzo.
Sanders pressures Biden on Amazon unions: ‘The time for talk is over’
April 27, 2022 // The Vermont senator sent Biden a Tuesday letter, obtained by POLITICO, asking the president to cut off federal contracts to Amazon until the massive company stops what he calls its “illegal anti-union activity.” As the Senate Budget Committee chair, Sanders will also hold a hearing next week dedicated to calculating how many federal contracts go to companies that are fighting back against unionization efforts, with a focus on Amazon.
The Teamsters Have A New Training Center To Teach Members To Grow Weed, But The Timing May Be Bad
April 26, 2022 // A training center opens just as there is a glut in the marijuana market.
‘They Should Be Ashamed’: Understaffing at NYC’s Beloved Museum of Natural History Pushes Workers to Unionize
March 28, 2022 // The union campaign arrives during a wave of organizing at museums and other cultural institutions across New York City and the United States, such as the Guggenheim and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Democrats’ Proposed Labor Funding Increases Fall Nearly Flat
March 11, 2022 // Federal Funding Legislation. fiscal year 2022, Backgrounder: The final package, after bipartisan and bicameral negotiations, includes just moderate funding increases for these programs or, as in the case of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), no increase at all.
Labor Agencies Face Biden Enforcement Push Without Extra Funding
January 18, 2022 // The collapse of talks on Democrats’ tax and social spending legislation has put labor-focused agencies in a difficult position—they face increased enforcement demands under the Biden agenda but can’t bank on an infusion of extra cash to support those efforts.