2014 - Work Environment Council

Time for Gubernatorial Action on Oil Trains

The governor's failure to ensure public oversight required by law has serious consequences. The hazards posed to residents and workers in Bergen County, as well as to other parts of New Jersey, by new ultra-flammable Bakken oil shipments on our railroads have been well-documented by The Record's Scott Fallon. The issue our state now faces is: Who has the responsibility to do something about it? Full Article by Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of Greenfaith & WEC President-Elec and Senator Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg December 26, 2014 - The Record

By WEC Staff|2014-12-26T20:28:00-05:00December 26th, 2014|Opinion Pieces|Comments Off

State Policy on Emergency Response Puts Residents in Harm’s Way, Report Says

The Christie administration is failing to ensure the public has access to up-to-date emergency response plans for nearly a hundred facilities handling extremely hazardous chemicals, according to a labor and environmental organization. See Article Here

By WEC Staff|2014-12-11T01:54:00-05:00December 11th, 2014|WEC in the News|Comments Off

Group Concerned about Crude Oil on Railways Seeks Access to Emergency Plans

Labor and environmental groups on Tuesday called on the Christie administration to ensure that the public can review local emergency management plans, a concern because large quantities of volatile crude oil are being transported on railways through towns in Bergen County and elsewhere in New Jersey. See Article Here

By WEC Staff|2014-12-11T01:53:00-05:00December 11th, 2014|WEC in the News|Comments Off

NJ Environmental Group Says Many Municipalities Won’t Allow Review of Emergency Response Plans

The New Jersey Work Environment Council says 68 percent of counties and towns where the most potentially hazardous chemical and oil facilities are located denied the group's request to review local emergency response plans. See Article Here

By WEC Staff|2014-12-10T01:55:00-05:00December 10th, 2014|WEC in the News|Comments Off

New Research Report Details How Gov. Christie Helps Oil, Chemical, and Railroad Companies Cover Up Potential Catastrophes

Governor Chris Christie has failed to carry out his legal responsibility under federal law for ensuring that the public has access to up-to-date Emergency Response Plans (ERPs). Every New Jersey county and municipality must have an ERP in order to prepare for chemical plant or oil train emergencies. See the Press Release here

By WEC Staff|2014-12-09T18:30:00-05:00December 9th, 2014|Press Releases|Comments Off

Danger in the Dark: How Gov. Christie Helps Oil, Chemical, and Railroad Companies Cover Up Potential Catastrophes
Gallery
Danger in the Dark: How Gov. Christie Helps Oil, Chemical, and Railroad Companies Cover Up Potential Catastrophes

WEC Reports

Danger in the Dark: How Gov. Christie Helps Oil, Chemical, and Railroad Companies Cover Up Potential Catastrophes

This report documents how the Christie administration has failed to meet his legal responsibility under federal law and used security concerns as an excuse to refuse public access to information that would allow the community to plan and prepare for a chemical disaster from a fixed facility or hazard by rail. This report was developed by a New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) team, which included staff members Debra Coyle McFadden and Rick Engler, consultants Matt Witt, Paul Orum, and David Dembo, our General Counsel David Tykulsker, and College of New Jersey interns Philip Simonelli and Joe Sgroi. Cover design by Judith Rew. Read Full Report

By WEC Staff|2016-12-20T14:52:57-05:00December 9th, 2014|WEC Reports|Comments Off

Many Communities in Chemical Risk Zones Are Unaware of the Dangers

"There are hundreds of facilities in New Jersey that use hazardous substances that can affect workers and the community," said Rick Engler, director of the New Jersey Work Environmental Council. See Article / Video Here

By WEC Staff|2014-11-27T01:56:00-05:00November 27th, 2014|WEC in the News|Comments Off

STOP TPP/FAST TRACK ATTACK on JOBS and ENVIRONMENT

Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and tell your U.S. Senators and member of the U.S. House of Representatives to oppose fast track authority and the TPP. Did Republicans or Democrats running for Congress in the recent elections say, "Vote for me and I'll support global trade agreements that undermine jobs, wage levels, and environmental standards at home and abroad?" Of course not. They knew they would be voted out if they ran on that platform. Yet, Republican leaders and President Obama are saying after the election that they want to join together to pass a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with 11 other countries, along with so-called "fast track" authority that would let them ram it through. TPP would be a massive agreement sought by Wall Street, the drug and chemical industries, and other huge corporations. It has two basic purposes: To make it easier to move millions of jobs overseas and exploit workers in other countries at starvation wage levels. To make it easier to challenge and invalidate federal, state, and local environmental and worker safeguards or other public policies that could reduce future corporate profits. So far the countries negotiating TPP include not only the U.S. but also [...]

By WEC Staff|2014-11-25T04:45:00-05:00November 25th, 2014|Act Now|Comments Off

State Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Whistleblower Protections

For years, New Jersey was considered to have some of the strongest whistleblower protections in the nation, shielding employees from retaliation from their employers when they tried to report corporate wrongdoing. Those safeguards could unravel in a series of court cases to be taken up by the state Supreme Court this fall, according to more than two-dozen environmental, labor, and consumer organizations, which have joined the litigation. See Article Here

By WEC Staff|2014-06-12T01:14:00-04:00June 12th, 2014|WEC in the News|Comments Off

27 Organizations Ask N.J. Supreme Court to Uphold State’s Whistleblower Law

The N.J. Supreme Court has been asked by 27 environmental, labor, and community organizations representing more than half a million New Jerseyans to uphold the state's whistleblower law that protects employees from employer retaliation when they report violations of the law. In a friend of the court brief the groups cite multiple cases in which employees have been protected by the courts under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). This makes it more likely that employees will report without fear of retaliation violations affecting public safety and health, the environment, and financial security of individual households and businesses. See the Press Release here

By WEC Staff|2014-06-10T17:31:00-04:00June 10th, 2014|Press Releases|Comments Off

Yearly Archives: 2014