The NJ Department of Environmental Protection has announced it finalized the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) Rule and Fleet Reporting Requirement. New Jersey became the first state on the east coast, joining California, Oregon and Washington, to establish a Clean Trucks program. Read more here.
More than 40 organizations, including unions, and more than 6,300 individuals have signed a petition urging the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to make its emergency temporary standard permanent for healthcare workplaces. Read more here.
The New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) is a coalition of 70 labor, community, and environmental organizations advocating for safe, secure jobs and a healthy, sustainable environment. WEC seeks an experienced Office Manager to be responsible for the general operation of our office and provide support to the Executive Director and Staff. This position begins ASAP and is part-time, Monday - Thursday/32 hours a week. The deadline to apply is January 20, 2022, and ideally the position will begin on February 1. Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis. No phone calls please. The office is located in Trenton, NJ. RESPONSIBILITIES Job Responsibilities Include: * Assist the Executive Director with routine day-to-day operations * Oversee general office operation * Maintain business equipment, ordering office supplies, answering phones, and processing mail * Track membership dues, staff timesheets and expense reports * Update member database, website, and calendars * Create emails blasts for events, trainings, and meetings * Liaison to the Board of Directors and Sub Committees * Maintain Salsa Labs database * Liaison to the bookkeeper * Event planning, scheduling, and coordination for WEC’s annual fundraiser and other programs * Assist program staff on an as-needed basis with general clerical and [...]
More than 40 unions and other organizations signed a petition, along with more than 6,300 individuals, to urge the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to adopt a permanent standard on Covid-19 in health care workplaces, building on the emergency temporary standard (ETS) OSHA adopted in June and set to expire on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. The petition also encouraged OSHA to work expediently to issue a separate, broader standard to protect all workers from workplace exposure to Covid-19 and other aerosol transmissible diseases. The petition was delivered to OSHA today, announced National Nurses United (NNU). Read more here.
While President Joe Biden has nominated three people to the independent board that investigates chemical accidents, supporters of the Chemical Safety Board said other steps also must be taken so the agency properly can do its job. A letter from 22 unions, environmental groups and other advocacy organizations to Chair Katherine Lemos, the last remaining member of the board, called for more investigators. Read entire article here.
The New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) is a coalition of 70 labor, community, and environmental organizations advocating for safe, secure jobs and a healthy, sustainable environment. WEC seeks an industrial hygiene (IH) consultant to provide technical assistance on an as needed basis to WEC members. The primary function of this position will be to identify and resolve environmental health and safety concerns, and to encourage all affected parties to work together in creating a safe and healthy workplace. Responsibilities: The industrial hygiene consultant will have these responsibilities: • Providing technical assistance with emphasis on organizing. • Presenting workshops on topics such as using health and safety organizing. • Interpreting IH reports into terms for a popular audience. (No IH sampling involved.) • Attending and occasionally speaking at meetings and workshops of unions, community, and environmental organizations. • On occasion, providing training to workers, parents and community stakeholders. • Developing or edit materials including but not limited to fact sheets. Qualifications: • 3+ years of experience in environmental or occupational safety consulting or related field. • Experience with OSHA/EPA Regulations and NJDOL/NJDEP Regulations • Excellent written and verbal communication skills • A valid driver’s license and car access are required • Previous [...]
For immediate release – November 19, 2021 Contact: Heather Sorge, [email protected], (908) 310-7874 Statement from Healthy Schools Now on Gov. Murphy’s Budget Announcement $75 million for schools is a good start; Billions needed to create safe schools for 1.2 million+ NJ students The following statement on today’s announcement from Gov. Phil Murphy about funding for New Jersey Schools is from Heather Sorge, Healthy Schools Now organizer with the New Jersey Work Environment Council (NJWEC). “We’re pleased to see that Governor Murphy has identified $75 million in previously appropriated funds that can be used for badly-needed renovations and improvements in New Jersey’s public school buildings. "This is just a small down payment, however, on the billions needed to create safe learning environments in both School Development Authority (SDA) districts and Regular Operating Districts (RODs). For example, the State estimates the cost to fund the next round of major projects in just the SDA districts is close to $2 billion. "For too long, students, teachers and staff in many SDA buildings have been exposed daily to mold, mildew, asbestos, lead and vermin. Lack of indoor air quality is an issue and there is a pressing need to update HVAC systems to reduce exposure [...]
For our last episode in this eight-part miniseries we invited Dave Ellis, Executive Director, Office of Resilience, NJ Department of Children and Families; Amanda Adams, co-chair of the NJEA ACEs Taskforce; and Liz Warner, President, SEL4NJ to discuss how the pandemic has led to an increase of adverse conditions for children and families. Programs addressing social and emotional learning (SEL) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) help ensure that children and families live in good conditions with the supportive services they need. Liz talked about the social-emotional skills of students and staff to create the foundation for a positive school climate. U.S. public-school teachers surveyed in January and February 2021 reported they are almost twice as likely to experience frequent job-related stress as the general employed and teachers are three times more likely to experience depression symptoms than the general adult population. SEL programs in schools can benefit students and staff. View Liz’s presentation here for more information including resources. Amanda spoke about Actions 4 ACEs, a statewide initiative to build awareness about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the role adults can play in reducing the impact of trauma and helping children heal. Two out of three children, nationally, have had at least one ACE. Dave spoke about the NJ Resilience Coalition [...]
This week we were joined by Womanspace Inc.'s Joshua Duncan and Bri-Anne Gladd. Woven within the core of Womanspace Inc.’s 40 year history is the mission to empower and provide safety to all who face abuse and violence at home and at work. Joshua Duncan, Womanspace Domestic Violence Victim Response Team Coordinator, shared that 20,000 calls are placed a day to domestic violence hotlines. There are resources available to victims including paid leave benefits. He also emphasised how we must educate ourselves about domestic abuse and the recovery process in order to be able to help others. Joshua, along with Bri-Anne Gladd, Womanspace Counselor Advocate, provided the audience with numerous resources to assist victims. "Abuse can come in many forms, outside of the physical”, they explained, and shared a power and control wheel depicting different forms. More than 23 people attended this webinar. Please visit the following links to find further resources available in the fight against abuse and click here for a copy of their presentation. Programs - NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence (njcedv.org) Resources (ncadv.org) Womanspace My Leave Benefits
Press Statement For Immediate Release: November 4, 2021 Contact: Debra Coyle, 609.707.1320; [email protected] New Jersey Work Environment Council Statement on OSHA’s New Vaccine and Testing Standard “Paid Time off for Vaccines is Good, but OSHA Misses the Mark by Passing Costs on to Workers for Testing and Masks” The following statement about the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) released today by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is from Debra Coyle, executive director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council (NJWEC). “Vaccines are safe and effective, and we’re glad to see the new OSHA ETS requires paid time off for vaccines and recovery. We are concerned however, that these proposed rules do not require employers to pay for the costs of testing for unvaccinated workers, or for the cost of masks needed in the workplace. This is not how OSHA standards typically work, because employers are responsible for providing a safe workplace. We think it’s unwise and unfair to put this burden on workers, who have already paid enormous human and financial costs during this pandemic. “Vaccines are just one piece of the puzzle we need to solve the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We still need to put in place the other puzzle pieces so that New Jersey workers are protected on the job. Since the [...]