WEC Staff, Author at Work Environment Council

2017 WEC Awards Dinner

The New Jersey Work Environment Council holds its major fundraiser, an awards dinner, each year. We look forward to being joined by labor, environmental, community leaders and public officials, representing many thousands of New Jersey workers and residents. The event will be held on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, in the Education Building, Room 212. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, and a buffet dinner, with ample time provided to network and mingle with friends. WEC relies on the generosity of our members to help fund our mission: working for safe, secure jobs and a healthy, sustainable environment. download the invitation and order form. Buy tickets 2017 HONOREES Valorie Caffee worked as WEC’s director of organizing for 13 years; she launched WEC’s Environmental Justice program, helping raise awareness about and support for this critical issue by making presentations at community and union meetings, meetings of other environmental organizations, faith-based organizations, conferences, schools, and workshops around the state and in other states as well. This work led to Valorie being appointed as chair of the Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, a position she held from 2002 to 2016, and her [...]

By WEC Staff|2017-10-23T13:57:25-04:00September 22nd, 2017|Events, Highlights|Comments Off

2017 Honorees

WEC is pleased and honored to recognize eight outstanding leaders at our 2017 Awards Dinner. Valorie Caffee, Executive Committee, NJ Environmental Justice Alliance Valorie Caffee worked as WEC’s director of organizing for 13 years, ending her service with the organization in 2009. While employed by WEC, she launched WEC’s Environmental Justice program. Along with WEC colleague Theodore Carrington, she helped raise awareness about and support for this critical issue by making presentations at community and union meetings, meetings of other environmental organizations, faith-based organizations, conferences schools, and workshops around the state and in other states as well. This work led to Valorie being appointed as chair of the Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, a position she held from 2002 to 2016, and her co-founding of the NJ Environmental Justice Alliance, NJEJA. She was also appointed as co-chair of Gov-elect Corzine’s Environmental Policy Transition Team. During her tenure with WEC, significant strides were made for environmental justice, including the issuance of New Jersey’s first environmental justice executive order, passage of legislation to reduce the emission of diesel exhaust from school buses and other public buses to decrease the incidence of asthma and other pollution-related ailments; support by WEC for local EJ [...]

By WEC Staff|2017-10-04T12:10:13-04:00September 22nd, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Christie spent big on Statehouse’s ‘shameful’ health, safety conditions. Why not schools?

Christie was decisive in finding $300 million to address emergency conditions at the Statehouse. However, the very conditions the governor decried in the Statehouse exist in public schools across New Jersey. Unfortunately, his approach to addressing similar, or worse, emergency conditions in Schools Development Authority (SDA) public schools has been woefully inadequate. Under Abbott v. Burke V, the state is required to fund all capital projects fully, and improvements in the SDA districts (formerly known as Abbott districts) to make buildings safe, relieve overcrowding, and ensure educational adequacy. By law, SDA districts can not fund facility improvements over $500,000. While it is true the Christie administration has committed significant funds to rebuild schools in Trenton, Camden and other districts, the commitments followed years of inaction and is greatly dwarfed by the need. To not decisively address emergent conditions in SDA districts would be -- as Christie says -- shameful and an embarrassment to the people of the state, impacting the health and safety of the people who study, work, visit and have business in schools. Read the full Opinion-Editorial in The Star Ledger by Jerell Blakeley, campaign organizer for the New Jersey Work Environment Council and John McEntee, President of the [...]

By WEC Staff|2017-09-13T08:57:49-04:00September 13th, 2017|Highlights, Opinion Pieces|Comments Off

HSN at NJ Black Issues Convention Conference!

On Thursday, September 28, from 11:00am - 12:15pm, Jerell Blakeley, campaign organizer for Healthy Schools Now, will chair a panel titled ‘Healthy Schools Now: What You Can Learn From the Battle at Trenton High’ at the NJ Black Issues Convention’s “Still We Rise: Moving NJ’s Black Agenda Forward” conference being at the Masonic Temple in Trenton, New Jersey. The panel will explore the intense struggle to replace the unsafe and unhealthy Trenton Central High School with a new state-of-the-art school facility and provide strategies for other communities interested in replacing dangerous school facilities. Panelists will include former Trenton Board of Education President Dr. Diane Campbell, Trenton Education Association President Naomi Johnson-Lafleur, and New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora. If you are interested in attending, please use this link to register.

By WEC Staff|2017-09-28T08:29:30-04:00September 12th, 2017|Highlights|Comments Off

HSN Student Leadership Academy

The Healthy Schools Now Student Leadership Academy will provide an opportunity for students to receive training in civic engagement and to develop leadership skills. The focus will be to equip students to be advocates for school facility quality, but the lessons will be transferable, so that participants will be better equipped to advocate on social, economic, and environmental justice issues in the future. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for each session. Transportation costs will be reimbursable. Using the subject of healthy and safe school facilities as the general theme, over the course of one year, we will provide eight trainings on topics as diverse as public health, healthy and safety training, effective advocacy, communications and media training. We are looking for students from the pilot districts who are interested in a unique leadership development opportunity. We want to transform students into exceptional leaders empowered to create solutions for healthier communities. Deadline to apply is Friday, September 22! Apply Today! Healthy Schools Now

By WEC Staff|2017-09-08T09:50:27-04:00September 8th, 2017|Highlights|Comments Off

Training Opportunities

WEC offers quality, interactive training using a participatory methodology that encourages problem-solving and critical thinking to address important health and safety issues in the workplace. WEC invites you to participate in two programs in September. Reduce Injury and Illness and Improve Workplace Health Training Program Thursday, September 21 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM (8:00 AM Registration) Registration Fee: FREE Location: Foundation for Educational Advancement 12 Centre Drive Monroe, NJ Register Every employer should have an overall injury and illness prevention program. Prevention programs improve health and safety conditions for both large and small employers, reduce workplace injuries and illnesses, improve compliance with laws and regulations, and reduce workers’ compensation premiums. This interactive workshop will include: An introduction to OSHA and key aspects of an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program. An introduction to the concept of using the proactive Systems of Safety approach to identify and control hazards. Guest speaker from the American Heart Association’s Workplace Health Solutions -- a free, evidenced-based workplace health program that can help improve productivity, morale and positively impact the bottom line.* Violence Prevention Training Program Tuesday, September 26 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM (8:30 AM Registration) Registration [...]

By WEC Staff|2017-09-12T15:55:32-04:00August 29th, 2017|Highlights|Comments Off

State Rejects 95% of Emergent Repairs in SDA School Buildings

After taking nearly a year to review 429 applications for so-called "emergent" (urgently needed) facilities repairs submitted by 23 former Abbott districts, the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) has approved state funding for only 15, or 5%, of the repairs. Education Law Center and the Healthy Schools Now (HSN) coalition of the NJ Work Environment Council are calling on State Education Commissioner Kimberly Harrington to publicly explain why so many of the repair projects were denied. ELC and HSN also note that, even for the 15 projects given the go-ahead, the NJDOE has yet to provide any timeframe for undertaking and completing the repairs. In July 2016, the NJDOE and the Schools Development Authority (SDA) asked the former Abbott districts, now called "SDA districts," to submit requests for emergency health and safety repair projects under an initiative called the "Potential Emergent Projects Program" (PEPP). In response, the districts submitted extensive lists of needed repairs and hazardous conditions for State review. An emergent project is a capital project necessary to address a building condition that causes imminent peril to the health and safety of students and staff, and that must be alleviated on an expedited basis. Under a 1998 NJ Supreme [...]

By WEC Staff|2017-08-21T22:38:32-04:00August 22nd, 2017|Highlights, Press Releases|Comments Off

Lead Testing Results Must Be Public

On July 13, 2016, the New Jersey State Board of Education adopted regulations regarding testing for lead in drinking water for all educational facilities. School districts were mandated to make all test results available at the school facility and on the district's website. The regulations also require notification to the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), as well as to parents, in any instances where positive results over the established recommended exposure limit are reported. The notification should describe the steps taken to immediately end the use of each drinking water outlet where water quality exceeds the permissible lead level, as well as the measures taken to ensure that alternative drinking water has been made available to all students and staff. After conducting a survey of districts, we can say with confidence that compliance has not been universal. Healthy Schools Now (HSN) has created a chart to highlight district compliance with the state mandated lead results website publication, including links to the results for those districts that have posted information online. In August, well after the stated deadline of July 13, 2017, HSN conducted a review of the district websites of the 31 Schools Development Authority (SDA) districts to see if lead [...]

By WEC Staff|2017-08-21T09:20:18-04:00August 21st, 2017|Highlights|Comments Off

Offshore Wind Proponents Voice Support in Atlantic City

In August 2010, Gov. Chris Christie signed the Offshore Wind Development Act and promised a commitment to offshore wind development in New Jersey. Seven years later, proponents of wind energy say the time for stalling is over. “For too many years, mid-August has become a bittersweet anniversary for New Jersey,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “That time is about to end.” On Wednesday, before the backdrop of several large wind turbines that power the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s wastewater treatment facility, the environmental coalition Jersey Renews held a panel conference to discuss advancing offshore wind projects in New Jersey. The panel included voices from across all spectrums — faith leaders, environmental groups, health care and industrial groups — discussing the impacts of climate change, the future of offshore wind development in New Jersey and its economic impact. “The science is clear. Climate change is real. Climate change is happening now, and we need to act now,” said Dan Fatton, executive director of Work Environment Council. Read the full story from Press of Atlantic City. Full Story Sign the Petition Jersey Renews

By WEC Staff|2017-08-17T16:46:09-04:00August 17th, 2017|Highlights, WEC in the News|Comments Off

Time for Turbines

For Immediate Release: August 16, 2017 Contact: Dan Fatton, NJ Work Environment Council, 908-303-4546 Norah Langweiler, NJ Work Environment Council, 609-214-5110 Diverse Leaders Note Potential of Offshore Wind for New Jersey's Energy Future Atlantic City, NJ - More than 60 people gathered at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant in Atlantic City on Wednesday, August 16th to learn about the ways off-shore wind turbines can address climate change, bring jobs to the region, and increase the percentage of clean energy generated in New Jersey. The event, organized by Jersey Renews, brought together a diverse assembly of speakers to address how off-shore wind turbines can mitigate the impacts of climate change. "Offshore wind generation has been stalled in NJ for seven long years. The offshore wind business community is ready and eager to move forward as soon as possible,” said Liz Burdock, executive director of the Business Network for Offshore Wind. “In addition to its environmental benefits, offshore wind brings with it the promise of hundreds of direct and indirect jobs for New Jersey. Our union stands ready to work with offshore wind developers, our own employers, policy makers, and activists to emphasize domestic procurement, manufacturing, and fabrication [...]

By WEC Staff|2017-08-17T16:34:44-04:00August 16th, 2017|Press Releases|Comments Off

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