WEC Staff

After the Flint lead crisis entered the public consciousness, the crisis of lead in drinking water became known as a national public health crisis. WEC was proud to stand with Environment NJ and NJ PIRG to announce the release of their jointly authored groundbreaking report ‘Get The Lead Out’ at the New Jersey Statehouse on March 16.  The report grades individual states on their response to the lead crisis and makes several recommendations for how policy makers can decisively address the lead crisis. New Jersey earned a C-, ahead of several other states, but still far from adequate.  Barely average doesn’t cut it when it comes to the health and safety of our children.  The recommendations outlined in the “Get The Lead Out’ report, if implemented, would result in significant public health improvements.  We hope that this report’s recommendations are seriously considered by our nation’s public servants, as they consider legislative solutions to the insidious crisis of lead in drinking water.  Our children deserve nothing less.   “The Healthy Schools Now coalition applauds Environment New Jersey for releasing their landmark 'Get The Lead Out' report. This groundbreaking report makes clear that the public health crisis of lead [...]

Call your US Senators to oppose passage of H.J.Res.83.  As we know, worker health and safety are closely linked to accurate workplace injury and illness data. Better records benefit both employees and employers by allowing each to become more aware of hazards, recognize patterns, and take corrective actions. In short, accurate records help protect workers, while less-complete records have the potential to put them at greater risk. This data – and by extension, worker health and safety – are being threatened by H.J.Res.83. In a misguided attempt to reduce perceived regulatory burden, this fast-moving legislation would use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to permanently overturn OSHA’s final rule which clarifies that an employer is obligated to establish and maintain accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses throughout a five-year record retention time-frame. ACT NOW. It is highly likely that the Senate will vote on H.J.Res.83 soon.

As many Americans are painfully aware, income inequality in the United States today is extreme and growing exponentially. In fact, as of 2014, the top CEOs takes home 844 times what the average worker makes. And New Jersey is no stranger to the effects of runaway inequality, according to a recent story on WNYC, being home to some of the wealthiest and some of the poorest individuals in the country. This extreme distribution of wealth is no accident, with extreme income disparity being more common in urban centers, and with income inequality (according to the Gini index, a frequently used measure for inequality) being lower between 2006-2010, a period immediately preceding the great recession. “The statewide rise in New Jersey income inequality is also reflected in the data for individual counties, which all except Cape May saw upticks in their Gini index scores.”   Meanwhile, Governor Christie has worked to cut taxes and fees for corporations, plunder the state budget, and attempted to cut himself a juicy book deal. Extreme income inequality is no accident; it occurs when economic and corporate elites work together to rig an economy against ordinary, working people. While Wall Street [...]

The New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) and Healthy Schools Now coalition recently released a report Health and Safety Guide: Mercury Hazard in Schools from Rubber-Like Polyurethane Floors. Written by WEC’s industrial hygiene consultants, the report alerts school officials and maintenance staff of the potential health risk of rubber-like polyurethane floors and recommends actions to reduce or eliminate resulting mercury exposure. Rubber-like polyurethane floors using 1,000 to 2,000 parts per million of phenyl mercuric acetate (PMA) catalyst have been installed in school multipurpose rooms, gyms, cafeterias, auditoriums, stages and indoor and outdoor tracks since the 1960s.  PMA breaks down and releases odorless, colorless mercury vapor at room temperatures. The floors and items that have been in contact with them emit mercury vapor indefinitely. Exposure is worse if floors are damaged or deteriorated, in hot rooms with poor ventilation or without air conditioning, or if outdoor air is not being pulled in. If floor removal is not going to take place in the near future, measures to limit mercury exposure should be implemented immediately.  At a minimum, these measures should include ensuring that rooms with rubber-like polyurethane floors have cool temperatures, good ventilation and ongoing air sampling.  [...]

WEC recently helped launch Jersey Renews, a coalition of labor, community, environmental and faith based organizations pushing for stronger climate policies here in NJ. It's heartening to see Labor Education & Research Now at Rutgers University offering a course examining unions' responses to climate change. Participants in this online course will learn best practices for communicating about climate change with members and employers, and participate in discussions with other union leaders about the challenges and opportunities climate change presents. The class starts next week, so register today! There is also an upcoming conference planned for April 21 at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, Beyond Reconciliation: The Potential for Common Ground on the Environment and Labor. Considering the magnitude of our climate crisis, the risks to New Jersey, and the likelihood of federal inaction, connecting with our labor allies to push for strong climate policy (on a state and local level) is critically important.  

Congratulations to the first round of trainers to complete the Public Need over Corporate Greed trainer apprenticeship program! Over the course of two days, more than 30 participants discussed movement building, the economics of both social and income inequality, and the concrete steps we can take to build a more equitable economy which works for everyone, not just big banks and Wall Street firms. During the intensive program, led by Les Leopold, author of Runaway Inequality and director of The Labor Institute, activists engaged in a robust conversation on the powerful interests that keep us organizing on the defensive. One of the key takeaways: until we address the structural issues in our system, which allow so few to have so much power and influence, we will continue to nibble at the edges, to be told there “just isn’t enough money” to provide a clean, safe environment, and good jobs. We are already planning our second trainer apprenticeship sessions, which will be held March 3rd and 4th in Trenton. We need your passion, your voice, and your action, but space is limited to 20 participants. Join us; understand what is happening to our economy and learn how you can facilitate a discussion about [...]