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
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
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
"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
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 [...]
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
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
All of us have become used to seeing news reports of people killed because of a chemical explosion or fire. Or they're left out of work or homeless because of a toxic spill. Or left without drinking water because of a massive chemical leak. But a key part of the story is often lost amid the human tragedy. In nearly all cases, the damage to families and communities was preventable. Full Article by John Shinn, Director, United Steelworkers District 4 & WEC Board Member and Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Sierra Club & WEC Board Member June 3, 2014 - The Star Ledger
It's easy for giant corporations like the Secaucus-based clothing company, Children's Place, to talk the talk of "social responsibility" and caring about children and families. But it often takes public pressure to get them to actually walk the walk. Until a year ago, clothes for The Children's Place were produced in a factory at Rana Plaza, an eight-story building in Savar, Bangladesh. Workers there helped generate the $53 million in net profits that the company pocketed last year. Full Article by John Pajak, Vice President, Teamsters Local 877 & WEC President May 25, 2014 - The Jersey Journal
This winter saw families in Paulsboro and many other towns across America worrying about two kinds of pollution. Full Article by Debra McFadden, Assistant Director, WEC and Doug O'Malley, Executive Director, Environment NJ and WEC board member. May 4, 2014 - The South Jersey Times
