WEC Staff, Author at Work Environment Council

Groundbreaking USW Guide on ‘Stop Work Authority’ Will Protect Workers
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Groundbreaking USW Guide on ‘Stop Work Authority’ Will Protect Workers

Press Releases, WEC in the News

Groundbreaking USW Guide on ‘Stop Work Authority’ Will Protect Workers

Press Release: July 20, 2022 The United Steelworkers (USW) today announced the publication of a new groundbreaking guide from its Health, Safety, and Environment Department. The book, “Bargaining for Stop Work Authority to Prevent Injuries and Save Lives,” is the first and most comprehensive publication designed to help workers develop programs that allow them to stop unsafe or unhealthy operations and processes until hazards are resolved. “The United Steelworkers is proud to issue this path-breaking guide,” said USW International President Tom Conway. “OSHA does not require stop work authority, so it’s up to us. This booklet will be an essential part of protecting workers’ lives on the job.” The publication includes information on the importance of well-designed stop work authority programs and the pitfalls of ineffective programs that exist at many sites. “The unfortunate reality is that flawed stop-work programs exist at many work sites, and this booklet will help to change that,” Conway said. “In addition, workers often face challenges, including retaliation, in their efforts to stop unhealthy or unsafe work.” Debra Coyle, executive director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council, the nation’s longest-standing state labor-environmental alliance, said that the guide can help protect workers and communities. “By applying [...]

By WEC Staff|2022-07-27T20:14:18-04:00July 20th, 2022|Press Releases, WEC in the News|Comments Off

Essential Workers Deserve Hazard Pay – And NJ Has The Cash: Advocates

NEW JERSEY — It is nice when someone calls you a "hero." But that does not put food on the table for your family, these New Jersey advocates say. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, elected officials and workplaces in the Garden State held parade after parade for front-line and other essential workers, often centering their campaigns on a single word: "hero." But now it is time for them to put their money where their mouths are, according to a coalition of social justice and labor advocates. Earlier this week, dozens of New Jersey essential workers and representatives from several unions and pro-worker organizations paid a visit to Trenton to deliver a letter to state legislators, demanding "hazard pay" for essential employees across the state. Read their full statement here. Signers to the letter included NJ State AFL-CIO, RWDSU Local 108, UFCW Local 360, UFCW Local 1262, UFCW Local 464A, ATU, JNESO, SEIU 32BJ, NJ State Council, Make the Road New Jersey, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ), New Jersey Working Families Party and NJ Work Environment Council. Read the whole article here: Essential Workers Deserve Hazard Pay – And NJ Has The Cash: [...]

By WEC Staff|2022-06-24T15:14:01-04:00June 22nd, 2022|WEC in the News|Comments Off

New Jersey’s Clean Energy Transition Could Generate $34.1 Billion in Statewide Economic Activity, Nearly 300,000 Job-Years by 2050

TRENTON — New Jersey stands to gain an average of $1.3 billion in economic activity and 11,000 well-paying jobs annually if the state accelerates efforts to transition to 100% clean energy, fully electrifies its transportation and building infrastructure, and ensures meaningful job standards are in place by 2050, according to studies released today by the Applied Economic Clinic (AEC)... “With strong labor standards, union support, and adequate training, high-quality clean energy jobs will offer competitive wages and benefits and fewer occupational safety hazards,” said Debra Coyle, Executive Director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council. “We recognize that it will be essential to provide adequate resources for workers caught in the transition to retrain and utilize their valuable skills in this new space.” If New Jersey embraces more ambitious clean energy policies and strong labor standards, the study found the state’s clean energy transition could generate about 11,000 jobs annually in the offshore wind, energy efficiency and storage, electrification and solar industries between 2025 and 2050. Over this period, cumulative clean energy job gains could be 6.6 times higher than job losses expected from a reduction in gas-fired power plants and oil heating. Ambitious clean energy policies are significant economic drivers compared to [...]

By WEC Staff|2022-06-13T08:55:25-04:00June 8th, 2022|Press Releases, WEC in the News|Comments Off

Amazon Workers ‘Treated Like Machinery’ Strike At NJ Facility: Report

Some New Jersey Amazon workers upset by an imminent job site closing walked out in solidarity Wednesday, June 1. Bellmawr, NJ - One Bellmawr worker told Eyewitness News he felt he was being treated like "warehouse machinery," not people. Amazon is reportedly closing the Camden County facility and forcing them to take shifts at a warehouse further away, the outlet said. But an Amazon spokeswoman said that Bellmawr's employees are being offered opportunities to work at five different sites that are as close as nine miles from their current location.... Debra Coyle, Executive Director, NJ Work Environment Council, said, "The New Jersey Work Environment Council stands in solidarity with the Amazon workers that walked off the job early Wednesday morning at the facility in Bellmawr," "It’s time Amazon, who made record profits during the pandemic, stops putting profit over people and prioritizes their workers' needs including a living wage, good benefits, and safe working conditions," Coyle said..... Read More: Amazon Workers 'Treated Like Machinery' Strike At NJ Facility: Report

By WEC Staff|2022-06-02T12:55:20-04:00June 2nd, 2022|WEC in the News|Comments Off

New Jersey Clean Energy Coalition Urges Murphy Administration to Equitably Invest Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Funding

New Jersey Clean Energy Coalition Urges Murphy Administration to Equitably Invest Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Funding TRENTON, NJ – A coalition representing New Jersey’s environmental, business, social justice, conservation, labor, and climate advocacy communities is calling on the Murphy Administration to equitably and strategically invest federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) funds to support residents in greatest need... “Availability of this federal funding represents a historic opportunity for the state to ensure counties and towns – particularly those most impacted by the devastating impacts of global climate change – are supported and prepared to advance New Jersey’s climate, jobs, and justice objectives,” said Debra Coyle, executive director of the NJ Work Environment Council (WEC) and co-coordinator of Jersey Renews... Read More: New Jersey Clean Energy Coalition Urges Murphy Administration to Equitably Invest Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Funding

By WEC Staff|2022-05-25T17:17:00-04:00May 24th, 2022|WEC in the News|Comments Off

New Labor and NJ Work Environment Council Organize March to Honor Workers Killed, Sick and Injured on the Job

New Brunswick, New Jersey: More than 300 hundred members and supporters of New Labor, the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC), and allied organizations, collectively demanding “Safe Workplaces for All,” marched in New Brunswick on April 24, 2022 to honor workers who have been killed or become sick or injured on the job. The march, with coffins, handmade signs and chants to remember fallen workers, began and ended at New Labor headquarters in downtown New Brunswick. It is one of many events taking place around the country and around the globe as part of Workers’ Memorial Day, which brings together workers, families, unions, and allies to honor those affected by unsafe working conditions and to advocate for better protections in the workplace. “At least 57 New Jersey workers lost their lives in 2021 and will never come home to their families again,” said Debra Coyle, executive director of WEC. “Many more died from COVID-19 after exposure to COVID in the workplace, but most of those fatalities are not being tracked or documented.” Fatalities from sudden workplace trauma in New Jersey in 2021 included workers who were killed from carbon monoxide poisoning, blunt force to the head and neck, heat exhaustion and [...]

By WEC Staff|2022-04-29T09:25:14-04:00April 29th, 2022|Events, Press Releases|Comments Off

Mercury Seeping From Gym Floors – Possible NJ Law Would Stop Future Installations
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Mercury Seeping From Gym Floors – Possible NJ Law Would Stop Future Installations

Highlights, WEC in the News

Mercury Seeping From Gym Floors – Possible NJ Law Would Stop Future Installations

A proposed New Jersey law aims to ensure that the threat of dangerous mercury vapors is not presented by any floors that get installed in New Jersey schools and child care centers moving forward. The threat already exists at countless schools across the Garden State, but advocates say the current proposal is at least shining a spotlight on the issue, even though it may not go far enough. Under the bill advanced by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee, flooring material that contains mercury would not be able to used during the construction or renovation of a school or child care center. Also, any school projects impacting an already existing floor would have to result in proof that the existing floor is mercury-free, or that it will be removed completely. Read More: Mercury-laced floors are still allowed in NJ schools ... for now

By WEC Staff|2022-02-09T15:38:41-05:00February 9th, 2022|Highlights, WEC in the News|Comments Off

A People’s Hearing for a Public Bank

On January 24, 2022, labor leaders, environmentalists, community advocates, and workers came together to demand Governor Murphy keep his campaign promise and create a public bank that invests our tax dollars in us. Gov. Murphy pledged support for a public bank during his 2014 campaign and appointed an “implementation board” in 2019 which was tasked with holding public hearings. To date, no such hearings have taken place. Speakers discussed problems the bank could be used to solve and addressed concerns that the state’s implementation board has not proposed any public facing plan that resembles a public bank. New Jersey, the 11th most populous U.S. state with nearly 9 million people, collects billions of dollars in tax revenue from individuals and businesses every year. Most of that money is sent out of state to Wall Street and other locations. Corporate financial institutions charge high interest on loans to New Jersey schools, transit agencies, road commissions, and other public entities. The current model of outsourcing New Jersey’s financial needs to big banks – mostly based in New York – has led to an accumulated $6 trillion worth of public debt owed to out-of-state financial institutions. By contrast, in North Dakota – the only [...]

By WEC Staff|2022-01-27T11:29:24-05:00January 26th, 2022|Events|Comments Off

After massive Passaic fire, advocates seek change to regulations

A massive fire broke out in Passaic last week in a building that housed chlorine products for Qualco, a company which makes pool supplies. Read article here.

By WEC Staff|2022-02-01T14:04:28-05:00January 22nd, 2022|Highlights|Comments Off

New Jersey is the East Coast Leader in Advancing the Transition to Electric Trucks

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.

By WEC Staff|2021-12-22T16:00:42-05:00December 22nd, 2021|Highlights, WEC in the News|Comments Off

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