Highlights

On Jan. 4, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one repeat and two failure-to-abate violations. Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office stated: “Our follow-up inspection found that two County Concrete employees were exposed to silica above the permissible limit as they cleaned concrete mixers." In 2013, OSHA cited this company for these same hazards, “Employers must bear the responsibility of fully complying with respiratory protection requirements to protect the safety and health of their workers.” OSHA’s Final Silica Rule took effect on June 23, 2016 OSHA estimates that the rule will save over 600 lives and prevent more than 900 new cases of silicosis each year, once its effects are fully realized. The Final Rule is projected to provide net benefits of about $7.7 billion, annually. This rule will help protect approximately 2.3 million workers who are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in their workplaces, including 2 million construction workers who drill, cut, crush, or grind silica-containing materials such as concrete and stone, and 300,000 workers in general industry operations, such as brick manufacturing, foundries, and hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. Industries have from one to five years to comply with most [...]

Join the Healthy Schools Now coalition for our quarterly meeting on March 7, 2016 at 10 AM in Trenton, NJ. We look forward to continued discussion about how we can work together to ensure a healthy and safe school environment for all of New Jersey's public schools students. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Agenda to be posted soon. Register Healthy Schools Now

Working people can’t seem to get ahead. As we watch the news, engage in our communities, and organize around our respective issues, it becomes more and more apparent that we are operating in a rigged economy, which works for a privileged few. Wall Street’s power and influence continues to thwart progress on our most basic needs, on issues like public health, environmental protection, workers’ rights, and civil rights. The most fundamental component of our democracy, our ability to organize and successfully advocate for our needs, has been undermined. Join us on February 3rd and 4th at the Rutgers Labor Education Center in New Brunswick(50 Labor Center Way) to learn how our economy, and our democracy have been strip-mined by financial institutions. This intensive training will be led by Les Leopold, author of Runaway Inequality and director of The Labor Institute. Join a discussion on direct actions that we can take to address the fundamental inequalities in our system. Space is limited to 20 participants. Apply now for the Public Need over Corporate Greed Trainer Apprenticeship Program and help create an economy that works for everyone.     Learn More Apply Today

Since 1986, the Work Environment Council of New Jersey has fought for safe, secure jobs and a healthy sustainable environment. We’ve spent years working to link workers, communities, and environmental activists through training, grassroots organizing, and policy campaigns. First and foremost, WEC is concerned with public health and the well-being of workers. But it’s important that while we maintain a broad vision in defining public health, that we address the economic policy that keeps working people and communities in danger. That’s one reason why WEC supports A862, a bill which strengthens protections for workers against wage theft. The bill, which passed out of the Assembly Labor Committee on December 12, would deter employers from committing wage theft by strengthening penalties, increasing the amount of time a worker has to file a claim, protecting workers who file claims from retaliation, and by holding employers who use subcontractors accountable. How is wage theft connected to public health, though? Aren’t wages and labor economic practices a separate issue from public health? In fact, an economy that is dependent on wage theft and low wages is extremely damaging to public wellbeing. When a family worries about how they will pay for groceries, their health is [...]

According to public opinion polls, Americans typically believe a good pay ratio is 7 to 1. In other words, the top paid CEO in the United States should make 7 times what the average worker makes. And yet the American reality is much different. In fact, the top paid CEOs in the United States make roughly 844 times what the average worker makes. This stunning statistic represents the antithesis of the American dream: the idea that if someone works hard then they deserve financial security; it also belies the myth that as the pool of wealth increases, all boats rise. These outrageously disparate numbers indicate a broken economy, engineered by the top 1/10th of the 1% wealthiest Americans, which has fostered a destructive and amoral distribution of wealth. In a move to address the extreme and corrupt distribution of wealth, the city council of Portland, Oregon passed a tax this Wednesday on companies in which the top-ranked executives make more than 100 times the median pay of their average workers. In doing so, the city of Portland has shown it is willing to take steps to reverse the negative effects that extreme income inequality has on its residents. [...]

WEC hosted our annual membership meeting at the NJEA headquarters in Trenton, NJ on December 5. We were pleased to be joined by representatives of more than 30 organizations, most of whom are WEC members. Members in attendance voted to affirm the nominees for executive leadership. Attendees also enjoyed a panel presentation: Preparing for the Future: Addressing Climate Change in New Jersey. New Jersey Sea Level Rise Report Marjorie Kaplan New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance Marjorie Kaplan began the discussion by highlighting the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance's recent report on sea-level rise in New Jersey. Bottom line: coastal communities will face increasing sea-level rise throughout this century. Slides Climate Resiliency for Urban Communities Nicole Scott Harris New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance Nicole Scott-Harris, recent recipient of the WEC Rising Star Award, highlighted the disproportionate impact on environmental justice (EJ) communities, and talked about how climate change is already effecting NJ communities today. Slides Sandy's Impact on Lives in New Jersey Amanda Devecka-Rinear New Jersey Organizing Project Amanda Devecka-Rinear spoke about the incredible work of [...]