Chicago — People exposed to organic solvents on the job may have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, according to a recent study of Latino workers.

Washington – A coalition of industry groups has called for OSHA to withdraw a recent letter of interpretation stating that workers at a non-union workplace may designate someone affiliated with a union as their representative during OSHA “walkaround” inspections.

Washington – The Teamsters union has called for a renewed commitment by Congress to maintain current hours-of-service rules for drivers to help prevent tragedies caused by driver fatigue.

Las Vegas – Members of the United Steelworkers have unanimously approved a resolution aimed at improving worker health and safety.

Washington – A lack of mandatory standards on Ebola for health care workers leaves nurses unprepared and vulnerable to infection, a registered nurse and union official testified during an Oct. 24 House hearing.

Silver Spring, MD – The AFL-CIO’s Executive Council has denounced efforts to roll back federal laws and regulations that “have protected working people on the job” for more than 50 years.

Silver Spring, MD — Construction firms that employ at least some union workers are more likely to perform safety best practices and undergo OSHA training than those with no union employees, according to the results of a biennial survey commissioned by the Center for Construction Research and Training – also known as CPWR.

Tumwater, WA — In response to a labor union petition, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is working on new standards for reinforcing steel and post-tensioning in construction.

Washington — United Steelworkers is suing the Environmental Protection Agency and its administrator, Andrew Wheeler, over the agency’s recent changes to the Obama-era Chemical Disaster Rule.

Silver Spring, MD — In response to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the nation’s largest union and professional association of direct care registered nurses is petitioning OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard to protect frontline workers, patients and the public from the potentially deadly respiratory illness.

Washington — The AFL-CIO has filed a lawsuit against OSHA and the Department of Labor, asking a federal court to require OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious disease amid the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on June 11 rejected an AFL-CIO lawsuit calling on the Department of Labor and OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases amid the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — The United Mine Workers of America and the United Steelworkers are suing the Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in an effort to compel MSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — A new e-tool from the AFL-CIO is aimed at helping workers identify COVID-19 exposure risks on the job.

Silver Spring, MD — The nation’s largest union and professional association of direct care registered nurses is urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update agency guidance and reinstate the “recommendation to everyone to wear masks in public or in physical proximity to others outside their own household.”

La Grange, IL — Unionized construction worksites may be nearly a fifth less likely to incur OSHA health and safety violations than their nonunionized counterparts, with positive effects on safety even more prevalent in the Midwest, a recent report shows.

Silver Spring, MD — The nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses is urging Congress to pass pending legislation that would “end the industry-created nurse staffing crisis” by setting mandated staffing levels in hospitals, as well as take other actions that would improve working conditions for nurses.

Washington — The AFL-CIO and National Nurses United are part of a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor and OSHA, petitioning a federal court to direct the agency to issue a permanent standard on COVID-19 focused on health care workers.

Silver Spring, MD — Claiming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “once again responding to political pressures from those desperate to remove any safety protocols during this deadly pandemic that is still causing unacceptable numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths every day,” the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses is calling on the agency to reverse its most recent COVID-19 guidance.

Pittsburgh — A new guide on stop-work authority from the United Steelworkers is aimed at helping workers develop and bargain for programs that allow them to halt unsafe or unhealthy operations and processes until hazards are abated.

Washington — OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration have scheduled a national Workers Memorial Day ceremony for April 27 at the Department of Labor headquarters.

What are some common chemical storage compatibilities?

Washington – The safety of temporary workers will be the topic of discussion during a meeting, scheduled for May 9, of a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health workgroup.

Washington – The National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health is scheduled to meet June 18 in Washington to discuss key OSHA initiatives, including best-practice language for protecting temporary workers.

Washington – An OSHA workgroup tasked with examining temporary worker safety issues is scheduled to meet monthly through November, the agency announced Aug. 18.

Philadelphia – Staffing agencies that hire temporary workers need to be regulated more vigorously, and employers that use those agencies should carry a heavier load of responsibility for workers’ safety, a trio of Temple University law students concluded in a recent report examining how staffing agencies and host employers may “pass the buck” to get around proper safety training and other requirements.

Olympia, WA — A new Washington state law will require construction and manufacturing employers who use temporary workers to identify and document workplace hazards, communicate those hazards to staffing agencies, and make sure workers are informed and properly trained.

Washington — NIOSH and the American Staffing Association have announced a multiyear partnership agreement to advance protections for temporary workers.

Washington — The Department of Labor has issued a final rule that targets “employee misclassification” of workers as independent contractors.

Washington — The House Education and the Workforce Committee has advanced a resolution aimed at repealing the Department of Labor’s rule on determining if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Washington — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Labor’s rule on determining if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Washington — President Joe Biden has vetoed a Congressional Review Act resolution intended to repeal the National Labor Relations Board’s “joint employer” rule, which remains in legal limbo.

Washington — Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) is threatening acting Labor Secretary Julie Su with a subpoena over her “failure to provide the requested information” on the Department of Labor’s independent contractor rule.

The Ladder Handle system is specifically designed to facilitate a safe and ergonomic solution for lifting and transporting ladders.

The Squids 3100 Single Carabiner 10-pound Tool Lanyard tethers tools to help prevent injury, damage and lost productivity from dropped tools.

Clamp Jackets hose clamp protectors are made from durable EPDM rubber that can withstand temperatures up to 300° F and are available for ½-inch and 5/16-inch hose clamps.

This line of non-sparking, non-magnetic hand tools is manufactured from special aluminum-bronze or copper-beryllium alloys that meet ATEX regulations for safe use in areas where hazardous, flammable or combustible vapors, liquids, dusts, or residues may be present.

The Alert Band is a wearable early-warning Bluetooth fatigue detector band that attaches to a driver’s forehead.

Gear Keeper’s ergonomic Anchored Tool Tether Series offers an industry-leading 20-foot diameter working area with a 4-foot retraction length.

Without the use of a heat source or messy adhesives, the Squids 3755 Self-Adhering Tape Trap creates a secure connection point for nearly any tool in a matter of seconds (when used with Squids Web Tails).

This 15 Pound Tool Lanyard was designed to improve safety and productivity in work environments.

Stop-a-Ladder keeps extension ladders securely in place while being used on composite decking.

The Big Easy Backpack is a large, durable tool backpack for line workers in the utility and industrial safety industries.

Gear Keeper’s two new 1-inch Super Coil ANSI/ISEA 121-2018-compliant 9-foot Anchored Tool Tethers have been designed with a unique and proprietary low-force woven polyurethane elastic core that has a 2.5-to-1 stretch factor (42 inches relaxed to 18 feet extended).

ANSI 121-compliant Vest-Mounted Retractable Tethers combine convenience and productivity with safe tool tethering.

The Stronghold Quick-Switch Tool Tether System is based on the proprietary Quick-Switch design – the only technology that allows workers to switch tools from one connection point to another in a single motion.

The ShoveIt Hand Safety Tool helps prevent hand injuries when working with suspended loads or maneuvering objects, and maintains proper body positioning for safe handling.

Workers can keep their most commonly used tools tethered to them with three new drop safety products. The Tape Measure Jacket is designed to fit and attach to most commonly used tape measures.

Developed by J. J. Keller’s transportation experts, this white paper provides helpful guidance on every aspect of driver training – from obtaining a first commercial driver’s license to refresher training for veteran drivers, and more. Download your free copy.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has set a deadline of Sept. 30 for certified medical examiners to submit the results of physical qualification exams of commercial truck and bus drivers that were completed while the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners was offline from Dec. 1, 2017, through Aug. 13, 2018.