Black workers protest working conditions

• The Union of Southern Service Workers filed a complaint with the federal Department of Labor by the Union of Southern Service Workers after a coordinated walkout over safety concerns for Black workers.
• There are about 416,000 South Carolinians employed in the state’s food and beverage, general merchandise, food service, and warehouse industries, and a disproportionate number of them are Black, according to the complaint.
• Between 2018 and 2022, the agency responsible for those workers’ safety conducted only two scheduled inspections of facilities in those industries combined
• Over that same period, the S.C. OSHA conducted 499 planned inspections of construction and specialty trade contracting industry, where Black workers in South Carolina are underrepresented, the union alleges.
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Construction Worker injured after falling into trench

• A 66-year-old employee from Bridgewater, New Jersey, fell about 20 feet into an open trench, sustaining injuries.
• First responders from Howell First Aid, Southard Fire Department, and Howell police department stabilized the worker until he could be safely removed from the trench.
• A specialized team from the Asbury Park Fire Department assisted in hoisting the injured worker from the trench, utilizing onsite construction crane equipment.
• OSHA has responded to the scene and is conducting an investigation into the worksite accident.
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OSHA issues $1,9M fine after worker’s leg amputated

• Months after a 29-year-old employee suffered critical injuries following a fall into an industrial blender, OSHA found that Zwanenberg Food Group in Green Township, Ohio, ignored safety standards.
• The 29-year-old employee was a temporary worker who’d been on the job just nine months when the incident happened.
• The employee was cleaning an industrial blender at the food processing plant when they fell in and became caught in the machine’s rotating paddle augers. As a result of their injuries, the employee’s leg was amputated.
• OSHA is proposing a plan to pay $1.9 million in penalties for violations involving machine safety procedures.
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L.L. Bean gets ‘Star Level’ designation Under OSHA’s VPP

• An L.L. Bean manufacturing facility has been recognized once again under OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
• The manufacturing facility in Brunswick, Maine, was first deemed a “Star” site by OSHA in 2007.
• Following an evaluation in August last year, the site’s designation was renewed in early April 2023. About 200 people are employed at this location.
• The VPP recognizes employers that have excellent health and safety management systems.
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