Workers wanted better safety conditions
- Amy’s Kitchen, a California-based manufacturer of organic convenience foods, closed its new San Jose plant less than two years after it opens.
- More than 300 workers lost their jobs after they had been in the process of organizing with Unite Here Local 19, which represents food service and hospitality workers in Silicon Valley.
- The workers had gone public with allegations of dangerously fast lines, lack of access to restrooms and drinking water, locked fire exits, and managers who were unresponsive to safety concerns.
State OSHA investigating classroom fire
- A Virginia Occupational Health and Safety Officer is investigating a chemistry classroom fire that injured four students at Dinwiddie High School.
- The safety officer inspected the scene after he was assigned to investigate the injury of an employee at the school.
- The school system plans to reach out to the teacher involved in the demonstration, according to Dinwiddie Superintendent Doctor Kari Weston.
- The school said the teacher is on leave and declined to provide any further details.
Firm involved in a bridge collapse had prior violations
- Lehman Construction, a Missouri-based company, involved in a deadly bridge collapse previously paid $8,619 for a 2019 OSHA violation.
- The incident was categorized as “serious,” according to OSHA.
- One person died and three were injured during the bridge collapse.
- A Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said “there were multiple contracting companies on scene at the time of the collapse.”
OSHA forms alliance for Colorado and Montana
- OSHA and Lamar Advertising Co. have signed an alliance to provide workers in Colorado and Montana with information, guidance, and access to training resources.
- The 1-year alliance includes an emphasis on common hazards in the outdoor advertising industry, including falls from elevation, electrical hazards, and whistleblower protection laws.
- Background: OSHA’s Alliance Program works with groups committed to worker safety and health to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses.
- These groups include unions, consulates, trade or professional organizations, businesses, faith- and community-based organizations, and educational institutions.