Worker killed at supermarket chain
- OSHA has fined Sam’s Club with the maximum penalty after an employee was killed on the job in Erie, Pennsylvania.
- The agency cited the Summit Township Sam’s Club location with a workplace safety violation for the September 2022 death of 20-year-old Benjamin Knight Jr.
- The OSHA Erie office issued the citation to Sam’s Club with a penalty of $156,259.
- Knight passed away from complications of blunt force trauma at UPMC Hamot after being hit by an overhead garage door.
Employees allege retaliation after layoffs
- Midtown Athletic Club in Illinois fired its housekeeping staff last week, which ex-staffers allege was retaliation for speaking out about work conditions.
- The staff of 38 was laid just a few weeks after holding a work stoppage to protest the gym’s treatment of them, according to a news release from Arise Chicago, which has helped the non-unionized workers organize.
- Earlier this year, workers filed complaints with OSHA and other state agencies about the working conditions and more complaints have followed in response to the layoffs.
- The club’s president said the long-planned layoffs had nothing to do with retaliation and that staffers were invited to reapply for their jobs through a third-party company that is taking over housekeeping duties at the club.
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Asbestos protocols not followed by city
- The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, did not check for asbestos inside its Gateway Center construction site until last month, almost nearly a year after crews began demolition needed to turn a hospital into a homeless shelter.
- Samples taken revealed asbestos in the walls, ceiling sealant, and flooring adhesive, according to a report.
- After the inspector voiced concern, the city ordered asbestos testing. It sealed off the 4,000-square-foot area on March 9 after getting the results.
- A city-contracted firm has since abated the area, and the city said that its “Post-Abatement Air Clearance Report” shows all samples well below the permissible exposure levels established by OSHA.
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Man dies after being trapped in industrial machine
- A man is dead after he was found trapped in a machine at Trelleborg Wheels, according to the the Spartanburg, South Carolina, County Coroner’s Office.
- Trelleborg Wheel Systems is a global supplier of tires and wheels for agricultural and forestry machines, material handling, construction vehicles, motorcycles, and other specialty segments.
- The coroner identified the man as 37-year-old Christopher Crawford.
- OSHA was called and is investigating this case, according to the coroner.
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