Unions Want Wage Theft in U-Visa Program

May 12, 2023

Call for stronger U-Visa certifications 

  • OSHA announced that it would be issuing U-Visa certifications in support of undocumented workers who experienced workplace abuses.
  • However, there are concerns among the unions in New York about how key wage theft was not included as a main element of the program.
  • Advocates are pushing to expand U-Visa eligibility for wage theft in addition to workplace safety issues among undocumented workers.
  • Unions are supporting the POWER Act, which is geared toward addressing workplace exploitation in New York’s construction industry.
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Bill in Ohio would require AEDs

  • A bill that would require Ohio schools to have an automated external defibrillator was introduced through a House committee.
  • The chances of survival from Sudden Cardiac Arrest would decrease by 7 to 10% for every minute without immediate CPR or defibrillation by having an AED, according to OSHA.
  • Under the measure, a trained staff member will start resuscitation on the patient, which will increase the chances of survival while waiting for an EMS to arrive.
  • House Bill 47 is a joint legislation by the House Health Provider Services and State Representatives Adam Bird, a Republican, and Democrat Richard Brown.
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Roofing fatalities rise

  • Roofing contractor deaths increased by 20% in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Of the 123 fatal incidents that took place, 99 of them, or 80%, were due to a fall.
  • The number of total deaths jumped from 17 to 28, a 64% increase. Of those deaths, the majority (75%) were from falls, slips, and trips. When compared to the previous year, the number of fatal falls in nonresidential construction went up by 83%.
  • The total number of deaths marginally increased by 7% in 2021, going from 30 in 2020 to 31 in 2021. The number of falls, slips, and trips actually decreased by 8%, going from 26 to 24 between 2020 and 2021.
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FDA recalls over 500,000 COVID tests

  • More than half a million Covid tests have been recalled by the FDA over bacteria concerns in the test kit solutions for some Pilot At-Home Tests.
  • The contaminated solution may pose safety concerns as well as cause the test to give an inaccurate result.
  • The agency warned tests should be thrown out immediately.
  • More than 500,000 tests were distributed to the CVS drugstore and approximately 16,000 were distributed to Amazon.
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