Extreme heat can kill or seriously injure workers.

As summer approaches, we need to be prepared to keep workers safe with the additional stress of hot weather. There are lots of things we can do to protect workers. While employers have a duty to protect workers from heat-related hazards under the OSH Act, it is our duty to make sure that employers are enforcing those protections and workers are safe.

In order to help protect workers, we need to learn:

• When heat and humidity are becoming workplace hazards.
• What a heat-related medical emergency is and how to respond quickly and effectively.

To prevent heat-related injury or death, we need to make sure our work sites:

• Are using preventative measures to protect workers from heat-related
  hazards.
• Have a clear procedure for responding to a heat-related medical
  emergency that is well-known to workers.

Additional resources to help protect workers from heat-related hazards
and keep workplaces safe include:

• The OSHA heat safety tool can be downloaded to Android or iPhones in
  English or Spanish here.
• The UFCW Safety and Health Office can provide live training via computer for local union staff and members.
• OSHA’s heat stress e-tool.

>>>Hot Weather Workplace Preventions

>>>Sample Heat Emergency Procedure

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) today released the following statement regarding OSHA’s decision to exercise the seldom-used “general duty clause” of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to protect poultry workers from workplace injuries or death.

“The UFCW applauds OSHA’s decision to use the “general duty clause” to protect poultry workers from dangerous workplace conditions, including exposure to unsafe machinery, risk of falling and musculoskeletal hazards.  The UFCW also commends OSHA’s efforts to look into practices that result in the failure to manage the medical treatment of injured poultry workers and maintain an accurate record of those injuries, resulting in an artificial injury and illness rate that is used to benefit the poultry industry at the expense of the safety of its workers. The UFCW believes that the safety awards presented by the National Chicken Council and other industry groups to member poultry companies for outstanding safety performance should be reconsidered since OSHA’s findings show that the poultry industry has the ability to conceal the extent to which poultry workers suffer from work-related injuries and illnesses.

“The UFCW represents workers at poultry plants across the country, and our union has called attention to the many dangers poultry workers face every day, including ergonomic health hazards.  While the UFCW has been successful in curbing some of the workplace abuses in this industry, too many poultry workers do not have a collective voice on the job and continue to toil in low-wage jobs that threaten their health and safety.

“All poultry workers deserve better workplace conditions, and the UFCW urges OSHA to establish a National Emphasis Program to protect poultry workers from the health and safety hazards that are specific to this industry.”

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 The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail and meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries. The UFCW protects the rights of workers and strengthens America’s middle class by fighting for health care reform, living wages, retirement security, safe working conditions and the right to unionize so that working men and women and their families can realize the American Dream. For more information about the UFCW’s effort to protect workers’ rights and strengthen America’s middle class, visit www.ufcw.org, or join our online community at www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational and www.twitter.com/ufcw.

BPA is a toxic chemical that has been linked to increased rates of breast cancer among women in many job sectors, including food packing. (Infographic by the BlueGreen Alliance & UFCW)

Even today, women who work in middle-class jobs across America face pronounced barriers and gender discrimination in the workplace, as exemplified by the recent Demos report on gender inequality in retail wages. However, workplace inequality can manifest in other, more subtle ways – such as the manufacture of products containing Bisphenol-A, or BPA.

BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical, which alters hormone production and behavior, disrupting the body’s normal functions. In a 2012 six-year study, BPA was found to have a pronounced effect on women who work in the automotive plastics and the food packaging industries.

These women are five times more likely to have breast cancer than women who work in other industries.

BPA, which is found in the epoxy lining of the metal food can and released into the air during the food canning process, was banned by the FDA in the manufacture of baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula packaging. Many private companies have taken further steps to remove BPA from products. However, BPA exposure is still a problem for thousands of manufacturing and packaging workers in America.

In order to address this problem, the UFCW has joined allies such as the Communications Workers of America, the United Steelworkers, and the United Automobile Workers in supporting the Ban Poisonous Additives Act, or the BPA Act.

The BPA Act would remove BPA from food packaging, encourage the development of safe alternatives, and ensure a thorough safety review of all currently used substances in food and beverage containers. It is currently in committee in the House, where it needs to be passed by the House and the Senate and approved by the President before it becomes a law.

This brochure, produced by the BlueGreen Alliance and UFCW, contains useful information about the growing problem of breast cancer among working women.

Today on April 28—Workers’ Memorial Day—the UFCW will join workers in the U.S. and around the world to honor the thousands of workers who have been killed on the job and the millions of workers who have suffered from injuries, sickness or diseases in their places of work.

While decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions, too many workers here in the U.S. and around the world are suffering or dying on the job.  Last April, our sisters and brothers who worked at the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh were told to report to work in a building that had severe structural cracks and over 1,100 workers lost their lives when the building collapsed. A year later, thousands of workers in Bangladesh continue to work in dangerous conditions and for meager wages, and survivors of the Rana Plaza tragedy are still suffering from their injuries and loss of income. Here in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 4,000 workers lost their lives on the job in 2012 alone.

Workers everywhere deserve a safe place to work, and those corporations that exploit workers for profit and put them in danger must be held accountable.  As we observe Workers’ Memorial Day, the UFCW takes to heart the words of activist Mother Jones to “pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living” by reaffirming our dedication to supporting workers here in the U.S. and around the world who are fighting to uphold their basic rights – including safe jobs, workplace fairness and collective bargaining.

WASHINGTON, DC—A new study released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) confirms what workers in the poultry industry have been saying for decades—it is among the most dangerous places to work in America.

Among the key findings of the report:

• 42 percent of workers had evidence of carpal tunnel syndrome
• 41 percent of workers performed daily tasks above the threshold recommended by industry experts
• 57 percent of workers reported at least one musculoskeletal symptom

The report was commissioned to allay safety concerns about the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed poultry modernization rule, which would increase the speed that birds are processed from 70-91 a minute to a maximum of 175 a minute. Yet the drastic level of injury documented by NIOSH occurred before lines were ever speeded up.

“One injury is one too many,” said UFCW International President Joe Hansen. “Four out of ten workers with carpal tunnel. Nearly six out of ten showing symptoms. This is an epidemic.”

Hansen said the industry, which has fought efforts to give workers a union voice on the job, should stop dragging its feet and adopt the recommendations outlined in the NIOSH report. They include but are not limited to: designing job tasks at the levels recommended by industry experts, providing more than one break during a work shift, and enhancing reporting, screening, and assessment of musculoskeletal disorders.

Hansen called the idea of proceeding with the poultry modernization rule “reckless” given the current rash of injuries across the industry. “The USDA must pull this rule and take a hard look at how to improve safety in our nation’s poultry plants,” he said. “This NIOSH report is both a wakeup call and a warning sign.”

By increasing line speed so dramatically, workers will be at heightened risk of repetitive motion related injuries. Despite this fact, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has yet to develop a standard that would adequately protect workers.

Hansen said the rule should be scrapped until poultry workers can be guaranteed a safe work environment.

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The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail and meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries. For more information about the UFCW’s effort to protect workers’ rights and strengthen America’s middle class, visit www.ufcw.org, or join our online community at www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational and www.twitter.com/ufcw.

On March 25, 1911, a fire spread through the cramped floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City.  When the workers—mostly young female immigrants—tried to escape, they encountered locked doors and broken fire escapes.  Rather than be burned alive, the workers began jumping out of windows and fell to their deaths on the street below as bystanders watched in horror.

While decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions, too many workers here in the U.S. and around the world continue to be killed on the job, or suffer from injuries, sickness or diseases in their places of work.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 4,000 workers in the U.S. lost their lives on the job in 2012.  Just last year, our sisters and brothers in Bangladesh were told to report to work in a building that had severe structural cracks and lost their lives when the factory collapsed, and here in the U.S., 14 workers lost their lives when a fertilizer plant that had been cited for safety violations exploded in in Texas.  Six years ago, managers at the Imperial Sugar Company in Port Wentworth, Georgia, tolerated dirty and dangerous worksite conditions, and 14 workers without a collective voice died in a massive fire and explosion.  And 23 years ago, 25 poultry workers at the Imperial Foods plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, were locked inside by their bosses and died in a horrible fire. Like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers, they had no voice on the job to demand safety improvements.

Workers everywhere deserve a safe place to work, and those corporations that exploit workers for profit and put them in danger must be held accountable.  Today, on the 103^rd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, we take to heart the words of activist Mother Jones to “pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living” by reaffirming our dedication to supporting workers here in the U.S. and around the world who are struggling to protect their basic rights – including safe jobs, workplace fairness and collective bargaining.

For the first time, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has recognized that federal labor law protects workers in the medical marijuana industry. The government authorized a complaint absent settlement of the charges that Wellness Connection of Maine, a medical marijuana company, repeatedly retaliated against and interfered with workers who were exercising their right to form a union. The company subsequently settled charges alleging nearly a dozen instances where Wellness Connection violated the National Labor Relations Act and the rights of its employees.

For the first time, the NLRB has recognized that federal labor law protects workers in the medical marijuana industry.

The alleged violations began last February, after workers at an Auburn cultivation site organized a walk-out in protest of the company’s unlawful practice of applying pesticides. The federal government was prepared to issue a complaint stating that the company unlawfully disciplined workers who stood together, and interfered with their right to join the UFCW by interrogating them, creating the impression of surveillance, and soliciting them to oppose the union. The NLRB also found merit to the charges that the company maintained several overly broad confidentiality policies that unlawfully prevented employees from discussing their wages and working conditions.

“Only by sticking together, we were able to find the strength to speak out about the gross violations that we saw at work,” said Ian Brodie, a former Wellness employee who is included in the charges. “By fighting for our union, we are protecting our customers and shaping the medical marijuana industry into a safe and well regulated industry that provides good jobs and needed medicine for our community. I am proud of what we workers have done to bring justice to Wellness Connection.”

Previously, Wellness Connection workers reported other regulatory and health and safety violations to the Department of Health and Human Services, resulting in $18,000 in penalties for more than 20 violations of state law. OSHA also fined Wellness Connection $14,000 for numerous health and safety violations. Workers were emboldened to blow the whistle on their employer’s inappropriate practices after joining together in an effort to organize a union.

Thousands of medical cannabis workers in six states and the District of Columbia are UFCW members. They work predominantly in dispensaries, coffee shops, bakeries, patient identification centers, hydroponics stores, and growing and training facilities. UFCW members have been key leaders in coalitions and advocacy groups that work for real change at all levels of policy and have been instrumental in working to advocate for the good jobs provided by the medical cannabis industry.

This week, Thanksgiving is upon us, and it also happens to be International Food Workers Week. It’s a time when we should be celebrating and giving thanks to all, but especially to those that work to provide the food we feast on during this holiday.

Unfortunately, right now, “government officials are moving forward with plans to privatize some poultry inspections at chicken and turkey slaughter plants in a manner that could compromise worker and consumer safety”, reports an In These Times article. Rather than use government officials, some poultry companies will now conduct poultry inspections with individuals directly hired by them. Additionally, the speed of inspections will be allowed to increase, meaning slaughter line speeds will “be increased from 32 turkeys per minute to 55 birds per minute, with similar increases for other poultry. That’s too fast to do proper inspections for signs of disease or other health problems in the birds,” according to Ken Ward, a retired veteran of the USDA, “and could lead to unsafe food being shipped out to local supermarkets and butcher shops.”

This USDA pilot program “seems rigged to provide financial benefits to the producing companies while putting food safety at a lower priority” says one top lobbyist from a food safety advocacy group. He notes that in order to correct the problem, we must create new legislation to ensure food and worker safety is not ignored.

Over 65,000 UFCW members work in the meatpacking industry, including the poultry sector.  If the plans  go through, our members are at risk of ailments that have been associated with increased line speeds, including musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome. The UFCW is calling for  further study on the worker safety elements of the USDA proposal before it goes forward.

“The hardworking people who produce our food should be protected from dangerous conditions that lead to avoidable injuries,” says another activist, Tom Fritzsche. “The current system may be profitable for the poultry companies, but it relies on systematic exploitation of workers. Now, regulators are about to make conditions even more hazardous.”

Last week, in a press conference, “former turkey plant worker Esmundo Juarez Carranza endorsed efforts to stop the USDA plan and issued a plea for better treatment of poultry workers. Carranza says he was unfairly fired from his job at a Cargill turkey slaughter facility in Springdale, Ark. after leaving his post on the production line to use the bathroom without first getting permission from supervisors.” Carranza and his coworkers “suffered from low pay, onerous working conditions and abusive managers. As the poultry producers strive to maintain fast line speeds, he says, they’re subjecting workers to tighter restrictions—and often disregarding the workers’ emotional and physical well-being.”

With a union, workers can stand together to fight for better working conditions at poultry plants. Workers like Esmundo Carranza don’t deserve to be treated like animals, simply because the company values profit over people. UFCW members are continuing to support legislation that will ensure safety first for the workers and protect consumers. Together, we can ensure food-workers are treated with the respect they deserve.

Meatpacking and food processing workers launch a new women’s committee to empower workers and address issues important workers in these industries.

At the chain meeting earlier this month, workers launched a new women’s committee for meatpacking and food processing workers. The new committee will serve as a valuable resource to help empower the sisters of the UFCW to take more leadership roles and effectively address issues important to them.

During the women’s committee meeting members benefited from hearing stories of success from union sisters in leadership roles. Table discussions were held on what issues are important to them on the shop floor such as; health and safety concerns, educating co-workers, increasing union membership and developing more union activist within their plants and industries.

The committee will continue to develop with the selection of committee chairs, a partnership with the UFCW Women’s Network, and future meetings that will feature workshops as well as resources that members can take back to their plants and share.

For more information on the women’s committee contact Sarah Morrissette at SMorrissette@UFCW.org.