Dorry’s blog

Have you had a chance yet to check out the new Workers’ Comp Hub website, launched recently by National COSH and the National Economic & Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)? If not, don’tworry. There’s still plenty of time to explore this great new resource for injured and ill workers.  

The Workers’ Comp Hub website provides:

Much of the Northeast is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, which bombarded the East Coast with heavy rain, snow and wind. But as recovery continues, there are some important health and safety concerns for clean-up workers and the public at large.  

National COSH was saddened to learn about the death of a temporary worker in North Carolina in an accident at a pita and bagel chip factory. Not only was the death itself a tragedy, but so was the fact that it was probably preventable. Read our letter to the editor submitted to the Winston-Salem Journal:

To the editor,

A temporary worker’s death at the Chipita America plant in Yadkinville (“Worker dies in accident at Yadkinville pita and bagel chips factory,” Oct. 17) is even more tragic because it probably could have been prevented.

We asked you to participate in the USDA’s virtual office hours and ask the agency to comment on its proposed poultry rule. The rule would increase line speeds for poultry inspections from 70 birds per minute to more than 175 birds per minute — or a bird every 1/3 of a second.

Here are some highlights from that chat:

Have a question about the USDA’s proposed poultry rule (which would increase inspection line speeds to requiring poultry inspections every 1/3 of a second)? There’s a chat for that. Today at 3 p.m., Dr. Elisabeth Hagen is holding virtual office hours for the agency.

A proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture would increase poultry processing line speeds and remove hundreds of federal inspectors from poultry processing plants. The proposal, which would modify USDA’s poultry slaughter inspection program, increases the poultry line speed to an unsafe level and allows plant employees to replace federal government inspectors for certain inspection activities.