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DIRTY DOZEN 2020 DIRTY DOZEN 2020 Special Coronavirus Edition WORKERS' MEMORIAL WEEK APRIL 26 - MAY 1, 2020 WORKERS' MEMORIAL WEEK APRIL 26 - MAY 1, 2020

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Page 1: DDIIRRTTYY DDOOZZEENN 22002200 Coronavirus Edition Special Dirty... · 2020-04-23 · Marianela Acuña Arreaza, Southern Regional Coordinator Roger Kerson, Communications Consultant

DIRTY DOZEN 2020DIRTY DOZEN 2020

SpecialCoronavirus

Edition

WORKERS' MEMORIAL WEEKAPRIL 26 - MAY 1, 2020

WORKERS' MEMORIAL WEEKAPRIL 26 - MAY 1, 2020

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The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) isdedicated to promoting safe and healthy conditions for all working peoplethrough education, training, organizing, and advocacy. We are a federation oftwenty-two local affiliates in sixteen states. We engage workers, labor andcommunity allies to improve workplace conditions and practices; promoteeffective health and safety programs; organize direct action against egregiousemployers; and wage campaigns for effective safety and health policy.

Nearly all work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities are preventable. NationalCOSH supports workers who are acting to protect their safety and health;promotes protection from retaliation under job safety laws; and provides qualityinformation and training about hazards and controls on the job and workers’rights.

Our Mission

ALL WORK HAS DIGNITY – AND ALL WORKERS HAVE A RIGHT TO SAFETY ON THE JOB.

SpecialDIRTY DOZEN 2020 coronavirus editionSpecialDIRTY DOZEN 2020 coronavirus edition

National COSH TeamJessica Martinez, Co-Executive DirectorMarcy Goldstein-Gelb, Co-Executive DirectorPeter Dooley, Safety and Health Senior Project CoordinatorSusi Nord, Website, Social Media and Conference CoordinatorMarianela Acuña Arreaza, Southern Regional CoordinatorRoger Kerson, Communications Consultant

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Li Wenliang, National COSH 2020 Whistleblower of the Year

Dr. Li was the Chinese ophthalmologist fromWuhan who first told colleagues about theoutbreak of a new SARS-like virus spreading in theregion. Li was questioned and issued a letter ofreprimand by local police in January and accusedof “spreading rumors.” Dr. Li was exposed to COVID-19 while treating hispatients; he died from the disease at WuhanCentral Hospital on February 7. China’s NationalSupervisory Commission has since concluded thatactions by local authorities against Dr. Li were“improper.” The reprimand against him has beenposthumously rescinded, and his family has beencompensated.

And to all front-line workers: Farm workers, first responders, grocery workers, janitors, health care workers, pharmacyworkers, transit workers, trash collectors, truck drivers, utility workers, warehouse workersand many others

These brave workers, who face serious health risks at work every day, arecontinuing to do their jobs during an unprecedented global health crisis. Withoutthem, the rest of us would not have access to food, water, shelter, health care andother necessities of life.

ALL WORK HAS DIGNITY – AND ALL WORKERS HAVE A RIGHT TO SAFETY ON THE JOB.

Special Coronavirus EditionSpecial Coronavirus EditionDIRTY DOZEN 2020DIRTY DOZEN 2020

THIS REPORT IS DEDICATED TO:

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DedicationExecutive SummaryU.S. Workers at Risk

National COSH and the COSH Network Respond to COVID-19U.S. Workplace Deaths Are Rising

More Deaths, Less EnforcementThe Low Price of a Worker’s Life

Workers' Memorial Week

The National COSH Dirty Dozen 2020 * American Hospital Association

* Chipotle* Eulen America* Fieldale Farms

Hard Rock Café International/ 1031 Canal Development LLC/Citadel Building

Lincoln Recycling Services* National Restaurant Association

Sea Watch InternationalSGL Constructors: Skanska USA, Granite Construction, Lane Construction

Tennessee Valley Authority/Jacobs Engineering* Trader Joe's

* Victoria’s Secret/L Brands/Voyant BeautyDishonorable Mention: * Amazon

Dishonorable Mention: * Montefiore Hospital, Moses Campus,Bronx New York

Dishonorable Mention: * Smithfield FarmsDishonorable Mention: * Tyson Foods

National COSH and the COSH Network

Table of Contentspage 3page 5page 5page 5page 7page 8page 9page 10 page 12page 13page 15page 16page 18 page 20page 21page 23page 25page 27page 29page 31page 33page 33 page 34page 34 page 35

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* indicates an employer that risks worker health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic

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U.S. Workers at Risk: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaping flaws in theU.S. social and workplace safety net, which make it harder to bring the diseaseunder control. More than 27 million Americans have no health insurance, 33.6million have no paid sick leave and more than 21 million work insecure jobs in thegig economy. National COSH and the COSH Network Respond to COVID-19: Activities includecreating toolkits, webpages and other resources; campaigns to demand local,state and federal protections; connecting ill, laid off and frightened workers withessential resources; trainings on protections against infectious disease; anddeveloping Model Demands for Essentials Workers. U.S. Workplace Deaths Are Rising: 5,250 U.S. workers died from workplace traumain 2018, an 8.9 percent increase since 2014. Fatalities are rising even faster forworkers of color: a 19.5 percent increase over the same period for Latinx workers,and a 29.5 percent increase for African American workers. More Deaths, Less Enforcement: Even though fatalities are rising, workplaceinspections by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)dropped by 10.5 percent between 2014 and 2018. OSHA now has just 875inspectors to cover 9 million U.S. workplaces. The Low Price of a Worker’s Life: The price of a worker’s life is now $7,761 – themedian fine imposed on employers by U.S. OSHA following a workplace fatality.States with their own OSHA program have an even lower price tag -- a medianfine of just $2,700 after a worker dies on the job. Workers’ Memorial Week: April 24 through May 1, 2020: The Dirty Dozen report isreleased to mark Workers’ Memorial Week, remembering those who have beeninjured, suffered illnesses or lost their lives at work. The event is observednationwide — and around the world — by unions, surviving family members, andhealth and safety activists in workplaces and Communities.

executive Summary

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The Dirty Dozen, 2020American Hospital Association: Fighting against coronavirus protections for health care workersChipotle: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, restaurant chain still violates sick leave PoliciesEulen America: Months after OSHA Fines, workers still exposed to infectious disease risk of blood-borne pathogens and other hazardsFieldale Farms: Preventable deaths and injuries – and a line speed-up hazard Hard Rock Café International/ 1031 Canal Development LLC/CitadelBuilding/Heaslip Engineering and 10 subcontractors: Three workers dead; dozens injured; a witness deportedLincoln Recycling Services: Three worker deaths since 2016National Restaurant Association: Lobbying against paid sick leave for millions of workersSea Watch International: Three workers dead – but company ignores warnings and declines safety trainingSGL Constructors – Skanska USA, Granite Construction, Lane Construction: Five workers dead on massive highway projectTennessee Valley Authority/Jacobs Engineering: 41 workers dead, 400 are sick after bungled clean-up of toxic coal ashTrader Joe’s: One fatality – so far – as company fights its own workforce and stores stay open despite confirmed COVID-19 ExposuresVictoria’s Secret/L Brands/Voyant Beauty: “A Culture of Misogyny” at fashion firm; supplier tolerates harassment and fails to prevent against COVID-19

Dishonorable Mention:Amazon: Six fatalities, hundreds of injuries due to breakneck page of next-day delivery; at least one dead from COVID-19 Montefiore Hospital – Moses Campus: Nurses say hospital hasn’t protected workers and patients from the spread of COVID-19. Smithfield Foods: The worst COVID-19 hot spot in the nation at Sioux Falls, SD plant. More than 700 confirmed cases, at least one worker has died. Tyson Foods: Company responds slowly to COVID-19; three dead in a Camilla, GA poultry plant.

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All WorkersAfrican American WorkersLatinx Workers

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U.S. Workplace Deaths Are RisingPreventable deaths from suddenworkplace trauma – including falls,slips and trips, exposure to harmfulsubstances and environments,contact with objects and equipmentand other causes – have increasedsteadily over the past five years,rising 8.9 percent from 4,821 in 2014to 5,250 in 2018. Alarmingly, over the same five-yearperiod, deaths from workplacetrauma for workers of color haverisen even faster, increasing by 19.5percent for Latinx workers and by29.5 percent for African-Americanworkers. According to public healthexperts, this increased risk ofworkplace injury and death reflects“a long history of racial/ethnicminority groups’ facing the worst jobconditions.”

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29.5%increase for African-Americanworkers deaths

19.5%increase for Latinxworkers deaths

8.9%increase in totalworker deaths

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, HealthAffairs, 36,NO. 2 (2017)

30%

23%

15%

8%

2015 2016 2017 2018

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More deaths, lessenforcementEven as deaths from workplace traumaare rising, enforcement activity by theU.S. Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA) is falling.Between 2014 and 2018, OSHAinspections decreased by 10.5%. U.S.OSHA now has just 875 inspectors tocover 9 million U.S. workplaces. It willtake 165 years, with current resources,for Federal OSHA to inspect allworkplaces under its jurisdiction.

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10,285W O R K P L A C E S P E R O S H AI N S P E C T O R

↓10.5%D E C R E A S I N G I N S P E C T I O N S  

↑8.9%I N C R E A S I N G D E A T H S

O S H A I N S P E C T I O N SW O R K E R S D E A T H S

Sources: National Employment Law Project,12/17/2019; AFL-CIO, April 2019; U.S. Bureau ofLabor Statistics, 12/17/2019

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Source: AFL-CIO, April 2019

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The low price of aworker’s lifeThe price of a worker’s life is now $7,761– the median fine imposed onemployers by U.S. OSHA following aworkplace fatality. States with their own OSHA programhave an even lower price tag -- amedian fine of just $2,700 after aworker dies on the job.

$7,761$2,700

M E D I A N O S H A F I N E F O RA W O R K P L A C E F A T A L I T Y

F E D E R A L

S T A T E

Some of the workers who have died from work-related injuries in the last year.

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Workers’ Memorial WeekApril 24-May 1, 2020

This report is released to markWorkers’ Memorial Week, honoringthose who have been injured,suffered illnesses or lost their livesat work. The event is observednationwide — and around theworld — by unions, surviving familymembers, and health and safetyactivists in workplaces andcommunities. It coincides with theanniversary of the U.S.Occupational Safety and HealthAct, which took effect on April 28,1971.

SpecialDIRTY DOZEN 2020 coronavirus editionSpecialDIRTY DOZEN 2020 coronavirus edition

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The Dirty Dozen report takes onspecial significance this year. TheCOVID-19 pandemic has paralyzedhuge sections of the global economy,while elevating the life-savingimportance of health care,sanitation, transport, logistics, powergeneration, the production anddistribution of food, medicine andmedical equipment, and othersectors. Sadly, we have identified severalemployers and trade associationswho have not taken proper steps toprotect workers from the risk ofinfectious disease, despite the well-documented health risks of COVID-19. In some situations, irresponsibleactions by employers and theirrepresentatives have actuallyincreased the risks faced by front-line workers. And as we find every year, manyemployers continue to subjectworkers to unnecessary hazards atwork that lead to preventabledeaths, illnesses and injuries.

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To compile the Dirty Dozen,National COSH solicitedinformation from our network ofhealth and safety activists aboutcompanies that put workers andcommunities at risk. Criteria forinclusion include: workers at riskduring the current public healthcrisis; severity of injuries; exposureto unnecessary and preventablerisk; repeat citations by relevantstate and federal authorities; andactivity by workers to improve theirhealth and safety conditions.

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the 2020 dirty dozen

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American Hospital Association

The health and well-being of doctors,nurses, respiratory therapists andother health care workers is vitalduring the CoVid19 pandemic. Healthcare facilities are the epicenters forconfronting the illness. The health ofthese workers and the patients theyserve as well as the general publiccannot be understated. Many of thecurrent outbreaks of COVID-19 havebeen traced to health care facilities.Health care workers cannot be easilyreplaced; if many become ill, the U.S.healthcare system will become badlycompromised precisely whencapacity is most needed. Incredibly, the American HospitalAssociation (AHA) is opposingrigorous protections that can keepworkers healthy so they can provideservice to sick patients. After the H1N1 flu epidemic, US OSHAbegan work on an infectious diseasestandard. It would require hospitalsand other employers to provideprotective gear and make specificplans to control infections. In 2017,the draft regulation was almostcomplete – but put on a back burnerfor “long term action.”

During the current crisis, workers andtheir unions say this delay must end;OSHA must issue a temporaryemergency standard. As part of the firstbill responding to Coronavirus,members of Congress tried to includelanguage requiring the agency to act,but AHA lobbied – successfully – to havethe provision removed. “It isunfortunate,” says Bonnie Castillo ofNational Nurses United, that AHA “isencouraging its member hospitals toadopt minimum rather than optimumstandards.” AHA also opposes an OSHA standard toprotect health care workers fromworkplace violence and lobbied torescind an agency rule which protectsagainst the spread of tuberculosis.

Fighting Against Coronavirus Protectionsfor Health Care Workers

Sources: Politico, 3/13/20; Roll Call, 3/13/20;Occupational Health and Safety, 11/25/2019; MotherJones, 03/20; Relias Media, 3/1/2004; Action Network

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Chipotle

In February 2020, Chipotlepaid $2,500 to settle aviolation of the New YorkCity’s paid sick leave law,after a worker was fired forusing her sick time.

Eleven other workers havefiled complaints, statingpressure to work while sickand other violations of NYCpaid sick leave law. 

Despite the Pandemic, Restaurant Chain Still Violates Sick Leave PoliciesChipotle, a $2.3 billion restaurant chain, has every reason to be vigilant aboutfood safety and the well-being of its workers. In 2015, hundreds of Chipotlecustomers became sick from exposure to E. coli, salmonella and norovirus. Chipotle responded by announcing new food safety measures, but the incidentscontinued over the next three years. The company admitted that before a 2017norovirus outbreak at a Virginia restaurant, a manager required an employee toreport to work despite being sick. Has the firm learned that keeping workers safe and healthy is vital to protectingits customers – and its own reputation? Apparently not.

Chipotle workers protest the company's policies

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Chipotle

Sources: CNBC,7/25/2017; Washington Post,12/9/2015, New York Daily News, 2/26/2020;National Consumers League and SEIU 32BJ,2/2020; The Gothamist, 3/6/2020; Fresno Bee,5/14/2018;US EEOC, 12/4/2019

Also in February, a report by theNational Consumers League(NCL) and SEIU 32BJ found thatdespite company policy,workers are routinely pressuredto work when sick and faceretaliation if they don’t reportfor their shifts.

The NCL/SEIU report foundmultiple cases of workplaceinjuries and hazards, includinglacerations, amputations andburns.

In one especially frighteningincident, a San Jose, CAChipotle worker named AustinMelton was locked inside afreezer in retaliation forcomplaining about sexualharassment. The U.S. EqualOpportunity EmploymentCommission filed a complainton Melton’s behalf, andChipotle paid $95,000 to settlethe case.

(Continued)

Chipotle Workers taking action against thecompany's disregard for paid sick leave policies

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Eulen America

In May 2019, responding to workercomplaints, U.S. OSHA began aninvestigation of working conditions atEulen America. The firm provides cabincleaning, baggage handling and otherservices for American, Delta and otherairlines. In October, OSHA cited Eulen Americafor serious safety violations at MiamiInternational Airport, including:exposing workers to blood, vomit andother bodily fluids; failure to protectagainst heat exhaustion, despite hightemperatures; and exposure tocockroaches and other insects. Eulenagreed to pay fines of more than$46,000, reduced from OSHA’s initialrecommendation of over $76,000. Months later, airport workers say theyare still exposed to dangerous hazards– including infectious diseases. "They'renot giving coronavirus the importanceit is due," a worker told the Miami NewTimes, using a pseudonym due to fearof employer retaliation. The worker saysshe has been assigned to clean “fecalmatter, urine, vomit, everything”without proper protective equipment.

Months after OSHA Fines, Workers StillExposed to Blood-Borne Pathogens and more

Eulen Workers on strike in Miami

OSHA is also investigating a May 2019failure to report an injury to HachelerCyrille, a pregnant worker at JFKairport. Cyrille was then fired by Eulenwithout explanation and filed adiscrimination complaint. In June 2019, supported by SEIU Local32BJ, Eulen workers in Miami, Ft.Lauderdale, New York and WashingtonDC went on strike to protest unsafeconditions, low pay, failure to providesick leave and other workplace issues. Earlier in the year, Miami’s TV4 askedEulen about workers’ concerns andreached CEO Xavier Rebell. “I’m not theright person to discuss this with you,”he said. “I’m the CEO of the company.”

Sources: Miami Herald 11/27/2019; US OccupationalSafety and Health Administration, Miami New Times3/14/2020; New York Daily News, 10/1/2019; TV-4 Miami,4/21/2019; AviationPros.com, 6/27/2019

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On January 15, 2020, Fieldalesanitation worker Chit Tuay fell into ascalder he was cleaning, broke hisneck and died. An OSHA investigationis underway. On July 7, 2015, Ricardo Aburto wasrepairing a fluorescent light at theMurrayville facility, while standing inwater. He contacted an electrical wirewith his screwdriver and died as aresult of electrocution. U.S. OSHAlevied a $4,900 fine against FieldaleFarms (reduced from $7,000) citingthe company for failure to insulate thewire and leaving the light on whileAburto was repairing it.

Fieldale FarmsPreventable deaths and injuries – and a line speed-up

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In addition to these tragic deaths,Fieldale workers at Murrayville havesuffered severe burns, lacerations,fractions and amputations of fingers andlimbs as a result of preventableworkplace injuries.

Chit Tuay, 38

Two workers have died tragic, preventable deaths since 2015 at a Murrayville, GAplant operated by Fieldale Farms. The company bills itself as “one of the largestindependent poultry producers in the world.” The company cannot claim to bean industry leader, however, with so many documented failures to provide forthe health and well-being of its workers.

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Fieldale FarmsDespite this abysmal safety record, the U.S.Department of Agriculture has grantedFieldale Farms a waiver to increase its linespeed from 140 birds per minute to 175birds per minute. Higher line speeds forcepoultry workers – who already suffer highrates of injuries – to work faster and withfewer precautions, resulting in even moreinjuries and illnesses. Poultry workers at Fieldale and otherslaughterhouse operations -- an essentialpart of the US food distribution system --are working during the coronaviruspandemic. At a Perdue processing plant inKathleen, GA, about 150 miles fromMurrayville, workers walked off the job onMarch 23, 2020 frustrated by theiremployer’s failure to provide adequatehealth protections. "You want us to go back on the floor towork?” Perdue worker Kendaliyn Granvilletold WMAZ-TV. “No, first sanitize the line,something, because this is not a playingmatter. This is not a game."

Sources: PoultryProducer.com, 1/20/2020; ProPublica,10/3/2019; US Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration; WMAZ.com, 3/23/2020; National COSH,1/2020

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(Continued)

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Hard Rock Café International / 1031 Canal Development LLC / Citadel Building / Heaslip Engineering and TenSubcontractors

On October 12, 2019, a building underconstruction in downtown New Orleans– the future site of a Hard Rock Caféhotel -- collapsed, killing constructionworkers Quinnyon Wimberly, JosePonce Arreola, and Anthony Magrette.  The site is owned by 1031 CanalDevelopment, with Citadel Building asthe general construction contractor.  Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma, aconstruction worker on the site, hadnotified supervisors of safety concernsprior to the collapse. Two days afterthree of his co-workers died, RamirezPalma was detained by U.S.Immigrations and CustomsEnforcement (ICE) while fishing in aLouisiana wildlife refuge. He was laterdeported to his native Honduras,

Three Workers Dead; Dozens Injured; A key WitnessDeported

Delmer Joel Ramirez Palmer, a witness to andvictim of the collapse was deported by ICE

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although his eyewitness account isan important part of any follow-upto prevent future deadly events.

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Sources: New Orleans Advocate 10/26/2019, 1/24/2020 and 4/2/2020; US OSHA 04/3/20;Washington Post 11/25/2019

The violations match complaints fromRamirez Palma and other workers,who reported that building supportscould not properly handle the weightof the hotel under construction. Other firms cited by OSHA include: F. Mata Masonry, King Company,HUTCO; REY.CO, Regional MechanicalServices, Southern Services andEquipment, S & S Construction andConsulting, and Suncoast Projects.

Hard Rock Café International (Continued)National COSH, joined by the NewOrleans Center for Worker andRacial Justice,  has petitioned forRamirez Palma’s return to theUnited States. In New Orleans, morethan 200 people marched on thesite of the building collapse inJanuary, outraged that the bodies oftwo victims – Wimberley and PonceArreola – had not yet been removedfrom the rubble. In April, US OSHA called the collapsea “preventable tragedy” andannounced 15 citations against 11firms with recommended fines ofover $300,000. General contractor Citadel Buildingwas cited for failure to provideadequate egress from the site, aviolation that may have preventedmore workers from escaping safelywhen the building collapsed. Heaslip Engineering, a sitecontractor, was cited and fined over$154,000 for providing floor beams“under-designed in load capacity”and “inadequately designed”structural steel.

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Lincoln Recycling Services

Despite this terrible record ofpreventable deaths, Lincoln Recyclingmanagement has failed to change theway it does business. After threeworker deaths in just over three years,the company is apparently still unableto provide a safe working environmentfor all employees, as required byfederal law.

Sources: Hudson Reporter 1/8/2020; NewJersey.com,9/26/2017 and 6/4/2018

In December 2016, RigobertoGuerrero, 52 a janitor at LincolnRecycling, was crushed to deathwhen a forklift fell on him. He hadbeen assigned to operate themachine without proper training. OSHA investigated the incidentand fined the company $25,350.

In June 2018, Angelo Maietta, 31, atruck driver for a different firm, washit and killed by a payloader whenmaking a drop off at LincolnRecycling. OSHA is stillinvestigating this incident.

Horacio Diaz barely had a chance tocelebrate the new year. On January 22020, the 61-year old worker wascrushed to death while working atLincoln Recycling Services in NorthBergen, New Jersey. Diaz lost his lifein a preventable incident when hewas pinned in between a concretewall and a dumpster. US OSHA and the Hudson CountyProsecutor are investigating Diaz’sdeath. He is the third worker to die onthe job at Lincoln Recycling since2016.

Three worker deaths since 2016

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National Restaurant Association

A key method to slow the deadlycoronavirus is for those who becomesick to stay home to prevent thespread of infection. This life-savingstrategy is difficult to implement inthe United States, the only developedcountry in the world that does notprovide paid sick leave for all workers. Why is the U.S. so far behind othercountries? One reason is a years-longlobbying effort by the NationalRestaurant Association. In 2014 theAssociation’s magazine, RestaurantBusiness, warned readers: “Paid SickLeave Bills Spread Like the Flu.” NRAExecutive Vice President Scott DeFifeargued that such measures areunnecessary because “mostrestaurants offer some form of paidleave.” In fact, a 2010 survey of 4,300 workersby the Restaurant OpportunitiesCenter found 87.7 percent do nothave any paid sick days. Localorganizing has brought progress inrecent years, with a dozen states and21 localities now requiring this benefit.

Lobbying Against Paid Sick Leave for Millions of Workers

These measures are important toprotect public health. In 2016, theNational Bureau of Economic Researchfound that “influenza-like disease ratesdecrease significantly when employeesgain access to paid sick leave.” Nevertheless, the NRA and its stateaffiliates have worked to block paidleave requirements, including a$100,000 campaign to defeat a Denverballot initiative, suing to overturn aPittsburgh law, and a“CrimeMattersABQ” website urginglegislators to focus on “rampant” crimeinstead of “plastic bag bans andcomplicated sick leave rules.”

March 19, 2014

"Paid Sick Leave Bills

Spread Like the Flu"

RESTAURAN

TBUSIN

ESS

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National Restaurant Association

In a March 18 appeal to Congress, theRestaurant Association asked for a$145 billion relief fund for restaurantowners and another $180 billion inloans, insurance and disaster aid.There is no mention of paid sickleave, reimbursement for lost wages,or any other help for restaurantworkers.

Sources: The World, 3/13/2002, RestaurantBusiness, 3/19/2014 and 8/16/2019; National Bureauof Economic Research, 8/6/2016; Huffington Post,12/6/2017; Economic Policy Institute; NationalRestaurant Association, 3/18/2020

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After intense lobbying efforts by theNRA and other business groups, 23states now prohibit localjurisdictions from even consideringpaid leave ordinances, creating aneven greater need for federal action.The initial coronavirus bill passed byCongress includes a temporaryprovision for paid leave, but itexcludes 80 percent of U.S. workersby leaving out businesses with morethan 500 workers and allowingbusinesses with less than 50workers to apply for exemptions.

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Sea Watch InternationalThree workers dead – but company ignoreswarnings and declines safety training

This worker should not have died.This death was preventable” saidOSHA Area Director "Brenda Gordonin 2014. “It is the employer'sresponsibility… to ensure that thesehazards, and the dangers they poseto workers, do not occur again." Tragically, Sea Watch has not facedup to its responsibilities – and twomore workers have lost their lives. In January 2019, William Couto, 61, amaintenance technician at Sea

William Couto Victor Gerena Paul Sayward

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In January 2014, Victor Gerena, 35,died when his clothes becametangled in a machine he wascleaning at a Sea WatchInternational seafood processingplant in New Bedford,Massachusetts. He died from severehead trauma. U.S. OSHA cited the company forseven serious violations, includingfailure to lockout a machine while itwas being cleaned, and proposedfines of over $35,000 (later reducedto $26,600).

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Sea Watch International (Continued)

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Sources: U.S. OSHA, 6/9/014, Boston Globe 1-18-2019; South Coast Today, 2/26/2020,Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safetyand Health, 1/18/2019

Watch, was crushed to death in almostexactly the same circumstances thatkilled Victor Genera: His clothesbecame caught in the motor of amachine he was repairing, dragginghim into the machine. “Sea Watch International is a killer,plain and simple,” said MassCOSHExecutive Director Jodi Sugerman-Brozan. “The fact that William died in away almost identical to Victor indicatesthat Sea Watch sees these tragic lossesas the cost of doing business.” In February 2020, Paul Sayward, 36, wasknocked overboard and drowned afterbeing hit by a hose on the deck of a SeaWatch fishing vessel, 50 miles off thecoast of Nantucket. Sea Watch’s New Bedford facility isstaffed almost entirely by contractworkers from a temporary labor agency,many of whom are immigrants.Following the 2014 death of VictorGenera, a local workers’ center, theCentro Comunitario Trabajadores,offered to work with Sea Watch toprovide safety training in languagesworkers can understand. The companydeclined the offer.

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SGL Constructors: Skanska USA,Granite Construction, LaneConstruction

Ulises Corrales Ibarra

Ulises Corrales Ibarra, 37, an SGL worker was crushedto death in September 2019 when an unsecuredcement girder fell on him.James Mills, 59, an SGL worker was killed in February2019 when a 20 foot steel pipe rolled off a trailer andonto his body. U.S. OSHA fines SGL $13,260 for aserious violation.

In 2015, Florida unveiled a “public private partnership” torebuild 21 miles of Interstate 4, running throughdowntown Orlando. I4 Mobility Partners, a privateconsortium, will receive a decades-long revenue streamfrom new toll lanes on the roadway, previously free tomotorists. The consortium hired SGL Constructors – made up ofSkanska USA, Granite Construction and LaneConstruction – to complete the project. The public-private approach is intended to deliver results on timeand at lower cost. Instead, the result has been long delays, $100 million incost overruns – and devastating tragedy for constructionworkers. Five workers have died while building I-4 since2015, one for every 4.2 miles of roadway.

Five Workers Dead on Massive Highway Project

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SGL Constructors

An engineering expert told The Orlando Sentinelthat a hazard of turning public projects over toprivate firms is that when confronted with delaysand rising costs, companies may “search for ways tocut losses… cutting corners.”

Sources: Orlando Sentinel 10/25/2019; US OSHA, Construction Dive 8/20/2019;WFTV, 2/4/2016; WESH-TV, 10/1/2019

(Continued)

Marvin Franklin

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Michael Tolman, 56, an ironworker and employeeof subcontractor Shelby Erectors, was killed inMarch 2018 when a rebar cage fell on him. U.S.OSHA fined Shelby Erectors $12,934 for a seriousviolation. Curtis Popkey, 59, an employee of subcontractorCentral Federal Underground was struck by apiece of steel and killed on the I-4 jobsite inDecember 2016. U.S. OSHA investigated but leviedno fines.Marvin Franklin, 34, an SGL worker died afterbeing run over by a dump truck in February 2016. OSHA fined SGL $12,471, stating the tragedy“would not have occurred” if the company had aproper traffic control program.

Curtis Popkey

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Tennessee Valley Authority/Jacobs Engineering

Jacobs badly bungled the job,exposing 900 workers to a toxicstew of heavy metals and chemicals,including arsenic, chromium, lead,mercury and thallium. Twelve years later, more than 40 ofthe clean-up workers are dead fromdiseases linked to toxic exposure,and hundreds more sufferdebilitating illnesses. Workers andtheir families have filed multiplelawsuits. As reported by TheKnoxville News Sentinel: In December 2008, more than a billion

gallons of toxic ash and sludge werereleased after a waste storage pondcollapsed at a coal-fired power plant inKingston, TN. The plant is operated bythe Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA),the nation’s largest publicly-ownedutility. TVA hired Jacobs Engineering toclean up the enormous spill, agreeingto pay the firm’s legal bills in the eventof litigation.

41 Workers Dead, 400 Are Sick After Bungled Clean-up of Toxic Coal Ash

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Jacobs’ safety managersdenied workers protectivemasks or respirators and Tyvekbody suits, destroyed boxes ofdust masks when workerssought to wear them andtampered with tests designedto protect them, according todepositions and trialtestimony.

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Tennessee Valley Authority/Jacobs Engineering

Sources: Knoxville News Sentinel, 7/21/2017 and 8/16/2019;Associated Press, 8/28/2019, Chattanooga Times FreePress, 2/12/20

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“They didn’t want people driving by seeingthem out there wearing those dust masks,”Brad Green a foreman on the project, told thenewspaper. “The public had a big lawsuitgoing over the fly ash and they didn’t want toadd fuel to the fire.” A group of workers and their families won thefirst phase of a lawsuit against JacobsEngineering in November 2018, when a juryfound the contractor had failed to keepworkers safe. A second phase will determinewhether illnesses and deaths can be linked tospecific exposures. In February 2020, a grand jury in RoaneCounty, Tennessee, supported DistrictAttorney Russell Johnson’s recommendationfor probe into possible criminal charges“pertaining to cleanup worker safety.”

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Trader Joe’s

In Westbury New York Trader Joe’semployee Sammy Almlah toldBuzzfeed two of his co-workershave tested positive for COVID-19.The store remains open, and paidsick leave is not available withouta confirmed diagnosis. “I feelnervous going in because of myasthma and the fact that mygirlfriend isimmunocompromised,” Almlahsaid. “I can’t afford to not workunless I’d be getting paid time off,but that only will happen if I getCOVID-19.”

In Louisville, Kentucky, TraderJoe’s worker Kris King was fired aday after he started a COVID-19Facebook group for co-workers.“We don’t operate by letting crewtalk amongst themselves,” Kingwas told by his manager,according to an interview the firedworker gave the New York Times.

Grocery workers are essential to ourfood supply – and at high risk during theCOVID-19 pandemic, laboring in high-density workplaces occupied bythousands of co-workers and shopperseach day. These conditions have already claimedthe life of one worker at Trader Joe’s. Anemployee who worked at the company’sScarsdale, NY store died from COVID-19on April 6. The grocery chain closed thestore and allowed workers time off withpay.

One Fatality – So Far – as Company Fights its Own Workforce and Stores stay open despite confirmed COVID-19 Exposures

“OUR COMPANY ISLETTING US DIE.”

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In other locations, however, Trader Joe’semployees say the company is notpaying enough attention to workersafety concerns, while putting too muchfocus on fighting a longstanding unionorganizing drive.

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Trader Joe’sTrader Joe’s has “aggressivelyopposed unionization,” reports theTimes, sending anti-union memosin the midst of the pandemic.“Because a union has chosen toinject itself into the lives of ourcrew members during this time ofcrisis,” said a companyspokesperson, “we have noalternative but to remind and sharewith our crew members the facts.”Workers also to the Times thatsome managers had “banned theuse of gloves and masks”, sayingthey might scare customers.

@TraderJoesUnion, a Twitteraccount run by union supporters,reports numerous instances ofTrader Joe’s stores remaining opendespite positive or “likely positive”COVID-19 diagnoses.

“Our company is letting us die,”@TraderJoesUnion tweeted onApril 7, “ because they don’t wantto hear our valid concerns or ourcollective considerations forimprovement.”

Sources: Westchester TV-12, 4/7/20; Buzzfeed, 4/1/20;New York Times, 04/2/20; @TraderJoesUnion

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Victoria's Secret in San Francisco

Victoria’s Secret/L Brands/Voyant Beauty“A Culture of Misogyny” at Fashion Firm;Worker Dies from COVID-19 at Supplierwith History of Harassment

After Voyant Beauty workers joinedtogether to demand saferconditions, eight members of theorganizing committee lost theirjobs. The women filed complaintswith the U.S. Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission and theNational Labor Relations Board,and were reinstated, with back pay.

Latinx women workers at VoyantBeauty (formerly known as Vee Pak),a Chicago-area firm that makes andpackages beauty products forVictoria’s Secret and other retailers,say managers demanded sexualfavors in exchange for moredesirable job assignments.

Victoria’s Secret is known for highfashion, but the company has lowstandards for how it treats the workerswho make its products – and for themodels who display them to thepublic.

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Voyant Beauty workers demonstrate in front of aVictoria's Secret store in Chicago. Source: ChicagoWorkers' Collaborative, Labor Notes

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Sources: Labor Notes 2/21/20; Univision Chicago,July 24, 2019; New York Times, 2/1/20 and 2/03/2020

Voyant, which also produces handsanitizer, has continued to operateduring the coronavirus pandemic,but is forcing workers to operate inclose quarters and failing toprovide a safe and clean workplace.Norma Martinez, 43 years old, amother of two who worked atVoyant Beauty, died on April 13thfrom the COVID-19 virus.

According to a February 2020 NewYork Times investigation, topexecutives at Victoria’s Secret have for years tolerated “anentrenched culture of misogyny,bullying and harassment.”

The Times found that Ed Razek,former chief marketing officer at LBrands – parent company ofVictoria’s Secret – was the subjectof repeated complaints. He tried tokiss models, groped them, andmade inappropriate anddemeaning comments.

No action was ever taken againstRazek, who left the company in2019. But when PR director MonicaMitro complained about beingharassed, she was locked out of heroffice and placed on administrative

Victoria’s Secret (Continued)

leave. An employment lawyer calledthis “a textbook case of how not tohandle a sexual harassmentcomplaint.” Production workers and fashionmodels are cooperating to call forbetter workplace practices. OnValentine’s Day 2020, members of theNew York City-based Model’s Alliancejoined with Voyant Beauty workers –supported by the Chicago Workers’Collaborative – to stage protestsagainst Victoria’s Secret in New York,Los Angeles and Chicago.

Victoria's Secret NYC

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AMAZON

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Sadly, concerns about the failure to provide safe working conditions are not limitedto just 12 employers. Below are additional employers that are exposing workers,families and communities to preventable risks, with particular focus on currenthazards related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world’s largest online retailer, atwo-time Dirty Dozen company in2018 and 2019, is still operating inan unsafe manner that is far fromwhat is required from an industryleader. A Buzzfeed investigationfound six fatalities and hundreds ofvehicle crashes attributed to the“super-pressurized, chaoticatmosphere” created by Amazon’srapid delivery system. As of thiswriting, COVID-19 infections havebeen reported at 74 Amazonwarehouses and delivery facilities.In response, Amazon has firedemployees who are advocating forsafe and sanitary workingconditions.Sources: Buzzfeed, 9/6/2019; Washington Post,4/14/2010; CNN, 3/31/2020

Montefiore Hospital, MosesCampus, Bronx New York

Montefiore, like other New York Cityhospitals, is coping with a large number ofCOVID-19 patients – 381 cases as of earlyApril. Nurses at Montefiore, reports The WallStreet Journal, “say the hospital systemstumbled in creating protocols to preventthe disease’s spread and is sending itsworkers out to the battlefieldunderprepared.” Across the Montefioresystem, which has multiple hospitals, 1,000health care workers are in quarantine and 311workers have confirmed cases of COVID-19. According to the Journal, “Many nurses anddoctors have symptoms, like dry coughs, butare being denied tests and remain working…Montefiore workers are angry thatsupervisors didn’t take seriously alarm bellsrung by health-care employees and thehospital hasn’t done enough to protectworkers and patients against transmission ofthe virus.”Source: Wall Street Journal, 4/1/2020

dishonorable mention

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Smithfield Foods

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As of this writing, nearly 900 workersat the Smithfield’s Sioux Falls, SDpork processing plant haveconfirmed cases of COVID-19,making it the largest coronavirushot spot in the United States. As theoutbreak spread, Smithfieldannounced it would close for threedays for cleaning. Sioux Falls Mayor Paul Ten Haken,“worried that Smithfield wasn'tdoing enough to stop the virus fromspreading,” according to NationalPublic Radio, asked the company toclose for at least two weeks. SouthDakota Governor Kristi Noem joinedthe appeal on April 11, and the nextday Smithfield announced thefacility will be closed indefinitely.Smithfield worker AugustínRodriguez, 64, died on April 14, thefirst confirmed COVID-19 death atthe facility.Sources: National Public Radio, 4/14/20; DickinsonPress, 4/11/2020; Argus Leader, 4/15/2020

Tyson FoodsThree workers have died from COVID-19at Tyson’s poultry processing plant inCamilla, Georgia. The Retail, Wholesaleand Department Store Union (RWDSU),representing 2,000 workers at thefacility, says Tyson’s response to COVID-19 has been “too little, too late,” citing“delayed distribution of personalprotective equipment (PPE) to workersand the delayed implementation ofsocial distancing protocols, protectivebarriers, and staggered start times andbreaks…”Sources: New York Times, 4/9/2020; RWDSU,04/7/2020

dishonorable mention

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The COSH NetworkNational COSH serves as a convener and clearinghouse for the COSH Network, whichincludes local worker health and safety coalitions in communities across the UnitedStates. We work together to coordinate and share information about workplace safety,provide training for workers and advocate for elimination of preventable hazards in theworkplace.

COSH GroupsCincinnati Interfaith WorkersCenter215 East 14th StreetCincinnati, OH 45202513-621-5991www.cworkers.org Connecticut Council onOccupational Safety and Health(ConnectiCOSH)683 N. Mountain Rd,Newington, CT 06111860- 953- 2674 Central New York OccupationalHealth Clinical Center6712 Brooklawn ParkwaySyracuse, NY 13211315-432-8899ohccupstate.org

Equality State Policy Center419 S 5th St. Suite 1Laramie, WY 82070307-228-4163equalitystate.org Fe y Justicia Worker Center(Houston COSH)1922 Common StreetHouston, TX 77009713-862-8222www.houstonworkers.org Knox Area Worker Memorial DayCommittee865-573-0655

National COSH – West3727 Camino del Rio South, Suite 210San Diego, CA 92108

National OfficesNational COSH – East337 Somerville Avenue,Somerville, MA 02143

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COSH GroupsMaine Labor Group on Health (MLGH)PO Box 5197Augusta, ME 04332207-622-7823www.mlgh.org Massachusetts Coalition forOccupationalSafety and Health (MassCOSH)1532B Dorchester Ave.Dorchester, MA 02122617-825-7233www.masscosh.org Mid-State New York COSH701 W. State St.Ithaca, NY 14850607-275-9560 The Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human RightsPO Box 1223Greenville, MS 38701662-334-1122 New Hampshire Coalition forOccupational Safety and Health(NHCOSH)161 Londonderry TurnpikeHookset, NH 03106603-232-4406www.nhcosh.org

New Jersey Work EnvironmentCouncil (NJWEC)7 Dunmore AveEast Ewing, NJ 08618609-882-6100njwec.org New York Committee forOccupationalSafety and Health (NYCOSH)50 Broadway, 28th floorNY, NY 10004212-227-6440 (o)nycosh.org North East NY Coalition forOccupationalSafety and Health (NENYCOSH)PO Box 38098Albany, NY 12203nenycosh.org Northwest Arkansas Workers’ JusticeCenter210 S Thompson St.Springdale, AR 72764479-750-8015 Philadelphia Area Project onOccupational Safety and Health (PhilaPOSH)3001 Walnut St., 5th FloorPhiladelphia, PA 19104215-386-7000philaposh.org

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COSH GroupsRhode Island Committee on OccupationalSafety and Health (RICOSH)741 Westminster St.,Providence, RI 02903401-751-2015 Safe Jobs Oregon/NW Workers’ Justice Project812 SW Washington StPortland, Oregon 97205503-525-8454nwjp.org/safejobsoregon Southern California Coalition forOccupational Safety and Health(SoCalCOSH)1000 N Alameda StLos Angeles, CA 90012310.435.1423www.socalcosh.com

South Florida Interfaith WorkerJustice13727 SW 152 St, PMB 256Miami, FL 33177305-598-1404www.sfiwj.org Western NY Council onOccupational Safety and Health(WNYCOSH)2495 Main St., Ste 438Buffalo, NY 14214716-833-5416wnycosh.org Wisconsin Committee onOccupational Safety and Health (WisCOSH)Milwaukee, WI414-933-2338www.wiscosh.org Worksafe1736 Franklin St., Ste. 500Oakland, CA 94612510-922-8075worksafe.org

Website: www.nationalcosh.orgFacebook: NationalCOSHTwitter: @NationalCOSH

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