Congressional Hearings On Industrial Deaths: January 14, in Linden NJ.
The House Committee on Education & Labor will hold a field hearing on January 14, 2007: "Workplace Tragedies: Examining Problems and Solutions," scheduled at 2:00 p.m. in the Linden, NJ City Hall.
Its Sub-Committee on Work Force Protections, chaired by Lynn Woolsey (CA-06), will focus on recent on-the-job deaths, especially those of Victor & Carlos Diaz who died Dec.1, 2007 while cleaning a 20,000 gallon dilution tank. (Need background? Try prior posts here , here, and here .)The workers (who were not related) had no respiratory protection whatsoever. A key sub-committee member Donald Payne (NJ-10) represents Linden so I spoke to his senior labor staffer, LaVerne Alexander. She said she expected other NJ Congress Members to attend and that experts on confined space safety, union experts and relatives of the families to testify.
I also spoke to one union expert, Eric Frumin, who is the Safety & Health Director of Unite-Here – the union seeking to organize the workers at the Linden facility (& its sister operation, New England Linen of Hew Haven Ct.). One alarming aspect of this incident is that the owners/operators of the two plants, had previously been cited for failing to evaluate confined space dangers at their New Haven facility. I asked Frumin about reports about the use of sulfuric acid in the tank. While he had no first hand knowledge of the Linden, NJ operation, he said that – in general – commercial laundries, like this one, use H2SO4 to neutralize their waste water. As a result, he thought the reports of such use in Linden and of hydrogen sulfide in the tank were credible.
Aaron Albright, Education & Labor Committee press aide, said that the hearings would also touch the death of Edgar Moreno and the serious injury of his brother Alcides Moreno in the 47-storey fall from Solow Tower on East 66th Street in Manhattan. The Moreno brothers shared a home in Linden. While much attention has been focused on the miraculous survival and recovery of Alcides Moreno who began to speak Christmas Day, less has been given to the causes of the scaffold collapse in which precipitated the 500-foot fall. One odd side issue has emerged: a number of people responding to the flood of “miracle†articles call Alcides Moreno an illegal alien who should be shipped back to Ecuador. (In fact, he’s a US citizen). This underscores to me how keenly felt the injuries, real or imagined, of immigration are; they bubble up spontaneously, without factual basis.
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Donald M. Payne | Lynn Woolsey | UNITE-HERE
Dear Mary, I have been concerned, too Here is what I know:
Submitted by Daniel Millstone on 12 January 2008 - 8:23am.
The Witness List (taken from the committee website) is below. I am told that some current or former North East Linen employees may also attend. I asked and believe that the first responders from Linden Police & Fire are not planning to attend. The OSHA group investigating the incident -- praised as very competent -- is said to plan to not attend. I am told OSHA will take the full 6 months their procedures permit before they report publicly -- that adds up to June 2008.
Workforce Protections Subcommittee
Field Hearing on "Workplace Tragedies: Examining Problems and Solutions," scheduled at 2:00 p.m. in the Courtroom (3rd Floor) of Linden’s City Hall, 301 North Wood Avenue in Linden, NJ.
Witnesses:
Eric Frumin
Director
Occupational Safety and Health Program
UNITE-HERE
New York, New York
David Socolow
Commissioner
New Jersey Department of Labor
& Workforce Development
Trenton, New Jersey
Charles Wowkanech
President
New Jersey State AFL-CIO
Trenton, New Jersey
James W. Stanley
President
FDRsafety, LLC
On behalf of the Uniform and
Textile Service Association
Arlington, Virginia
Rick Engler
Director
Work Environment Council
Trenton, New Jersey
Field Hearing on "Workplace Tragedies: Dear Daniel,
Submitted by LifeSaver001 on 12 January 2008 - 10:36am.
Dear Daniel,
Thank you for taking the time to get back to me. And for sharing what you knew. Sadly I won't be at the hearing. As I am in California and just found out a week ago. My associates and I were very disappointed that none of us were told sooner, and or asked to participate as we have been included in other events such as the National Health & Safety Summit which took place in Washington D.C. back in November. Launching our Family Bill of Right's.
I had sent the same reply to many of those who are on the committee as well and have heard nothing back. Please let me know if you hear anything more in the next two day's. Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly.
Respectfully,
Mary Vivenzi
United Support & Memorial
For Workplace Fatalities
web site ~ http://www.usmwf.org
Email ~ safeinheaven2002@aol.com
Transforming tragedy into prevention
"One with a voice that does not protest an injustice
is an accomplice to it."
Congressional Hearings On Industrial Deaths: January 14
To Whom this may concern:
I wanted to take a moment to express my concerns regarding the apparent lack of publicly available information and/or participation for the Workforce Protections Subcommittee's upcoming Field Hearing on "Workplace Tragedies: Examining Problems and Solutions," scheduled at 2:00 p.m. Monday January 14, 2008 in the Courtroom (3rd Floor) of Linden’s City Hall, 301 North Wood Avenue in Linden, NJ.
I would specifically like to know if any of the witnesses/participants will be announced publicly prior to the hearing? And if any of those witnesses are representing those who have been injured and/or killed in such tragedies? As I personally fail to see how this hearing can successfully address the problems surrounding Workplace Tragedies: if the committee fails to include those who have extensive knowledge on the subject because they have themselves been affected by the many problems & injustices surrounding Workplace Tragedies: A failure to include such individuals would deny the committee the ability to create affective solutions should it not allow itself to identify the many problems to the fullest extent. Which is not possible if the committee chooses not to include those who are affected the most. As these individuals have the single greatest possibility to create change through their personal accounts of tragedy enabling the Workforce Protections Subcommittee to successfully create positive change & preventative measures to benefit tomorrows workplace. Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
Mary Vivenzi
United Support & Memorial
For Workplace Fatalities
Email ~ safeinheaven2002@aol.com
Transforming tragedy into prevention
"One with a voice that does not protest an injustice
is an accomplice to it."