From the Executive Director's Desk
It seems hard to believe, but we're already preparing for WEC's Awards Dinner, which will be held Thursday, November 30.
This year we have a great group of honorees, including:
- Ken Hoffner, Health & Safety Director, retired, NJ Laborers for his dedication to worker safety and his decade-long commitment to fighting for and winning strong silica protections for workers.
- Hetty Rosenstein, Director, NJ CWA for leading the NJ Resistance movement, and successfully leading a strike with partners in IBEW against Verizon in which workers beat back unreasonable demands for concessions from their employer.
- Assemblyman Tim Eustace, Chairman, Assembly Environment Committee for sponsoring the Oil Train Safety Bill and standing up for the Right to Know.
- Lizette Delgado-Polanco and John Ballantyne, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters for standing in solidarity with New Jersey's immigrant communities.
- Valorie Caffee, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance for her lifelong commitment to social and environmental justice.
And we'll highlight the accomplishments of our two Rising Star Award recipients: Eric Jones, President, Plainfield Education Association and Carimer Andujar, President, UndocuRutgers.
In light of the challenges and opportunities ahead of us from addressing climate change to reining in Wall Street greed, now more than ever, WEC must count on the generosity of our members to help fund our work. Please join us and help make this our most successful annual fundraiser ever!
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Hurricane Hazards
On August 31, there were two explosions at the flooded Arkema Inc. chemical plant near Houston, which was inundated with 40+ inches of rain. At least 12 emergency responders were affected by the smoke and some were taken to the hospital. The plant manufactures organic peroxides commonly used in everyday products like kitchen countertops, industrial paints, polystyrene cups and plates, and PVC piping.
The new chemical safety rule if implemented would improve coordination between chemical facilities, fire fighters, and other local emergency planners and responders; and encourage safety improvements through internal alternatives assessment practices, among other modest changes. Instead of enacting this common sense safeguard, Administrator Pruitt delayed implementation of the rule for 20 months, leaving fence line communities and first responders in jeopardy during this exact type of situation.
Meanwhile, as volunteers with big hearts pour into Houston, Florida, and the surrounding areas to help, it’s important that they also take precautions to protect themselves from numerous hazards. In 2013, WEC received a grant from OSHA to fund our Safer After Sandy project with the goal that recovery and rebuilding wouldn’t create new health and safety hazards. Please click here to learn more.
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Offshore Wind for NJ
On August 16, Jersey Renews held the first in a series of events promoting policies that will push New Jersey towards a just transition to more clean, renewable energy. This event tackled offshore wind power with an expert panel and community press conference; the panel of experts, speaking from the control room of the Atlantic City Utilities Authority, discussed job opportunities, energy output, and environmental concerns related to the construction and maintenance of offshore wind turbines. The press event, held under the shadow of an impressive turbine a few hundred yards away, was replete with community advocates who argued passionately for the state to move forward with offshore wind power and renewable energy that will save our communities.
Click here for press coverage, photos and more background!
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Lead Testing Results
On July 13, 2016, the New Jersey State Board of Education adopted regulations regarding testing for lead in drinking water for all educational facilities.
In August, well after the stated deadline of July 13, 2017, HSN conducted a review of the district websites of the 31 Schools Development Authority (SDA) districts to see if lead testing test results were publicly posted. Fortunately, the majority of districts have complied. Unfortunately, 5 SDA districts (16%) have not complied with the state mandated requirement to post results on their district website: Gloucester City, Orange, Phillipsburg, Salem and Union City. HSN has contacted each of the non-compliant districts and implored them to follow the state mandated requirements and post results publicly as soon as possible.
Please click here to learn more!
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Final days of our grant! Need a speaker for an upcoming event, meeting, or training conference on workplace, environmental, or school safety issues?
WEC staff would love to help before September 30.
Contact Cecelia Gilligan Leto for more information.
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