bathrooms
cmonforton | January 18, 2017There’s a thriving garment industry in Los Angeles which specializes in small volume production. The employers, who supply the trendy casual sportswear for companies such as Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, Papaya, and Wet Seal, employ about 45,000 workers in Los Angeles. A survey of more than 300 of those workers describes the dirty, dangerous and unhealthy conditions of their jobs. The survey results and companion findings from focus groups are reported in Dirty Threads, Dangerous Factories: Health and Safety in Los Angeles’ Fashion Industry.
Nearly 72 percent of the workers indicated that…
cmonforton | February 24, 2016This week’s announcement by Allen Harim Foods offers another upsetting example of a poultry company that cares more about its chickens than its employees. The Delaware-based company broadcasted that it
“…is one of the first companies in the nation that has moved to a 100 percent vegetarian feed for its chickens.”
The firm says the move responds to
“…what our customers are telling us” about wanting to buy healthy chicken products.
I can’t help but wonder how their customers would respond if Allen Harim posed this question to consumers:
“Should the employees who skin, debone and package our…
cmonforton | January 14, 2016There are many things I am thankful for about my job. One of them is being able to use the bathroom whenever (and as often) as I need. I thought about this situation when I’ve heard poultry workers mention the restrictions they face. I've also read about the problem for bus drivers and other public transit workers. The Washington Post, for example, has been following the issue involving drivers for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). In a story from 2011, WashPost's Dana Hedgpeth wrote:
“Some operators say they have had to relieve themselves in a cup or bag at the back…
lborkowski | May 2, 2014A few of the recent pieces I've liked:
Jennifer Brown and Christopher N. Osher in the Denver Post: Prescription Kids (a six-part investigative series on the extensive prescribing of psychotropic drugs to Colorado foster children; via Reporting on Health)
Lydia DePillis at Washington Post's Wonkblog: The U.S. still spends way more on teen pregnancy than family planning
David Moberg at In These Times: Meet the 'Missing' Workers ("More than 5 million Americans have given up hope of a job. Who are they?")
William Laurance at Yale Environment 360: Will Increased Food Production Devour Tropical…