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On Workers Memorial Day in CA No More Worker Deaths & Injuries-Rally at Ca-OSHA
Import event into your personal calendar
Date:
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Time:
12:00 PM
-
1:30 PM
Event Type:
Protest
Organizer/Author:
California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day
Location Details:
California State Building Oakland
1515 Clay St.
Oakland
1515 Clay St.
Oakland
On Workers Memorial Day In CA No More Worker Deaths & Injuries-
Rally At Ca-OSHA, DIR In Oakland
NO More Deaths On The Job-Fight For The Injured Workers!
Sunday April 28, 2024 12 pm noon
California State Building Oakland
1515 Clay St.
Oakland, California
April 28 is the date around the world to commemorate Workers Memorial Day when we remember workers killed and injured on the job.
In California we face the destruction of any real health and safety protection and a corrupt workers compensation system under Governor Newsom.
California has less than 200 OSHA inspectors with more than 18 million workers. That means that bosses and companies can get away with no real oversight and inspections of dangerous work sites including Tesla and many other sites.
Workers are also illegally fired for reporting health and safety problems on the job and under Newsom and the US Department of Labor bosses get away with this illegal retaliation of health and safety whistleblowers.
At refineries, biotech laboratories and construction sites workers are coerced and threatened of they speak up about health and safety and at Bay Area refineries this is causing even more dangerous incidents injuring and killing workers along with poisoning the communities with dangerous and deadly toxins. No corporate executives are held accountable for this reign of terror against workers and the community.
The agency under Governor Newsom and the legislature has been bled and destroyed according even to the workers who work there. We need the unions and labor movement to challenge this deadly threat to our lives.
During Covid many workers died in California due to the criminal negligence and corporate capture of Ca OSHA by the billionaires who own the governor and legislature.
Newsom and the legislature have also allowed the insurance industry and companies to commit workers comp fraud by denying workers their timely treatment for injuries and compensation for being unable to work.
Bosses and insurance companies are committing massive workers comp fraud against injured workers yet the so called Fraud Assessment Commission is controlled by the insurance industry and only really prosecutes workers and not bosses and the insurance companies.
The insurance industry under previous Department of Industrial Relations director Christine Baker and the present managers allow a company Maximus with a record of killing workers for profits to have anonymous doctors who are not even licensed in California to determine whether workers should get medical treatment. This insurance controlled workers comp system is destroying the lives of workers injured on the job. It was given a no bid multi million dollar contract by previous governor Brown to decide whether injured workers get medical treatment. Many workers are being permanently disabled by the stalling and refusal of these insurance controlled companies denying medical treatment. This is criminal and must be halted NOW!
We need to have 2, 000 OSHA inspectors in California and eliminate the insurance industry. All workers and their families need healthcare whether they are injured at work or off the job but this means fighting the corruption and control of government agencies by the very companies that they are supposed to regulate. We need our own working class political representatives to stop the systemic corruption and destruction of Cal-Osha and real workers compensation and benefits.
Join injured workers and health and safety advocates on
California Workers Memorial Day
Sunday April 28, 2024 at 12:00 Noon.
California State Building Oakland
1515 Clay St.
Oakland
Sponsored by California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day
United Front Committee For A Labor Party
WorkWeek
https://www.workersmemorialday.org
For more info:
info [at] ufcw.org
Rally At Ca-OSHA, DIR In Oakland
NO More Deaths On The Job-Fight For The Injured Workers!
Sunday April 28, 2024 12 pm noon
California State Building Oakland
1515 Clay St.
Oakland, California
April 28 is the date around the world to commemorate Workers Memorial Day when we remember workers killed and injured on the job.
In California we face the destruction of any real health and safety protection and a corrupt workers compensation system under Governor Newsom.
California has less than 200 OSHA inspectors with more than 18 million workers. That means that bosses and companies can get away with no real oversight and inspections of dangerous work sites including Tesla and many other sites.
Workers are also illegally fired for reporting health and safety problems on the job and under Newsom and the US Department of Labor bosses get away with this illegal retaliation of health and safety whistleblowers.
At refineries, biotech laboratories and construction sites workers are coerced and threatened of they speak up about health and safety and at Bay Area refineries this is causing even more dangerous incidents injuring and killing workers along with poisoning the communities with dangerous and deadly toxins. No corporate executives are held accountable for this reign of terror against workers and the community.
The agency under Governor Newsom and the legislature has been bled and destroyed according even to the workers who work there. We need the unions and labor movement to challenge this deadly threat to our lives.
During Covid many workers died in California due to the criminal negligence and corporate capture of Ca OSHA by the billionaires who own the governor and legislature.
Newsom and the legislature have also allowed the insurance industry and companies to commit workers comp fraud by denying workers their timely treatment for injuries and compensation for being unable to work.
Bosses and insurance companies are committing massive workers comp fraud against injured workers yet the so called Fraud Assessment Commission is controlled by the insurance industry and only really prosecutes workers and not bosses and the insurance companies.
The insurance industry under previous Department of Industrial Relations director Christine Baker and the present managers allow a company Maximus with a record of killing workers for profits to have anonymous doctors who are not even licensed in California to determine whether workers should get medical treatment. This insurance controlled workers comp system is destroying the lives of workers injured on the job. It was given a no bid multi million dollar contract by previous governor Brown to decide whether injured workers get medical treatment. Many workers are being permanently disabled by the stalling and refusal of these insurance controlled companies denying medical treatment. This is criminal and must be halted NOW!
We need to have 2, 000 OSHA inspectors in California and eliminate the insurance industry. All workers and their families need healthcare whether they are injured at work or off the job but this means fighting the corruption and control of government agencies by the very companies that they are supposed to regulate. We need our own working class political representatives to stop the systemic corruption and destruction of Cal-Osha and real workers compensation and benefits.
Join injured workers and health and safety advocates on
California Workers Memorial Day
Sunday April 28, 2024 at 12:00 Noon.
California State Building Oakland
1515 Clay St.
Oakland
Sponsored by California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day
United Front Committee For A Labor Party
WorkWeek
https://www.workersmemorialday.org
For more info:
info [at] ufcw.org
For more information:
https://www.workersmemorialday.org
Added to the calendar on Mon, Apr 8, 2024 10:44AM
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Destruction Of Cal-OSHA Continues Under Newsom & Democrats
Cal/OSHA statffng crisis deepens as 2024 begins
Date: April 9, 2024
From Garrett Brown
Dear Colleagues: On February 1, 2024, Cal/OSHA’s vacancy rate for field compliance inspectors reached 38.8% with 108 vacancies. If the 11 compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) positions being held in reserve are included in the tally, then Cal/OSHA’s inspector vacancies reach 41% with 119 CSHO vacancies.
The debilitating gaps in workplace health and safety coverage are clearest at the local level. Nineenforcement District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates at or above 40% -- San Bernardino (69%), San Francisco (66%), Santa Ana (64%), Fremont (64%), American Canyon (54%), Bakersfield (50%), Fresno (42%), Long Beach and Foster (both 40%).
Another four District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates between 33% and 40% -- Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and Van Nuys. This means that more than a dozen Cal/OSHA District Offices have crippling vacancies that severely undermine safety protections for California’s 19 million workers.
There are also key manager vacancies with no Region III Manager (Los Angeles-Orange County), no chief for the Process Safety Management (PSM) unit overseeing the state’s 15 operating oil refineries, and no District Managers for the Fresno, San Diego and Concord PSM offices.
According to the Cal/OSHA’s “Organization Chart,” there are only 16 CSHOs classified as “bilingual,” and Region II (Central Valley) has no bilingual field inspectors.
Cal/OSHA has only six (6) industrial hygienists among field inspectors – with none in Region I (San Francisco), Region IV (Los Angeles), and the PSM unit. Industrial hygienists are needed to conduct “health” inspections to evaluate harmful exposures to hazardous chemicals, noise and heat, ergonomics and repetitive motions. Cal/OSHA has brand new standards to protect workers against airborne silica and lead, as well as heat exposures in a changing climate – but now has only extremely limited capacity to conduct effective industrial hygiene inspections.
At the same time, Cal/OSHA’s “Bureau of Investigation” (BOI) which investigates and refers to county District Attorneys cases that trigger possible criminal charges has only one investigator for the entire state – and five vacancies. The once-feared BOI unit has lost virtually all of its deterrent impact with near-zero referrals for fatal accidents and multiple injury events.
In recent months there has been damning publicity about the years-long staffing crisis and its impact on workers in California in the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee, journalism websites CalMatters and Capital & Main, and public radio stations like KQED in San Francisco. Nonetheless, California’s Governor, Labor Secretary, and Director of the Department of Industrial Relations have failed to end the field inspector vacancy crisis and protect California workers from irresponsible employers.
Best, Garrett Brown
Field Enforcement Inspectors (CSHOs) Division of Occupational Safety and Health – Cal/OSHA
January 31, 2024
[January 31, 2024, data released by DIR in April 2024]
Enforcement Region
Filled CSHO Positions
Vacant CSHO Positions
CSHOs with Limited Field Time
Retired Annuitant working as CSHOs
Region I
SF Bay Area
22 CSHOs
23 positions
1 CSHO
1 CSHO
Region II
Northern California and Central Valley
28 CSHOs
14 positions
Region III
San Diego, Santa Ana, San Bernardino
26 CSHOs
24 positions
1 CSHO
Region IV
Los Angeles, Ventura
30 CSHOs
15 positions
1 CSHO
District SSEs
Reg I through VI (50% field time)
11 SSEs
12 positions
Region V
Mining & Tunneling
8 CSHOs
6 positions
High Hazard Unit
North and South
17 CSHOs
2 positions
Labor Enforcement Task Force
10 CSHOs
2 positions
PSM units – Refinery: Non-refinery:
6 CSHOs 9 CSHOs
4 positions 6 positions
Retired Annuitants working as CSHOs
3 CSHOs
TOTALS
Filled and vacant CSHO positions = 278 positions
170 nominal CSHOs
163 field available CSHOs
108 vacant positions
1 CSHO in training
1
Notes:
- Of the 170 filled CSHO positions, there are 11 Senior Safety Engineer (SSE) positions in District Offices. The SSEs are to spend 50% of their time on District Office administrative matters and 50% of their time conducting compliance inspections. In addition, there are three “Retired Annuitant” (RA) rehired staff working as CSHOs in District Offices. RA positions are temporary, part-time positions. RAs are limited to 960 hours per fiscal year (half time).
- Therefore, the number of CSHOs available for field inspections on February 1, 2024, is 163 CSHOs.
- There are 108 vacant CSHO positions. DOSH has a vacancy rate for CSHO positions of 38.8% (108 vacancies in 278 positions).
- The January 31st DOSH Organization Chart also noted that there are an additional 11 vacant CSHO positions held in reserve but fully funded by the 2021/22 Budget Change Proposal. If these 11 vacant CSHO positions are included, then there are 119 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 41% (119 vacancies in 289 positions).
- There are two District Offices without a District Manager in Fresno and Monrovia. In these District Offices, a CSHO must serve as Acting District Manager, so those offices effectively have one additional CSHO vacancy as the ADMs do not conduct field inspections.
- Three District Offices have zero clerical staff – Los Angeles, San Diego and Concord PSM – which means CSHOs must spend time doing administrative work.
- Nine enforcement District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates at or above 40% -- San Bernardino (69%), Santa Ana (64%), San Francisco (66%), Fremont (64%), American Canyon (54%), Bakersfield (60%), Fresno (42%), Long Beach and Foster (both 40%).
- Four more District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates between 33% and 40% -- Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and Van Nuys.
- Overall, Region I (San Francisco Bay Area) has a CSHO vacancy rate of 51%, Region III (Santa Ana) has a 48% vacancy rate, Mining & Tunneling (Region V) has a 43% vacancy rate, and the PSM unit has a 40% vacancy rate. Region III has no Region Manager as well as the 48% CSHO vacancy rate.
- The California Employment Development Department (EDD) reported the California civilian labor force in January 2024 as 19,355,800 workers. The 163 filled CSHO positions represents an inspector to worker ratio of 1 inspector to
2
118,747 workers. Cal/OSHA’s inspector to worker ratio of 1 inspector to 118,000 workers is much less health protective than Washington State’s ratio of 1 to 27,000, and Oregon’s ratio of 1 to 26,000. [These non-California ratios were cited in the April 2023 “Death on the Job” report.]
- The DOSH Org Chart indicates that 16 field CSHOs are “bilingual.” Region II (Central Valley) has no bilingual CSHOs in the field. It is estimated that 5 million of the state’s 19 million worker labor force speak languages other than English, with many monolingual in their native tongue.
- In 1980, Federal OSHA had a ratio of 14.8 CSHOs per million workers. Forty-four years later, Cal/OSHA has a ratio of 8.4 CSHOs per million workers.
- The 163 field-available CSHO positions are also below the number of California Fish & Game Wardens (approximately 250) currently working in the field.
- The 163 field-available CSHO positions also include one CSHO who is classified as in training (SET, TAU, T&D, Junior SE) and who technically do not conduct independent inspections alone.
Sources: DIR List of Authorized DOSH Positions, January 31, 2024 EDD: http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
Chart compiled by Garrett Brown, April 8, 2024
Cal/OSHA statffng crisis deepens as 2024 begins
Date: April 9, 2024
From Garrett Brown
Dear Colleagues: On February 1, 2024, Cal/OSHA’s vacancy rate for field compliance inspectors reached 38.8% with 108 vacancies. If the 11 compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) positions being held in reserve are included in the tally, then Cal/OSHA’s inspector vacancies reach 41% with 119 CSHO vacancies.
The debilitating gaps in workplace health and safety coverage are clearest at the local level. Nineenforcement District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates at or above 40% -- San Bernardino (69%), San Francisco (66%), Santa Ana (64%), Fremont (64%), American Canyon (54%), Bakersfield (50%), Fresno (42%), Long Beach and Foster (both 40%).
Another four District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates between 33% and 40% -- Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and Van Nuys. This means that more than a dozen Cal/OSHA District Offices have crippling vacancies that severely undermine safety protections for California’s 19 million workers.
There are also key manager vacancies with no Region III Manager (Los Angeles-Orange County), no chief for the Process Safety Management (PSM) unit overseeing the state’s 15 operating oil refineries, and no District Managers for the Fresno, San Diego and Concord PSM offices.
According to the Cal/OSHA’s “Organization Chart,” there are only 16 CSHOs classified as “bilingual,” and Region II (Central Valley) has no bilingual field inspectors.
Cal/OSHA has only six (6) industrial hygienists among field inspectors – with none in Region I (San Francisco), Region IV (Los Angeles), and the PSM unit. Industrial hygienists are needed to conduct “health” inspections to evaluate harmful exposures to hazardous chemicals, noise and heat, ergonomics and repetitive motions. Cal/OSHA has brand new standards to protect workers against airborne silica and lead, as well as heat exposures in a changing climate – but now has only extremely limited capacity to conduct effective industrial hygiene inspections.
At the same time, Cal/OSHA’s “Bureau of Investigation” (BOI) which investigates and refers to county District Attorneys cases that trigger possible criminal charges has only one investigator for the entire state – and five vacancies. The once-feared BOI unit has lost virtually all of its deterrent impact with near-zero referrals for fatal accidents and multiple injury events.
In recent months there has been damning publicity about the years-long staffing crisis and its impact on workers in California in the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee, journalism websites CalMatters and Capital & Main, and public radio stations like KQED in San Francisco. Nonetheless, California’s Governor, Labor Secretary, and Director of the Department of Industrial Relations have failed to end the field inspector vacancy crisis and protect California workers from irresponsible employers.
Best, Garrett Brown
Field Enforcement Inspectors (CSHOs) Division of Occupational Safety and Health – Cal/OSHA
January 31, 2024
[January 31, 2024, data released by DIR in April 2024]
Enforcement Region
Filled CSHO Positions
Vacant CSHO Positions
CSHOs with Limited Field Time
Retired Annuitant working as CSHOs
Region I
SF Bay Area
22 CSHOs
23 positions
1 CSHO
1 CSHO
Region II
Northern California and Central Valley
28 CSHOs
14 positions
Region III
San Diego, Santa Ana, San Bernardino
26 CSHOs
24 positions
1 CSHO
Region IV
Los Angeles, Ventura
30 CSHOs
15 positions
1 CSHO
District SSEs
Reg I through VI (50% field time)
11 SSEs
12 positions
Region V
Mining & Tunneling
8 CSHOs
6 positions
High Hazard Unit
North and South
17 CSHOs
2 positions
Labor Enforcement Task Force
10 CSHOs
2 positions
PSM units – Refinery: Non-refinery:
6 CSHOs 9 CSHOs
4 positions 6 positions
Retired Annuitants working as CSHOs
3 CSHOs
TOTALS
Filled and vacant CSHO positions = 278 positions
170 nominal CSHOs
163 field available CSHOs
108 vacant positions
1 CSHO in training
1
Notes:
- Of the 170 filled CSHO positions, there are 11 Senior Safety Engineer (SSE) positions in District Offices. The SSEs are to spend 50% of their time on District Office administrative matters and 50% of their time conducting compliance inspections. In addition, there are three “Retired Annuitant” (RA) rehired staff working as CSHOs in District Offices. RA positions are temporary, part-time positions. RAs are limited to 960 hours per fiscal year (half time).
- Therefore, the number of CSHOs available for field inspections on February 1, 2024, is 163 CSHOs.
- There are 108 vacant CSHO positions. DOSH has a vacancy rate for CSHO positions of 38.8% (108 vacancies in 278 positions).
- The January 31st DOSH Organization Chart also noted that there are an additional 11 vacant CSHO positions held in reserve but fully funded by the 2021/22 Budget Change Proposal. If these 11 vacant CSHO positions are included, then there are 119 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 41% (119 vacancies in 289 positions).
- There are two District Offices without a District Manager in Fresno and Monrovia. In these District Offices, a CSHO must serve as Acting District Manager, so those offices effectively have one additional CSHO vacancy as the ADMs do not conduct field inspections.
- Three District Offices have zero clerical staff – Los Angeles, San Diego and Concord PSM – which means CSHOs must spend time doing administrative work.
- Nine enforcement District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates at or above 40% -- San Bernardino (69%), Santa Ana (64%), San Francisco (66%), Fremont (64%), American Canyon (54%), Bakersfield (60%), Fresno (42%), Long Beach and Foster (both 40%).
- Four more District Offices have CSHO vacancy rates between 33% and 40% -- Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and Van Nuys.
- Overall, Region I (San Francisco Bay Area) has a CSHO vacancy rate of 51%, Region III (Santa Ana) has a 48% vacancy rate, Mining & Tunneling (Region V) has a 43% vacancy rate, and the PSM unit has a 40% vacancy rate. Region III has no Region Manager as well as the 48% CSHO vacancy rate.
- The California Employment Development Department (EDD) reported the California civilian labor force in January 2024 as 19,355,800 workers. The 163 filled CSHO positions represents an inspector to worker ratio of 1 inspector to
2
118,747 workers. Cal/OSHA’s inspector to worker ratio of 1 inspector to 118,000 workers is much less health protective than Washington State’s ratio of 1 to 27,000, and Oregon’s ratio of 1 to 26,000. [These non-California ratios were cited in the April 2023 “Death on the Job” report.]
- The DOSH Org Chart indicates that 16 field CSHOs are “bilingual.” Region II (Central Valley) has no bilingual CSHOs in the field. It is estimated that 5 million of the state’s 19 million worker labor force speak languages other than English, with many monolingual in their native tongue.
- In 1980, Federal OSHA had a ratio of 14.8 CSHOs per million workers. Forty-four years later, Cal/OSHA has a ratio of 8.4 CSHOs per million workers.
- The 163 field-available CSHO positions are also below the number of California Fish & Game Wardens (approximately 250) currently working in the field.
- The 163 field-available CSHO positions also include one CSHO who is classified as in training (SET, TAU, T&D, Junior SE) and who technically do not conduct independent inspections alone.
Sources: DIR List of Authorized DOSH Positions, January 31, 2024 EDD: http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
Chart compiled by Garrett Brown, April 8, 2024
For more information:
http://insidecalosha.org
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