Weekly Toll

To the COSH Network and Protecting Workers’ Alliance:

As you may know Charley Richardson’s battle with cancer has intensified. His family and friends have established a great way to thank and remember Charley. Please read about Military Families Speak Out and how to contribute to the legacy fund in Charley’s name www.mfsotribute.org. If you make a donation – please give on behalf of “COSH” so he will know this is from his vast network of labor health and safety activist allies.

Thanks and Happy Holidays
Tolle Graham, Pres. National COSH Network

We, Charley and Nancy, are asking those who know and support the work of Military Families Speak Out to help solidify this vital organization that we have helped to build. The love and support of so many of you has kept us going, even as Charley’s battle with cancer has intensified. We are now asking that you help keep Military Families Speak Out going. As we step back, we ask that you step up. Many friends have asked us how they can help Charley and our family. This is how you can help. Your contributions to MFSO, and your words of support, will help build a legacy for Charley, and allow Military Families Speak Out to continue to be a leader in the movement to end the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Charley Richardson and Nancy Lessin
Co-founders, Military Families Speak Out

************************************************************************

At the Annual COSH Conference in November 2009– we were honored to present Charley the Tony Mazzocchi award for his outstanding contribution to the health and safety movement. This is what we said about him.

Charley Richardson

Charley has been active in the labor movement and the movement to create safe jobs and clean environments for over thirty years. After brief stints working in a machine shop and as a school bus driver, Charley became a shipfitter (heavy steel fabricator) at Sun Ship in the Philadelphia area in 1976. He was a union steward at the shipyard and also began working with Philaposh. He served on the Board of Directors of Philaposh and was very active in Philaposh’s campaign for a Right to Know law in New Jersey in the early 1980’s. Charley moved to Massachusetts in 1983, worked as a shipfitter and became a union safety steward Charley was active with MassCOSH and served on MassCOSH’s Board of Directors for sixteen years.

In the late 1980’s he suffered a career-ending work-related back injury, and left the shipyard to help create the Technology and Work Program at UMass– Lowell. This program assisted unions in dealing with workplace change, including the introduction of new technologies and new forms of work organization and the impacts of these changes on working people and their health and safety. This year, budget cuts hit U-Mass Lowell, and Charley was laid off from the Labor Extension Program. Charley continues to do work with the Labor Extension Program, and currently he is also a consultant to the United Steelworkers’ Education Department.
One of Charley’s most recent publications, called “Working Alone” puts forward a strong caution about how work restructuring and technological change is isolating workers from each other, increasing stress and health and safety hazards, and weakening the relationships needed for building solidarity and union power.

Charley and his wife Nancy Lessin, are co-founders of Military Families Speak Out, an organization that began in fall, 2002 and now includes over 4,000 military families from across the country who have relatives in the military and are speaking out to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and bring our troops home now. Charley’s son and Nancy’s stepson served in the Marines and was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Charley and Nancy have also been involved with U.S. Labor Against the War since its founding in 2002.

Huntington printing firm fined by OSHA - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports


Yes Ken Ward bringing good news! Here is a great example of prevention, no one has been hurt or killed a big thumbs up to whoever filled the complaint and OSHA for their efforts.


Federal officials have cited Chapman Printing Co. in Huntington for nearly 20 alleged safety violations and fined the firm $158,400.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched an inspection in June, in response to a formal complaint.

As a result, OSHA inspectors issued citations accusing the company of six willful violations, carrying a total of $126,000 in fines. Inspectors also issued eight serious citations and five other-than-serious citations, according to an OSHA news release.


"Each of these violations leaves the company's workers vulnerable to potential injuries and illnesses," said Jeff Funke, area director of OSHA's Charleston office. "It is important that Chapman Printing eliminate these hazards to ensure a safe and healthy work environment."

Workplace violence needs more prevention attention - RocNow.com


Hello! and Thank You Lori. Justice may have been done for this family but what about the next. Prevention, prevention and if there were the family wouldn't need the justice system. It doesn't bring their loved ones back, nothing can do that. Measures can be taken so that no one else looses a family member. This needs to be added to OSHA Regulations. Anyone up for the fight?


Lori Breitmaier – Guest essayist
Essays – December 20, 2009 - 5:00am
This week in our court system, Frank Garcia was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a nursing co-worker. Garcia, 35, is already sentenced to serving a life sentence for killing another former co-worker on the same day.

In addition, he murdered two other innocent victims and injured another who were in the way of his rampage. In court proceedings, the prosecutor accused Garcia of committing the slayings as revenge for losing his job and reputation in the nursing community.

OK, justice has been served and Frank Garcia is going to jail for life. But, where is the plan to prevent this workplace violence tragedy from happening again?

The media appears to be focused on the sensation of Garcia’s trial and not on the issue of workplace violence.

Some 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year. During the last decade, homicide was the third-leading cause of death for all workers and the leading cause of occupational death for female employees.

Affected workers suffer severe psychological trauma as well as physical injuries. Too many members are unable to continue working as a result of these assaults.

The financial cost of these situations is far-reaching and not accurately measurable.

In 2006, New York State enacted legislation that requires public employers to develop and implement workplace violence prevention at their work sites. The New York State Workplace Violence Prevention Act became effective on Oct. 5, 2006.

Public employers are required to have a written program to prevent violence in the workplace which includes a listing of risk factors and methods to reduce these risks. This law is one of the most comprehensive workplace violence standards in the country.

Despite having this law, I feel workplace violence is not taken seriously or emphasized with enough teeth to support the victim in our society. With recent budget cuts, emotional instability of co-workers and job site stressors, the increased risk of workplace violence is at an all-time high.

The first steps have been taken with this violence prevention legislation, but further legislation is essential to protect employees in private businesses.

Further training also is needed, as in funding for research into what works and what doesn’t.

The financial savings in government, the legal system and health care could be enormous. The saving of lives and emotional distress is unmentioned but priceless.

Breitmaier is forensic clinical nurse specialist at the Rochester Psychiatric Center.

The Courier, Russellville, Ark.

I guess the most important issue here is that a man is dead but there were no violations. Something was not right or this man would not be dead. I am not trying to say Walmart even did anything wrong there has to be something that could be changed in the process to keep this from happening again. Why not figure out what the real issue was?


By Michael Ford
crime@couriernews.com
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has closed its investigation of an incident at a Walmart Supercenter in Russellville that led to the death of one of its associates, said Elizabeth Todd, a representative for the U.S. Department of Labor.
While at work on the afternoon of Nov. 3, James R. King, 79, of Russellville, a greeter and assembler at the store, fell from the second or third step of a ladder, striking his head on the floor, according to information provided by OSHA. He was in the process of removing a box that contained a bicycle from a storage rack.
Pope County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the Russellville Fire Department (RFD) arrived at the scene to find King lying on the floor of the stockroom near the ladder, according to a report from the RFD. King was stabilized, then rolled onto a board and a cot, before being transported to Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center where he later died.
“No violations were found, therefore, OSHA did not issue citations, and the investigation has been closed,” Todd said Wednesday.
Contacted Thursday regarding the matter, Michelle Bradford, a representative for Walmart’s public affairs department, expressed regret.
“James was a part of our store’s family,” she said. “He was a dedicated associate, and we will miss him dearly.”

LexisNexis® Legal Podcast Once Again Vies For ABA Title—Please Vote

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Greetings –

T. Christian Miller reports that although Labor Secretary promised strong enforcement of labor laws, the agency has failed to pursue sanctions against corporations accused of violating one of the department’s fastest growing and most expensive programs: a program that requires medical care for civilian workers injured in war zones like Afghanistan and Iraq.

Co-published with Salon, Miller notes that the Department of Labor, “has also taken no action in cases where insurance carriers allegedly provided false or misleading information to the federal government to terminate medical benefits for injured civilians -- another potential crime under the law, known as the Defense Base Act. The lack of enforcement has allowed carriers and contract companies to abuse the system by avoiding or blocking payments, forcing contractors to spend months and sometimes years battling carriers in court for benefits, claimants and their attorneys said.”

Miller examines why the Labor Dept. has been lax in enforcement, why fines had only been imposed in only 50 of more than 36,000 cases processed by the two largest insurance carriers, who is accountable, and what some of the key problems are in enforcing standards.

Read the full report here – http://www.propublica.org/feature/labor-dept-slow-to-enforce-defense-base-act-for-contractor-care-1217 We hope you will share this story with your readers.

Best,

Mike Webb
Director of Communications
ProPublica.org

The Associated Press: Appeals court rules against Cintas

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis affirmed a National Labor Relations Board decision against the Cincinnati-based company. The board found Cintas used unfair labor practices when it warned employees against wearing pro-union stickers and a union hat and confiscated pro-union fliers from a break room in Charlotte, N.C..

Cintas has been told to remove from files any references to disciplinary action for wearing pro-union material, to stop interfering with employee rights, and to post explanations of the NLRB decision at its Charlotte and Branford, Conn., facilities.

Way to go! Every time I see one of their trucks go by I get the chills some companies are just plain heartless. I will never get Eleazar Torres-Gomez out of my head if the incident itself wasn't bad enough it was his son discussing the treatment of the family that really got my goat.

The health and safety guide to carol singing - Telegraph

In case there are singers out there lacking any common sense, the Ecclesiastical Insurance Carol Singing Guide warns: "Never sing in the road."

Naked flames can also be dangerous, it reminds festive souls, telling them: "Don't carry candles if they're not protected by a lantern."


I had to giggle a little with this one but you never know so please be careful when caroling this year. Really geared for young children and there should be some safety training involved before they go out. My biggest concern would be a child veering from the group and the big stranger talk.

Just keep it safe no matter what you do this year like the article says have some common sense!

Thermal Burn Fatalities in the Workplace, United States, 199... : Journal of Burn Care & Research

Occupational categories with the highest rates included extractive occupations (eg, miners, explosives workers) and transportation and material movers (eg, truck drivers). The specific occupations with the highest rates were airplane pilots and navigators, furnace, kiln, and oven operators, and firefighters.

I just thought the APHA may like to take a look at this study. I don't have full access to the study so I can't give you any more details, ah curiosity the best learning tool;o).

Burns have to be one of the worst to endure and I feel for anyone who has to go through the effects. I should do a little more research on this but you have to have a really good stomach to take it and I am not sure mine is iron yet.

Black Lung on Rise in Mines, Reversing Trend - WSJ.com

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has found that roughly 9% of workers with 25 years or more in mines tested positive for black lung in 2005-2006, the latest published data, up from about 4% in the late 1990s. The rates also doubled for people with 20 to 24 years in mining, including many in their 30s and 40s, according to NIOSH, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A miner once told me he was waiting on his retirement "Black Lung Disability". It wasn't a matter of if he gets black lung it was when. He knew it and it didn't seem to even phase him to say it out loud. He was caring for his family and that was his main focus. The miners really are a breed of their own.

"It is time to end black lung," said Joe Main, assistant secretary of labor in charge of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, as he addressed more than 200 miners gathered last week at a Ramada Inn here. MSHA, which is part of the Labor Department and enforces federal mining law, will consider proposing regulations to cut in half the permissible levels of coal dust in mines and to require miners to wear dust monitors throughout their shifts.

Addressing the miners in person is a good sign. The lat MSHA hearing were held as far away from the mines as possible causing a hardship on the miners and families if they wish to get involved. Maybe we will see some changes only time will tell but one thing is for sure the families who have been fighting will always be there. Kudos to them all, keep up the good work.

OSHA won't cite, fine electrical company | savannahnow.com

I wonder if this was the JLG lifts that everyone knows has issues?


"The company provided our investigators with documentation of training on that piece of equipment," Wald said. "The fatality occurred despite the training, not because of a lack of training."

Early the morning of April 29, Jorge Leandro-Ramirez, 27, was crushed to death while operating a "cherry-picker" at the EFACEC construction site in the Effingham County Industrial Park.

Leandro-Ramirez was the only person injured in the accident. The fatality was the first - and only, to date - major work-related incident at the site.

Worker Amputations Lead to $266K in Fines for Georgia Manufacturer -- Occupational Health & Safety

OSHA kicked some butt on this one.

Crespac Inc., a Tucker, Ga was cited with 34 with three willful, four repeat, 19 serious safety and health violations with a possible $266,400 in penalties.

the reason we say possible is because they have 15 days to contest these violations and more than likely they will. Lets see what happens with the second round, I do agree everyone should have the right to defend themselves however what defence is there for lack of interest.

Referring to the amputation incidents, OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office Director Gei-Thae Breezley said, "In both instances, management knew of deficiencies but acted with plain indifference by failing to correct the problems in a timely manner that could have prevented these amputations."

Other-than-serious violations relate to the company's failure to conduct timely inspections of overhead cranes and related equipment and recordkeeping deficiencies in required OSHA incident logs.

3,500 striking workers at Sun International in South Africa need your help.

LabourStart Plea

South Africa: Sun International must negotiate with strikers - not try to break their union
More than 3,500 SACCAWU members at the Sun International South Africa have been on strike since 4 December 2009 for wage increases and improved working conditions. The country has become one of the premier tourist destinations in the world and saw the company more than doubling over the last few years. Throughout the period of negotiations which stretched over months now, management has demonstrated extremely bad faith, continuously derailing the negotiations, this is despite all efforts by the union to settle the strike. Since the beginning of the strike more than thirty union members have been arrested while other workers are continuously being provoked, harassed and subjected to all sorts of racial insults from the police and private security firms as the attempts to break the strike continue. The last negotiations, just when it appeared that a agreement was reached, short of both parties agreeing on the text of the resolution and signing it the company once again returned to a pre-strike position as the final position. The union is of the opinion that this is a deliberate strategy by the company to break the strike.

Their union is asking each of us to take a moment to tell their employer to stop arresting workers, to stop provoking and harassing, and to stop racist insults.

All they want is for Sun to come to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract.

Please take a moment and send off your message today.

And when you're done, please share this email with your fellow trade unionists, your co-workers, your friends and family.

Thanks very much.

Eric Lee

Employers wary of changes in approach, focus at OSHA | Business Insurance

Employers are concerned about changes at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including a shift to more aggressive enforcement and increased attention to musculoskeletal disorders.

“The only reason why OSHA would want to capture that data is to build a case for doing something on ergonomics,” said Marc Freedman, executive director for labor law policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. “Whether it's a full-blown regulation or some other approach, we don't know. But it's abundantly clear they want that data for the purpose of moving forward on some approach regarding ergonomics.”

Yes I remember this fight and it was the only effort OSHA made in years to produce a new standard and then just when we thought it was in. it was appealed. Jordan wrote extensively about ergonomics one post is located here

I guess my question is if the Chamber feels it is not an issue then why worry about data collection?

Construction worker killed in Rockville

December 18, Rockville, Maryland - A construction worker was struck and killed Friday morning in Rockville when a solid waste truck backed into him, police said. Randall Hart, 44, of Jordan Road in Fairplay, in Washington County, was crossing a heavily used construction road in the 5700 block of Fishers Lane in Rockville around 7:20 a.m. when a solid waste truck struck him, Montgomery County Police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said. Hart was pronounced dead at the scene, and police ruled the death an accident.


Survery worker killed after being hit by car in Meade County

December 18, Louisville, Kentucky - A survey worker from Louisville has died after he was hit by a car in Meade County. The crash happened Thursday afternoon on Old State Road. 47-year-old Vernon Findlay of Louisville was part of a survey crew near the road. Police say a 19-year-old driver slammed on the brakes when he saw the crew, lost control and hit Findlay. He was flown to University Hospital and died Thursday evening.


Officials identify man struck and killed at flea market

December 17, San Antonio, Texas - Officials have released the name of the man who was struck and killed at a local flea market. Raul Reyes was hit Wednesday morning at the Mission Open Air Market on the South Side. The 63-year-old man was a maintenance worker at the market. Police say Humberto Munoz Gonzalez had been drinking and was traveling at a high rate of speed when he hit Reyes and dragged him 30-feet. Reyes died at the scene.


Firefighters union: Clerk killed before rescuers arrived

December 17, Atlanta, Georgia - The president of Atlanta Professional Firefighters said emergency workers called to a fatal armed robbery at a Moreland Avenue package store walked away after only a cursory look at the man on the floor because it was obvious he was dead. Store surveillance video showed two paramedics and a firefighter briefly looking over a counter, presumably at Martez McKibben, and then walking away, angering his family and raising accusations that mistakes were made. The Atlanta Fire Department is conducting an internal investigation and has no comment on what appeared to be a lack of interest on the parts of the first responders. But Lt. Jim Daws, president of the firefighters’ group, said Thursday that rescuers did not try to treat McKibben because he had “wounds [that] were of such catastrophic nature as not to be surviviable.” Also, police had asked the rescue team to leave as soon as it could so the crime scene could be preserved, Daws said...Daws said “there was nothing more that could be done” for the 21-year-old McKibben.


Henderson Police Officer Dies

December 13, Henderson, Tennessee - The community of Henderson is in mourning, after one of the town's police officers passes away, just days after being shot during a grocery store robbery. A spokeswoman at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital says Capt. Dennis Cagle died Sunday morning. He was shot once in the stomach Thursday night, at a grocery store in rural Chester County, just outside Henderson. Henderson Police say two suspects in that robbery have been arrested. 48-year old Ricky Steward is charged with aggravated robbery and attempted first-degree murder. He was shot several times during the robbery and is being treated at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. Steward's wife, Cheryl, is also charged with aggravated robbery.


Worker crushed to death at Brooklyn warehouse by granite slabs

December 14, New York, New York - Seasoned New York construction accident attorney advises that New York Police Department (NYPD) police reported to a warehouse in Brooklyn where a worker had been tragically crushed to death, Monday, December 7, 2009, according to the New York Daily News. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) www.osha.gov reported to the scene to investigate the scene of the fatal incident. Police reported that the worker was at the First Choice Supply warehouse in Borough Park when large slabs of granite happened to fall onto the worker’s head killing him instantly. The granite tiles, which were used to make kitchen counter tops, toppled over onto the worker. It was unknown what prompted the heavy slabs of granite that were stacked from the ground up, to cascade onto the worker. Witnessing co-workers tried desperately to remove the slabs from their injured colleague with the use of a forklift. OSHA authorities arrived on the scene to determine if there was any safety-related or workplace violations that may have contributed to the construction accident.


Construction worker dies six days after fall from jail

December 14, A worker who fell at the new Onslow County Jail last week died in the hospital this morning, authorities said. On Dec. 8, Liandeo Medina Molina fell at least 20 feet to a concrete floor, landing on his head. He died at Pitt County Memorial Hospital at 4 a.m. today, Sheriff Ed Brown said. Molina's supervisor Tommy Pounds, who is overseeing the new jail construction for Brennan and Associates, described Molina as a hard worker who loved his wife and three children very much.


One Dead Following Tower Collapse (VIDEO)

December 14, Horseheads, New York - A maintenance worker is dead after the tower he was suspended from collapsed. Schuyler County Sheriff Bill Yessman tells WENY-TV News there was a crew of four or five people working on a 100-foot tall radio tower off County Route 16. The Sheriff's Office got the call around 2:45 p.m. Monday, and at this point Yessman says details are limited. “One worker was strapped in on the tower some distance up and the tower collapsed which resulted in a fatality at the scene,” explained Yessman. Yessman says the first unit responded within minutes, but there was nothing they could do. The tower was about 100 yards off CR 16 on private property. The investigation is underway. Officials are withholding the victim's name until the family is notified.


Delaware BJ's worker struck, killed by beer truck

December 12, New Castle, Delaware - A 39-year-old BJ's Wholesale Club employee was killed Friday morning after she was struck by a beer delivery truck in the store's parking lot off U.S. 13. According to New Castle City police, the truck, owned by NKS Distributors of New Castle, had just arrived and was backing up when it hit Dana Martino of Penn Acres in New Castle about 8:35 a.m. Police Chief Kevin McDerby said police are determining whether charges will be filed against the driver, Frank Pragg, of Brookside Park, near Newark.


Worker killed in construction accident on island

December 12, Guemes Island, Washington - A construction worker has been killed in a construction accident on Guemes Island. The Anacortes Fire Department says a house fell off of its foundation Saturday afternoon and crushed a 57-year-old construction worker to death. The department says workers were lowering the house to comply with building codes when it slipped. All of the workers except one was able to safely get away from the structure.


Updated 2:30 p.m. One dead after train strikes snow plow

December 9, Gansevoort, New York – Winter’s first major snowstorm resulted in tragedy on Wednesday when a Town of Northumberland employee was killed when the snow plow he was riding in collided with a Canadian Pacific freight train on Saunders Drive, near the town highway garage. James Shea, of 75 Gurn Springs Road, was a part-time Highway Department worker manning the truck’s wing plow. The truck, driven by Kerry Garnsey, a 30-year highway department veteran, was headed east when it was struck by the northbound train. Garnsey was transported by Moreau Emergency Squad to Glens Falls Hospital where he’s listed in stable condition.


Man shot dead at Omaha gas station

December 8, Omaha, Nebraska - A 40-year-old Omaha gas station employee was shot dead this afternoon inside the station, according to police. The man, identified by police as Johnathan Gerber of Omaha, was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center. Medics at the scene had performed CPR on him. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The shooting happened shortly after 1 p.m. at the Howell's BP station, 7166 N. 30th St., which is on the southwest corner of Martin Avenue and 30th Street. Police have been searching the area for suspects, including a man last seen running westbound on Read Street. They are still trying to determine whether the employee died during the commission of a robbe


Coca-Cola employee killed in wreck with semi

December 8, Paramus, New Jersey – A Coca-Cola truck crashed into another semi truck on Route 17, on Saturday morning, December 5, 2009, according to NewJersey.com. and Emergency medical services (EMS) arrived at the scene where 58-year-old Edward G. Kading, of New Windsor, New York, was fatally injured. Police reported that the Coca-Cola tractor-trailer had collided with another semi truck just south of Midland Avenue around 4:20 a.m., when traffic had slowed due to a construction work zone. The driver of the other semi truck, 55-year-old Albert Wendlin, of Millville remained uninjured in the wreck, while Kading was tragically killed.


Claude ISD employee killed in wreck

December 8, Claude, Texas - A Claude ISD employee was killed this morning when his vehicle hit some ice and went over the edge of Palo Duro Canyon. Sixty-four-year-old Tom Cruise was in a Claude suburban on a bus route in the area, when the accident happened. No students were on board at the time. It took crews several hours to find the accident which was approximately 90 feet down in the canyon.


In Holiday Crush, a Fatal Shootout in Times Sq.

December 10, New York City, New York - Officers gathered at the shooting site, near the entrance to the Marriott Marquis Hotel. From inside his unmarked patrol car, the sergeant — in plain clothes — recognized the vendor. He left the car and asked a question. The vendor answered by darting off through the crowd, the sergeant at his heels, running along Broadway. A quick turn down a side street, another fast turn into a covered outdoor promenade — a gift shop on one side, the revolving doors of a hotel on the other...The vendor fell to the pavement, dying. The sergeant was not wounded. And suddenly, the crossroads of the world was a very public crime scene, and the tourists had a story they could tell when they got back home.



Ala. workers killed in bulldozer accident

December 9, Desoto County, Alaska — The bodies of two private bulldozer operators who worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were pulled from the frigid waters of the Coldwater River around midnight Tuesday, DeSoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco said. “We did recover the bodies out of the cab of the bulldozer about midnight Tuesday,” Rasco said. The two men could have perished as early as Thursday or Friday of last week, but they were not discovered missing until Monday. The sub-contractors were tasked with clearing debris from the river. Rescue and recovery operations were launched between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday, according to Rasco.



W. Pa. farmer killed in machinery accident

December 10 Aliquippa, Pennsylvania — A western Pennsylvania farmer is dead after being pulled into a piece of machinery. Beaver County Coroner Teri Tatalovich-Rossi identified the man as 73-year-old Norman Jodikinos of Aliquippa, about 20 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Police say hunters found the man around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators do not know exactly when the accident occured. Tatalovich-Rossi ruled Jodikinos' death accidental. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.


Officer Down: Deputy Sheriff Charles Douglas (Charlie) Brown Jr.

December 8, Williamstown, North Carolina - Officer Down: Deputy Sheriff Charles Douglas (Charlie) Brown Jr. - [Williamston, North Carolina] Age: 38 Cause of Death: Gunfire Deputy Charlie Brown was shot and killed during a confrontation with a suspect in Williamston on West Main Street at 9:15 am. Deputy Brown, along with other deputies and officers from the Williamston Police Department, had responded to reports of a man walking down the street firing a long-gun. The responding units located the man in front of a residence and confronted him. As they ordered him to drop the weapon he opened fire, striking Deputy Brown. The other officers on the scene returned fire, killing the suspect. Deputy Brown was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds a short time later.


Ohio Valley Officers Will Attend Fallen Officer Funeral in Pittsburgh

December 09, Moundsville, PA - Funeral arrangements are now set for the Pittsburgh Police Officer killed in the line of duty. Michael Crawshaw, 31, was killed in the Penn Hills section of the city Dec. 6. According to KDKA, visitation is Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Schellhass Funeral Home. The funeral will take place Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. at St. Boniface Church. Officers from the Moundsville Police Department and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department will attend the funeral service. Murder charges have been filed against the man who is believed to have committed the crime.


FHP: Turnpike worker killed in accident

December 8, Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Florida Highway Patrol says a dump truck operator accidentally struck and killed a fellow employee as they both worked on the turnpike. The accident was reported just before early Tuesday at the Commercial Boulevard exit ramp. FHP says both employees of Community Asphalt Corp. were working on a road-widening project in the outside northbound lanes. A telephone message left at the company was not immediately returned. The driver of the dump truck was backing up and did not see a co-worker standing behind the vehicle, authorities said. FHP says the man died on the scene.neral arrangements are now set for the Pittsburgh Police Officer killed in the line of duty. Michael Crawshaw, 31, was killed in the Penn Hills section of the city Dec. 6. According to KDKA, visitation is Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Schellhass Funeral Home. The funeral will take place Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. at St. Boniface Church.


UPDATE
Polk Road Worker Struck, Killed by Truck

December 9, Lake Hamilton, Florida - A county maintenance worker died and another was injured Wednesday morning when a vehicle left the road and struck them on Lake Hatchineha Road east of Lake Hamilton, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. Jimmy P. Justice, 59, of Lake Wales, an equipment operator with the county's Dundee maintenance facility, died in the accident, which happened about 11 a.m. as county maintenance crews were working along the shoulder of the road. Thomas U. Davidson, 51, of Haines City, was treated at the scene for minor injuries, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Jacksonville police hunt for men who ambushed, killed pizza delivery woman

December 7, Jacksonville, Florida - Jacksonville police are hunting for two robbers who fatally shot a pizza delivery woman Friday night after luring her to a vacant Murray Hill apartment. The Domino's driver has not been identified by police or the company. The slaying occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in a small, unnamed apartment complex at Comanche Street and Alpha Avenue. The victim was found shot in the chest, lying only feet from her van, with her pizza bag just feet away. A neighbor who went to help the woman said he saw her take a few breaths before falling unconscious. She was taken to Shands Jacksonville, where she was pronounced dead.


Osage County deputy is killed in crash

December 4, Pawhuska, Alabama — Deputy Adam Michael Mehagan had been with the Osage County Sheriff's Office for only nine months, but in that short time, he had made his mark as a dedicated law enforcement officer, Sheriff Ty Koch said Thursday. Mehagan, 25, was killed early Thursday when his patrol car rolled over on a rural road in the hilly countryside between Prue and Skiatook while he was responding to a burglary call. On Thursday, fellow deputies visited the scene and tried to come to terms with the loss of their comrade. It had been 85 years since the Sheriff's Office lost a deputy in the line of duty, Koch said.


1 killed at oasis after blast at NDK

December Belvidere, Illinois — A truck driver standing in the parking lot of the Belvidere Oasis was hit by flying debris and killed today after an explosion rocked the NDK plant at Crystal Parkway, south of U.S. 20. The victim, 63-year-old Ronald Greenfield of Chesterton, Ind., was in the parking lot of the Interstate 90 oasis, said Sandra Rogers, Boone County’s emergency management coordinator. Greenfield, a truck driver, was out of his vehicle when he was struck by a large piece of debris.


Delivery driver killed in Fresno

A man was booked into a New Jersey jail over the weekend for alleged involvement in a shooting at a Fresno restaurant two weeks ago that seriously injured one of the owners. Monmouth County Jail officials said Cauro Sanchez, 35, of Asbury Park, N.J., was arrested Saturday. He was booked on suspicion of being a fugitive from California after a shooting in Fresno seriously injured Corina Hernandez, 40, of Clovis, a co-owner of Corina's Super Mercado and Taqueria near Willow Avenue and Kings Canyon Road... The Fresno County Coroner's Office identified the dead man as 27-year-old Richard Hernandez. His is the 40th homicide in Fresno this year. At this point last year, there were also 40 homicides.


Brooklyn warehouse worker Yuquan Chen crushed to death by falling granite slabs

December 7, Brooklyn, New York - A Brooklyn warehouse worker was crushed to death Monday morning when a load of granite tiles toppled on him, police said. The man, identified by cops as 47-year-old Yuquan Chen, of Gravesend, died instantly in the 9:30 a.m. accident. The tiles, used to make kitchen counter tops, were "stacked on top of each other" from the floor up at First Choice Supply in Borough Park, said a police source. A number of slabs somehow fell on the worker's head, killing him. His frantic colleagues used a fork lift to try to rescue him from under the heavy granite plates. Chen's sobbing relatives gathered at the warehouse but did not comment.


Anderson city worker struck, killed on the job

December 3, Anderson, Indiana - A city worker was struck and killed in Anderson Sunday night. The Anderson mayor's office tells Eyewitness News Dale Jones was clearing road debris near Scatterfield and Mounds Road around 10 p.m. Sunday when he was struck. The vehicle that hit him did stop at the scene. Jones, who has worked for the city for seven years, was taken to St. John's Hospital and later transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he passed away.


Package Store Clerk Killed in Robbery Attempt

December 5, Atlanta, Georgia - A package store employee was shot and killed during a robbery attempt in Southeast Atlanta Friday night. A spokesman with the Atlanta police department told WSB Radio the employee was shot after a suspect told him to empty out the cash register. It happened at the Moreland Package store at 15 Moreland Avenue around 10 p.m. Friday. "A second employee heard the victim say that he had been shot," Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows told WSB Radio. "It was at that point, the second employee engaged the suspect in gun battle."


Pelham police officer dies after being shot overnight

December 4, Birmingham, Alabama - A Pelham police officer, shot during a traffic stop just before midnight, has died, according to a Pelham Police Department press release. Interstate 65 North and South has reopened at the site of the shooting, mile marker 243, according to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. Local, state and federal investigators are involved. Hoover police are holding a suspect or suspects.


Officer responding to Pa. home disturbance killed

December 7, Penn Hills, Pennsylvania — Police say an officer responding to a domestic disturbance at a suburban Pittsburgh home has been shot and killed. Neighbors report hearing 10 gunshots Sunday night at the home in Penn Hills, an Allegheny County township with about 50,000 residents. Nancy Salera lives about four houses away and tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette she was "absolutely horrified" by what sounded like shots coming from a machine gun. She says police swarmed the area minutes after the gunfire stopped.


Local man dies in structure fire at northwest-side nail salon

December 6, San Antonio, Texas - One man died after a structure fire trapped a worker at a nail salon inside. At about 1 a.m. Sunday, fire fighters were called out to fight a structure fire at Northpark Shopping Center in the 500 block of Loop 410 NW. Police say the bathroom of the Angels Nails caught fire. The family of Quoc Tran, 33, says he was working in the back of the salon at the time. They say he was trapped in the back and died of smoke inhalation


Man dies in horrifying lumber accident

December 7, Gilmer, Texas - A horrible accident claims a man's life at an East Texas Lumber Company. It happened around 9am Wednesday morning at Hixon Lumber Sales on Montgomery Road in Gilmer. Investigators say an employee, Ricardo Pena, 33, of Gilmer, got too close to a wood saw plane press machine, and was pulled into it, crushing him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. "When we arrived, what we found was that a worker had gotten close to one of the machines, and it appeared that his clothing had gotten entangled and it pulled him into the machine and as a result of that he suffered fatal injuries," said Detective Roxanne Warren, with the Gilmer Police.


Man killed in Lemon Cove industrial accident

December 2, Pheonix, Arizona - Few details are available in an industrial accident that claimed the life of a worker at a Lemon Cove asphalt plant. Sheriff's officials say Christopher McPherson, 28, of Painburg, Arizona, was killed in an accident at the Vulcan Materials site on Thursday afternoon. Preliminary reports didn't indicate how McPherson was killed. A sheriff's spokeswoman said he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Alabama-based Vulcan Materials has 334 facilities and employs 11,000 people nationwide.


Second trucker dies after CF accident

December 3, Rosemount, Oklahoma A second man has died due to injuries sustained during an accident Nov. 16 at a CF Industries trucking terminal located in Rosemount. Roy Thomas Taylor of Moore, OK, died Monday at Region’s Hospital where he had been treated since the accident. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the death. Taylor, a trucker with High Pressure Transports, was exposed to anhydrous ammonia while loading his truck. Another trucker with the company, Robert Shue of Kingfisher, OK, died at the scene of the accident.


Newark police identify grocery store employee killed by gunman

December 3, Newark, New Jersey - A gunman ordered a grocery clerk out of his Newark store, then fought with him before fatally shooting him, police said today. The victim was identified as 50-year-old Daniel Lewis of Newark. Lewis was shot once in the chest just outside D&J Variety, at 404 Hawthorne St., around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Newark police Detective Todd McClendon said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The gunman entered the store, announced a robbery and ordered Lewis out, police said. A female employee appears to be the only other person left inside.

1 killed, 2 injured in Texas refinery accident

December 5, Texas City, Texas — One worker was killed and two others were injured when a boiler failed at a Valero petroleum refinery in eastern Texas. Texas City emergency manager Bruce Clawson says the two people who were injured in the incident Friday night were in good condition. Valero Energy Co. spokesman Bill Day could not say whether there had been an explosion or a fire during the failure without further investigation. The worker who died and one of the injured were Valero employees. Day says the other injured person was a contract worker who was taken to a hospital in Texas City.


Worker at Kravis Center falls to death

December 2, West Palm Beach, Florida - The worker who died today after falling 25 feet at the Rinker Playhouse has been identified as 27 year old Fenton "Andy" Hollingsworth. According to Communications Manager, Loretta Grantham, Hollingsworth was working on rigging and lighting for tomorrow's Voices of Pride performance when he fell from a catwalk to the stage this afternoon. It's not known whether Hollingsworth was wearing a harness.


Highway worker killed while working on snow plow

December 2, Santiam Junction, Oregon - A 60-year-old highway worker died Nov. 30 from an accidental head wound suffered while performing maintenance on a snow plow, officials said. James Michael Yankey, 60, died from a head injury, according to the Linn County Medical Examiner. A co-worker found Yankey unresponsive on the ground near a snowplow around 2 p.m. and began CPR, but Yankey never regained consciousness.


Crash kills road worker, injures another on Route 3

December 2, Chelmsford, Massachusetts - A worker helping to clean up an oil spill was killed, and a second worker was seriously injured yesterday when a car crossed into the breakdown lane on Route 3 north and struck them, State Police said. Anderson Cadell Jr., 44, of Seabrook, N.H., who was employed by United Oil Recovery Inc. of Connecticut, was killed instantly when a 2001 Acura MDX operated by Juanita McKenzie, 33, of Lowell, pinned him between her vehicle and a tractor-trailer truck working on the roadway, according to State Police. Cadell was dropping off a waste receptacle to an environmental crew from a second, unnamed company that was removing contaminated soil from a fuel spill that occurred last week.


Police ID Utility Worker Killed In Accident

December 2, Kansas City, Missouri - Independence police identified a utility worker killed on Tuesday when a van crashed into the area where he was working. Christopher W. Stansbury, 29, of Kansas City, was working in a ditch at U.S. Highway 24 and Missouri Highway 291 when the accident happened just before 8 a.m. The 68-year-old driver told police he choked on coffee, lost control of his van, and hit a utility pole before crashing into Stansbury and his co-worker.


ODOT worker found dead near snow plow

December 1, Santiam, Oregon - An Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance worker died at the Santiam Junction maintenance station on Highway 20 near Sisters. Another worker found 60-year-old James Michael Yankey yesterday afternoon unconscious on the ground near a snowplow. He could not be revived by CPR. State police are investigating.


One killed in crash on Route 3 in Chelmsford

December 1, Chelmsford, Massachusetts — A worker participating in an oil spill cleanup was killed and a second one was seriously injured today when a car crossed illegally into the breakdown lane on Route 3 northbound and struck them, State Police said. A Seabrook, N.H., man employed by United Oil Recovery Inc. of Connecticut was killed instantly when the 2001 Acura MDX driven by Juanita McKenzie, 33, of Lowell, pinned him between her vehicle and a tractor trailer truck working on the roadway, according to State Police. The worker, whose name was not released, was dropping off a waste receptacle to an environmental crew from a second, unnamed company that was removing contaminated soil from a fuel spill that occurred last week.

">Video By:
Jim Savage

There are very few people I know that display anything close to the kind of passionately dedicated positive activism of our good friend Jim Savage President of USW (United Steel Worker's) Local 10-1 Philadelphia. His unique display of solidarity is unlike anything you will ever hear or see. Please take a moment to watch the video and spread the Solidarity.