David Michaels

Death by Deregulation: MSHA to Roll Back Miners' Silica Protections - Confined Space Trump administration announces that it will reconsider -- and likely weaken -- the new silica standard issued in 2024

Trump's #MSHA to revisit and likely Biden silica standard, condemning more miners to preventable illness and death.
jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

Home Care Workers Are Losing Minimum Wage Protections — and Fighting Back Three million care workers, many of them Black and Latina women, could be classified as “companions” instead of professionals.

I led the DOL's Wage and Hour Division when the homecare rule was affirmed and we implemented it for 2+million workers and the people they help. This article captures the cost of Trump's effort to take away those protections. capitalandmain.com/home-care-wo... @nelp.org @capitalandmain.bsky.social

Trump does everything he can to promote the coal industry while his policies sicken and kill coal miners.

jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

New Analysis Provides More Evidence That Heat Standards Save Lives - Inside Climate News As the Trump administration is expected to finalize a standard to prevent heat-related injury and illness for workers by early next year, a new study shows that clear, comprehensive rules save lives.

As Trump’s OSHA finalizes a long-overdue heat standard, new research shows that enforcement of simple rules requiring employers to provide access to water, shade and breaks is critical to saving lives.

No Freedom without Regulation A tour de force that corrects a misconception long embraced by both the left and the right about markets and regulation Almost everyone who follows politics ...

I have found Joseph William Singer's "No Freedom Without Regulation: The Hidden Lesson of the Subprime Crisis" very insightful. He argues that economic freedom (and the "free market") cannot function without government regulation.
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

Climate change is killing workers. The fix is simple.

Water. Shade. Rest Breaks.

Our new Health Affairs study: California's heat standard was associated with a 33% drop in heat-related deaths among outdoor workers.

Now it's time for OSHA to adopt a federal heat standard.

tinyurl.com/4wejjhkd

Elon Musk Disappeared MASSIVE OSHA FINES, Former OSHA Official Explains How

Jordan Barab (@jbarab), former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor at OSHA, returns to talk about how Elon Musk has been breaking OSHA.

🧵

Historic murals inside a D.C. federal building may face an uncertain future NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks to art historian Mary Okin about the significance and uncertain future of the historic murals painted inside the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington, D.C.

I’m delighted to report that NPR followed up on my October New Republic pieces about the Trump-threatened “Sistine Chapel of the New Deal,” the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, which contains precious murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, and others.

www.npr.org/2025/11/26/n...

A Thanksgiving Thank You for Those Working on the Holiday - Confined Space Not everykone gets to celebrate Thanksgiving. A lot of people are required to work over holidays. And they pay a price for it. Honor them.

A Thanksgiving Thank You for Those Working on the Holiday jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

Heat Exhaustion, Amputated Fingers, Crushed Limbs: The Hidden Cost of American Turkey Three charts reveal details of the 351 workplace injuries experienced by turkey industry workers in 2024, which include severed fingers, injured corneas and musculoskeletal disorders.

Thinking of the dangerous conditions poultry workers face to feed America: sentientmedia.org/the-hidden-c...

How Workers Died Last Week: Weekly Toll - Confined Space On average, over 100 workers are killed every week in the United States due to traumatic injuries suffered at work. Here are how a few died last week.

How workers died last week: Trench collapse, machinery, crushed by pipes, acid exposure, forklift, airplane crash, conveyer belt, shootings and vehicle incidents: The Weekly Toll jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

Texas Workers Keep Dying in the Heat - Inside Climate News Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

Texas workers are dying from heat, but business leaders and Republicans support a ban on local protections, because too many different laws will confuse businesses.

But they oppose a national OSHA standard as well.

Maybe they just don't care?
insideclimatenews.org/news/2411202...

Messmer Introduces Legislation to Repeal Burdensome Biden-Era Heat Standard Rule

Dear Congressman Messmer: How do you repeal an #OSHA standard that hasn't even been issued yet (and probably never will be)?

Enquiring minds want to know...............

Or (perish the thought), is this just an appeal for more corporate donations?

messmer.house.gov/news/documen...

screen cap of Nature alert highlighting linked commentary

In this morning's new issue alert from @nature.com:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Nevada Governor Drops #OSHA Penalties for Musk company: A story of damaged bodies, corporate sway and government corruption at the highest levels.

jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

Killed on the Job: Weekly Toll - Confined Space How workers died last week: Coal mining, construction, fall, machinery, electrocution, vehicle incidents and shootings. On average, over 100 workers are killed every week in the United States due to t...

How workers died last week: Coal mining, construction, prison attack, falls, machinery, electrocution, vehicle incidents and shootings. On average, over 100 workers are killed every week in the US due to traumatic injuries suffered at work.

jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

If you haven't been following the horrific impact of the USAID shutdown, stop what you are doing, read @agawande.bsky.social's short essay and watch this movie.

Then share it with others.

We must not allow these deaths to go unnoticed, since our government's actions are directly responsible.

Regulators Bypassed Building 602. Then It Blew Up. The site of an explosion that killed 16 workers in Tennessee was part of an “industry that polices itself.”

"A spokesman for the Institute of Makers of Explosives said the industry is highly regulated and views safety as its top priority."

This is what PR experts tell corporate and trade association leaders to say after workers are killed on the job.

It is never true.

Thanks @johnkeilman.bsky.social

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo dropped more than $400,000 in OSHA fines against Elon Musk's Boring Company after 2 firefighters suffered chemical burns in a Boring Co. tunnel. Boring Pres Steve Davis made a call to Lombardo's office after which the penalty was dropped.

www.8newsnow.com/news/report-...

YouTube video by PBS NewsHour How a small community fought for justice after finding forever chemicals in drinking water

I'm bowled over by how beautifully NewsHour distilled the story of the community I had the privilege of following for my book. A heartfelt thanks to William Brangham and his crew for lifting up the voices of residents and spreading awareness about the scourge of #PFAS.
youtube.com/watch?v=cJYU...

This is so odious and spiteful. But par for the course for these monsters.

Tonight, @NewsHour airs a segment about They Poisoned the World and the wonderful, courageous people at the heart of the book. I promise their stories will inspire you! #PFAS #ForeverChemicals @CrownPublishing

Undocumented workers built Florida’s roads — and died in the process Gov. Ron DeSantis has said undocumented immigrants pose threats. But prominent state highway projects relied on them.

While cracking down on undocumented immigrants, Florida gives contracts to companies relying undocumented workers.

That includes 💰 to the construction company Archer Western whose employees die at more than twice the industry average.
@tampabaytimes.bsky.social www.tampabay.com/investigatio...

The Edmund Fitzgerald: 50 Years Later - Confined Space This the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a tragedy made famous by the Gordon LIghtfoot song.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a Great Lakes cargo ship, killing 29 crewmen, made famous by the Gordon Lightfoot song.
jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

💯

PHOTO ESSAY: Coal miners with black lung fight Trump administration rollback of safety protections OAK HILL, W.Va. (AP) — Deep in the hills of West Virginia, coal mining and the dangers that come with it have been a part of families’ lives for generations.

PHOTO ESSAY: Coal miners with black lung fight Trump administration rollback of safety protections
apnews.com/photo-essay/...

How the Trump Administration Is Giving Even More Tax Breaks to the Wealthy

My latest: How the Trump Administration is giving even more tax breaks to wealthy and giant corporations: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...

Trump Axes Expert Panels at Historic Clip, Defying Agency Advice The Trump administration this year has eliminated about 160 expert advisory committees across the federal government, almost a third of them over the recommendations of the agencies that oversee…

Professor David Michaels was quoted this week in Bloomberg Law: “Advisory committees are invaluable to the functioning of government agencies." The article discusses the rapid pace at which the Trump Administration has been eliminating Expert advisory panels. 🔗 news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...

Deep in Trump country, coal miners with black lung say government is suffocating the 'working man' Lisa Emery, a respiratory therapist, is deeply concerned about West Virginia coal miners suffering from black lung disease.

Make Lung Disease Great Again

This should be the Trump Administration's new slogan.

The Mine Safety & Health Administration has stopped enforcing the silica exposure standard and is dismantling NIOSH, which does lung disease research and certifies respirators.
Thanks Margie Mason & @apnews.com

Where have all the middle class jobs gone?

Stop what you are doing and read the results of a very important study explaining why so many workers are living in poverty even when they are working full-time, or more than full-time.