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DESCRIPTION:not a endorsement \n\nPress RELEASE\n\nSacramento Press Conference and 
 Hearing On The \n\nCollapse of Protection For Injured Workers, \n\nWorkers 
 Comp Cover-up and Crisis In Healthcare\n\nand the 
 Environment\n\n\n\nSchedule\n\n\n\nFriday August 1, 2008\n\n\n\n12:00 AM 
 Educational Panel on Emergency Crisis For Injured Workers,\n\nCa-OSHA, EPA 
 and the Healthcare Crisis\n\nTestimony and Reports by Injured Workers, 
 Advocates and Experts on the\n\nWorkers Compensation Crisis and the crisis 
 in the regulatory agencies\n\n\n\n4:00 PM Press Conference\n\nRalph Nader, 
 Consumer Advocate and Candidate For President\n\nWith Matt Gonzalez, 
 \nFormer President San Francisco Board Of Supervisors\nVP Candidate \n\n& 
 Other Candidates\n\n\n\nRelease Of Documents on\n\nThe Destruction of 
 Ca-OSHA and the resulting emergency health and\n\nsafety conditions for 
 California workers including Superfund Sites,\n\nBiotech industry and for 
 farm workers.\n\nDocuments on the Cover-Up of the Downey Superfund Site in 
 Southern\n\nCalifornia and The meaning of this for workers and our 
 environment\n\nDocuments on the failure of the CA Department of 
 Insurance\n\nCommissioner Steve Poizner and California District Attorney's 
 to\n\npursue fraud charges against the insurance industry and 
 employers\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeakers:\n\nSteve Basile, Injured Worker Downey 
 Studios Worker\n\nBruce Norrbom, Injured Worker At Downey Studio and wife 
 Tammy Norrbom\n\nVicki Travis, Kaiser Papers.org\n\nSandi Trend, Mother of 
 injured Agraquest biotech worker David Bell\n\nBarbara Clark, Injured 7th 
 Day Adventist Bakersfield Hospital Nurse\n\nDina Padilla, Injured SEIU 
 Kaiser worker BEST\n\nDaniel Berman, Author, Death On The 
 Job\n\nhttp://labornet.org/cgi-bin/ib/cgi-bin/ib.cgi?action=read&id=159\n\nChristy 
 Howarth, Injured teacher, Teachers Association of Long Beach\n\nAl Rojas, 
 Latin American Labor Council and Labor Advocate For\n\nCalifornia 
 Farmworkers\n\nDavid Mitchell, Husband of Deceased Unite-Here Local 2 & 
 Local 2850\n\nAramark worker Bettye Jean Jones 
 Mitchell\n\nhttp://www.indybay.org/newsi\ntems/2008/06/24/18510722.php\n\nTera 
 Palliet, Injured PG&E IBEW 1245 worker\n\nBeverly Schenk, Injured Safeway 
 UFCW worker now on SSI\n\nPeter Liu, Injured Kaiser Worker who was an IT 
 manager-Invited\n\nRory McCarron, Environmental Activist\n\n*initial 
 list\n\n\n\nThe affects of the collapse of health and safety protection, 
 the\n\ngrowing destruction of agencies such as the Federal EPA, 
 California\n\nDepartment of Pesticides and the deregulation of workers 
 compensation\n\nare creating an emergency situation for the workers and 
 people of\n\nCalifornia and the United States. Ca-OSHA which is supposed to 
 protect\n\n11 million workers of California has eliminated all 7 physicians 
 that\n\nare charged with protecting the workers health and safety 
 in\n\nCalifornia. There is no proper oversight by this agency of 
 the\n\nbiotechnology industries and new industries like nanotechnolgy. 
 These\n\ntoxic sites and the release of genetically engineered products 
 into\n\nour farms and communities without proper oversight are a 
 growing\n\ndeadly danger to our health and the health of other living 
 things.\n\nhttp://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/14/18516049.php\n\nhttp://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=31345\n\n\n\nThe 
 growing corruption crisis within the EPA and other government both\n\nstate 
 and federal that are charged with protecting the environment and\n\nkeeping 
 toxics out of our communities has been compromised. 
 In=2\n0Downey,\n\nCalifornia the former superfund Downey site has been 
 illegally\n\ndeveloped without being properly cleaned up. The dangerous 
 site which\n\nnow houses the Downey Studios, the Downey Kaiser Hospital 
 Complex and\n\na shopping site has been allowed to be developed into a 
 "Brownfield"\n\nsite by developer Stewart Lichter without proper oversight 
 and\n\ncorrections. Hundreds of workers are now facing health problems 
 and\n\nthe insurance companies are suing each other over liability and 
 the\n\nFederal government is being made liable for these 
 injuries.\n\nhttp://downey.kaiserpapers.info/\n\nIn Davis, California at 
 the Agraquest Company, owner Pam Marrone\n\nillegally brought fungus and 
 bacteria into the country to genetically\n\nengineer organic pesticides. 
 David Bell, a biotech worker was infected\n\nby fungus and bacteria and 
 later discovered to be patented by the\n\nowner and other scientists at the 
 company. Despite this, the insurance\n\ncarrier Liberty Mutual and the 
 owner Pam Marrone have refused to take\n\ncare of his medical care and are 
 cost shifting his medical costs to\n\nthe Federal government. Over $330,000 
 dollars has been paid for\n\nhealthcare costs that were the responsibility 
 of Agraquest.\n\nhttp://biotechnology.kaiserpapers.info/\n\nInsurance 
 Commissioner Steve Poizner and his Fraud Assessment\n\nCommission which is 
 run by Chair William Zachary who is also a vice\n\npresident for risk 
 management for self insured=2\n0employer Safeway Inc.\n\nhas refused to 
 prosecute fraud by insurance companies not only at\n\nDowney and Davis at 
 Agraquest but in many other cases.\n\nInjured worker Joseph Dow who worked 
 at Lowe's Home Improvement\n\nCompany in Pacifica California was fired and 
 his discharge papers were\n\nforged and illegally presented to State 
 Workers Compensation Judges\n\nand a Federal judge yet the San Mateo 
 District Attorney still has not\n\nfiled criminal fraud charges. At the 
 same time, injured worker Anita\n\nBlick of Portola who worked for the 
 Atherton Police Department as a\n\ndispatcher was retaliated for her 
 workers compensation claim and\n\nconvicted and jailed for 60 days in 
 solitary confinement for "not\n\ntelling her doctor she was driving". The 
 conviction was later\n\noverturned by the CA state appellate court but her 
 life has been\n\ndestroyed. Injured 7th Day Adventist Hospital chain nurse 
 Barb Clark\n\nhas also faced harassment and threats for fighting for her 
 workers\n\ncompensation.\n\nwww.barbclark.org\n\nThese incidents of injured 
 workers being targeted for workers comp\n\ncomplaints while insurance 
 companies, their agents and attorneys are\n\nviolating criminal laws every 
 day with no enforcement of the law.\n\nThis information hearing and press 
 conference will focus on these\n\ncases and the systemic crisis gripping 
 our health and safety and\n\nenvironment.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHawthorn Suites, 
 Sutter Room\n\n321 Bercut Drive\n\nSacramento, CA 95811\n\n\n\nFree 
 parking\n\n\nSponsored by\n\nCalifornia Coalition For Workers Memorial Day 
 CCWMD\n\nwww.workersmemorialday.org\n\nFor registration and media call 
 (415)867-0628\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nhttp://safetydailyadvisor.blr.com/archive/2008/07/28/enforcement_inspection_\n\nOS\n\nHA_injuries_illnesses_underreporting.aspx\n\n\n\nOSHA 
 Under Fire: Reporting, Enforcement Criticized\n\nMonday, July 28, 2008 7:00 
 AM\n\nby Kilbourne Chris\n\n\n\nCategory: Enforcement and 
 Inspection\n\nAccording to a growing number of reports, OSHA has been 
 seriously\n\nunderstating workplace injuries and illnesses -- and relying 
 on flawed\n\naudits rather than addressing the problem.\n\n\n\nDon¹t look 
 now, OSHA, but the shoe is on the other foot.\n\n\n\nThe agency that 
 inspects America¹s workplaces is itself coming under\n\nincreasing 
 scrutiny, with lawmakers and academics accusing OSHA of lax\n\nenforcement 
 and grossly underreporting workplace injuries and illnesses.\n\n\n\nThe 
 result, they claim, is a distorted picture of worker injuries 
 and\n\nillnesses statistics -- and workplaces that are becoming 
 increasingly\n\ndangerous.\n\n\n\nLast month the U.S. House Committee on 
 Education and Labor released a\n\nhighly critical report titled ³Hidden 
 Tragedy: Underreporting of\n\nWorkplace injuries and 
 Illnesses.²\n\n\n\n³Top officials at the Department of Labor (DOL) and 
 Occupational\n\nSafety and Health Administration (OSHA) often cite 
 declining injury,\n\nillness and fatality n\numbers to demonstrate the 
 effectiveness of their\n\nprograms and to fight off criticism that OSHA has 
 abandoned its\n\noriginal mission of setting and enforcing workplace safety 
 and health\n\nstandards,² the report states.\n\n\n\n³But extensive 
 evidence from academic studies, media reports, and\n\nworker testimony 
 shows that work-related injuries and illnesses in the\n\nUnited States are 
 chronically and even grossly underreported,² the\n\nreport continues. ³As 
 much as 69 percent of injuries and illnesses may\n\nnever make it into the 
 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses\n\n(SOII), the nation¹s 
 annual workplace safety and health ³report card²\n\ngenerated by the 
 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). If these estimates\n\nare accurate, the 
 nation¹s workers may be suffering three times as\n\nmany injuries and 
 illnesses as official reports indicate.² 
 (Emphasis\n\nadded.)\n\n\n\nDespite these reports, ³OSHA has failed to 
 address the problem,\n\nrelying on ineffective audits to argue that the 
 numbers are accurate,²\n\nthe committee concluded.\n\n\n\nSecretary of 
 Labor Elaine Chao announced last fall that workplace\n\ninjury and illness 
 rates for 2006 were the lowest ever recorded and\n\nmarked the fourth 
 straight year of rate declines for private sector\n\nemployers.\n\n\n\nNot 
 so fast, said several prominent safety researchers. Lee Friedman,\n\nan 
 assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said\n\nthat 
 rather than an actual drop in workplace injuries and illnesses,\n\nthe 
 statistics merely reflected changes\n to OSHA recordkeeping rules\n\nand 
 regulations.\n\n\n\nWhile OSHA statistics show a 35.8 percent decline in 
 occupational\n\ninjuries and illnesses between 1992 and 2003, ³83% of the 
 decline can\n\nbe attributed to the change in the OSHA recordkeeping 
 rules,² reports\n\na study by Friedman and Linda Forst.\n\n\n\nOSHA¹s own 
 Bob Whitmore, an expert in the agency¹s recordkeeping\n\nrequirements, 
 told theCharlotte Observer that OSHA is allowing\n\nemployers to vastly 
 underreport workplace injuries and illnesses and\n\nthat the true rate for 
 some industries is probably two to three times\n\nwhat OSHA statistics 
 suggest.\n\n\n\nWhitmore said the agency currently is conducting fewer 
 inspections and\n\nissuing fewer fines, leaving businesses to police 
 themselves.\n\n\n\nTo be fair, though, it must be noted that Whitmore has 
 been on\n\nadministrative leave from OSHA since last July, following 
 a\n\nconfrontation with a supervisor.\n\n\n\nA major cause of injury and 
 illness underreporting is OSHA¹s reliance\n\non self-reporting by 
 employers, the House committee found.\n\n\n\n³Employers have strong 
 incentives to underreport injuries and\n\nillnesses that occur on the 
 job,² the report states. ³Businesses with\n\nfewer injuries and illnesses 
 are less likely to be inspected by OSHA;\n\nthey have lower workers¹ 
 compensation insurance premiums; and they\n\nhave a better chance of 
 winning government contracts and bonuses.²\n\n\n\nThe committee said that 
 self-reporting lets employers use various\n\nstrategies that result in 
 underreporting,20including:\n\n\n\nWidespread intimidation and harassment 
 toward workers reporting\n\ninjuries or illnesses\n\nInadequate medical 
 treatment and having workers return to work too\n\nsoon after serious 
 injuries so that the injuries are not properly\n\nreported\n\nSafety 
 incentive programs, which, while usually well intentioned, can\n\nhave the 
 effect of pressuring workers to not report their injuries.\n\nIn 
 tomorrow¹s Advisor, we¹ll look at more criticisms of OSHA ­\n\nincluding 
 what some say are outdated and inadequate penalties ­ as\n\nwell as a 
 publication that keeps you abreast of the latest news and\n\nchanges at the 
 agency and what they could mean for your 
 organization.\n\n\n\n\n\nhttp://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2008/06/24/91259.htm\n\n\n\nNational 
 News\n\nReport: Workplace Injuries Unreported\n\n\n\nJune 24, 
 2008\n\n\n\nSend Feedback E-mail this Article Print this Article 
 Article\n\nReprints\n\nA congressional report found two out of three 
 work-related illnesses\n\nand injuries may be going unreported, and called 
 into question federal\n\nregulators' claims that workplace problems are 
 declining.\n\n\n\nThe House Committee on Education and Labor, which 
 released the report\n\nin Washington, D.C., plans a hearing Tuesday, June 
 24, 2008, focusing\n\non whether the Occupational Safety and Health 
 Administration is\n\nadequately enforcing construction safety 
 rules.\n\n\n\nThe committee is expected to hear questions about recent 
 construction\n\ndeaths20in New York and on the Las Vegas Strip, where 
 officials say 12\n\nworkers have died in resort projects since January 
 2007.\n\n\n\nThe committee chairman, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., told the 
 panel\n\non Thursday, June 19, 2008, that workplace injuries and illnesses 
 are\n\n"woefully underreported," and said the report raised concerns 
 about\n\nemployers failing to report injuries to OSHA.\n\n\n\nBusinesses 
 with fewer injuries and illnesses are less likely to be\n\ninspected by 
 OSHA, according to the report, which said that up to 69\n\npercent of 
 workplace injuries and illnesses may never be reported to\n\nthe federal 
 agency.\n\n\n\nIt said employers benefit through lower workers' 
 compensation\n\ninsurance premiums and a better chance of winning 
 government contracts\n\nand bonuses.\n\n\n\nThe report drew on academic 
 studies that compared reports filed with\n\nfederal regulators with other 
 sources, including local police\n\ndepartment records, hospital emergency 
 room logs and workers'\n\ncompensation records.\n\n\n\nJune 19's hearing 
 highlighted recent newspaper reports about North\n\nCarolina poultry 
 workers allegedly being intimidated to keep quiet\n\nabout injuries while a 
 company claimed perfect safety records.\n\n\n\nThe committee's ranking 
 Republican, California Rep. Howard "Buck"\n\nMcKeon, said the news reports 
 were troubling and warranted further\n\ninvestigation. But he questioned 
 relying on media reports for facts.\n\n\n\nMcKeon also said employers need 
 clear direction about reporting\n\nworkplace problems.\n\n\nput up by pres. 
 of \n https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/31/18521462.php
SUMMARY:Nader @ Sac. Press Conference and Hearing On The Collapse of Protection For Injured Worker
LOCATION:Hawthorn Suites, Sutter Room\n321 Bercut Drive\nSacramento, CA 95811\n\n 
 Sponsored by\nCalifornia Coalition For Workers Memorial Day 
 CCWMD\nhttp://www.workersmemorialday.org\n(415)867-0628\nhttp://www.workersmemorialday.org\n\nend 
 of a guess\n\nFriday August 1, 2008\nPress Conference\n12:00 Educational 
 Panel on Emergency Crisis For Injured Workers, Ca-OSHA and Healthcare\n4:00 
 PM Press Conference\nWith Matt Gonzalez, Former President San Francisco 
 Board Of Supervisors\nRalph Nader, Consumer Advocate 
 \n\nhttp://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/25/18519872.php
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/31/18521462.php
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DTEND:20080802T030000Z
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