By Megan Woolhouse BILLERICA — About a year ago, a worker sued a Billerica packaging company and the temporary employment agency that placed her there, claiming she was owed thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime. Now, with more employees expected to join the suit, the temp agency is offering…
Boston Globe
It’s easy to recognize a former restaurant dishwasher. Long, deep scars often line their forearms — the result of nights when, as the lowest on the chain of kitchen workers, they must plunge their hands into boiling hot water to unclog industrial-size dish-washing machines. Another requirement is hauling heavy dish…
Boston Globe
A Newbury Street address. Proclamations of praise from the city and state. An extravagant launch party at a Back Bay venue where a group of teen writers signed magazine copies like rock stars. An over-the-top press release hailing the event's success as something unforgettable. Between her glossy magazine, website, week-long…
The New England Center for Investigative Reporting
As president of a worker center in Boston, I was thrilled to see a reporter recognize the growing role that these centers play in protecting workers from wage theft, dangerous jobs, and other forms of labor abuse (“Worker advocacy groups gain clout, clash with businesses,” Business, Jan. 17). However, I…
Boston Globe
In her native Sri Lanka, Yoga Pasupathipillai was too poor to go to college, buy a home, or even get married. But in 1995, she won the green card lottery to come to America and finally claimed the independence she craved. She worked constantly, corralling shopping carts, bagging groceries, and…
Boston Globe
We agree that “you should not put a dollar figure on what is right for student learning,” as Dot Joyce, spokeswoman for Mayor Menino, says in reference to the announcement of a proposed $261 million construction project to house two Boston schools (Page A1, Oct. 1). But does it depend…
Boston Globe
After seeing [Boston mayoral candidate] Marty Walsh repeatedly questioned about his ability to be both pro-labor and a mayor who can effectively negotiate with municipal employees (“Path carries Walsh closer to his dream,” Sept. 25), I felt compelled to rebut the notion that this is a contradiction. As executive director…
Boston Globe
On July 5, James Baldasarre, a 45-year old a Medford, Massachusetts US Postal Service employee who had worked for USPS for 24 years, died from excessive heat. According to news reports, shortly before collapsing in the 95-degree heat, Baldasarre texted his wife to say, “I’m going to die out here…
The Pump Handle
Co-authored by Tolle Graham, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health With back-to-school time in full swing, each school day, 55 million children and 7 million adults — 20 percent of the total U.S. population and 98 percent of all children — will spend their days inside school buildings.
Huffingtonpost.com
A hearing officer with the National Labor Relations Board’s Boston office has recommended that all objections filed by Citizens League for Adult Special Services Inc. regarding an employee vote to unionize be overruled.
The Boston Globe
Almost 80 teenagers were expected to be sent home from an eastern Illinois hospital Thursday after being accidentally sprayed with fungicide from a crop-dusting plane as they worked in corn field, officials said.
The Huffington Post
Workers concerned they were exposed to asbestos while renovating a town building have asked state Attorney General Martha Coakley to investigate whether Barnstable officials allowed the work to continue despite knowing the carcinogenic material may have been present.
Cape Cod Times