Amnesty wants compensation for injured workers
- Amnesty International wants to expose the injuries to stadium workers for the World Cup in Qatar.
- Amnesty claims to have documented that thousands of workers, predominantly from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa have been subjected to labor abuses, abysmally low pay, and “other exploitation.”
- Amnesty urged Canada Soccer to help to create a $440-million Workers’ Compensation Fund for laborers and families “who suffered harm in the lead-up to the Qatar World Cup.”
- Other federations, including the English Football Association, French Football Federation, Royal Dutch Football Association, and U.S. Soccer, have already endorsed a Workers’ Compensation Fund.
More trouble for Dollar General
- Federal workplace safety inspectors discovered violations that have led to more than $15 million in proposed penalties since 2017 for Dollar General, one of the nation’s largest discount retailers.
- Inspectors with OSHA found merchandise stacked unsafely, excessive clutter and unsanitary conditions, and unmarked emergency exits in the storeroom of a Dollar General store in Columbus, Ohio.
- OSHA cited the store – operated by DolGen Midwest LLC – for four repeated safety violations and proposed penalties of $341,842.
- A 2021 inspection at a South Euclid, Ohio, store – also operated by DolGen Midwest LLC – found merchandise blocking storeroom exits.
Meat-packing workers file lawsuit
- A group of the largest red-meat producers are being sued by workers claiming the companies colluded and conspired to fix and depress wages and salaries.
- The lawsuit alleges meatpacking workers are unlikely to report abuse or injuries and don’t file for workers comp.
- The lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleges that executives from the companies shared compensation data with each other.
- The defendants alleged the companies held secret meetings to determine future raises for all their employees and agreed not to recruit each other’s workers.
Electric-Vehicle Maker Faces Alleged Safety Violations
- Employees at Rivian Automotive Inc. in Illinois have accused the electric-vehicle maker of safety violations, according to complaints filed with federal regulators.
- The complaints allege the company ignored known hazards and deprioritized safety resources, leaving some workers to share respirators needed during the manufacturing process.
- The lawsuit also includes a range of injuries, including a crushed hand, a broken foot, a sliced ear, and broken ribs, that occurred at the plant.
- One Rivian employee said management fished damaged electrical cables out of the garbage and told employees to reuse the product.