Latest news with #Airgas
Malaysian Reserve
09-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
TEAMSTERS AT AIRGAS UNANIMOUSLY AUTHORIZE STRIKE
Drivers and Fillers Demand Fair Contract, Ready to Take Action FERNDALE, Mich., May 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Drivers and fillers at Airgas in Ferndale, Mich., represented by Teamsters Local 283, have voted unanimously to authorize a strike due to the company's repeated failure to offer a fair contract. The more than 30 workers are demanding an agreement that matches the standards won by fellow Airgas Teamsters across the country. 'The company's repeated attempts to push a substandard contract are unacceptable,' said Steve Hicks, President of Local 283. 'We're not afraid to do whatever it takes to hold this greedy corporation accountable. If Airgas keeps dragging its feet, they'll be putting themselves on strike.' Airgas is a subsidiary of the French multinational Air Liquide and the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases. The company reported nearly $30 billion in revenue last year, but despite soaring profits, Airgas is refusing to offer Teamsters in Ferndale a contract that meets industry standards. 'We're not complaining about the work, we just want to be paid fairly for it,' said Matthew Manor, a 28-year Teamster and driver at Airgas. 'Nobody wants to strike, but if the company fails to offer what we deserve, we'll have no choice but to act.' Teamsters Local 283 represents more than 800 workers in a variety of industries in the Detroit region. Contact: Colin McCullough, (856) 625-6856[email protected]
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anniston High School selected for national welding initiative
ANNISTON — Anniston High School has been named one of 72 schools across the nation selected to participate in Airgas' 2025 High School Welding Education Initiative, a program aimed at addressing the growing skills gap in the welding and skilled trades industries. Airgas, an Air Liquide company, announced that schools from 33 states and 16 company regions will be part of the initiative, which supports underserved high school welding programs with professional development, equipment, and resources. Since its launch in 2018, the initiative has reached 162 schools and impacted more than 12,000 students and nearly 700 instructors nationwide. 'We are thrilled to expand the Airgas High School Welding Education Initiative and further our commitment to supporting welding education,' said Jay Worley, Airgas Chief Operating Officer. 'By investing in these 72 programs, we are not only addressing a critical skills gap but also empowering students to pursue rewarding careers in welding, engineering, and technical fields.' Anniston High's selection was based on several key criteria, including the school's unmet needs, the strength and potential of its welding program and the passion of its instructors. The program provides welding instructors with hands-on training, along with welding consumables, personal protective equipment and other essential materials. With the American Welding Society projecting a need for 320,500 new welding professionals by 2029, programs like Airgas' are seen as vital to ensuring a strong pipeline of skilled workers. Since 2021, nearly 1,900 students from participating schools have secured jobs post-graduation. Airgas' continued investment in high school welding education is designed to help communities like Anniston build a strong foundation for future workforce development. For more information about the Airgas High School Welding Education Initiative, visit
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana uses nitrogen gas for first time in death row execution
Louisiana has carried out its first execution using nitrogen gas, an experimental method for judicial killings that has only been used by one other death-penalty state. Jessie Hoffman Jr, 46, was executed at the Louisiana state penitentiary at Angola shortly after 7pm local time on Tuesday evening. He had been convicted of the 1996 rape and murder in New Orleans of Mary Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive. Last-minute appeals for a reprieve failed when the US supreme court declined to take Hoffman's petition. The court had similarly refused to intervene in the earlier nitrogen executions carried out by Alabama. Five of the six rightwing supreme court justices voted to allow the execution to proceed, with the three liberal-leaning justices saying they would have halted it. The sixth conservative, Neil Gorsuch, said he would have stayed the killing to give time to consider Hoffman's religious objections. Hoffman's death marks the resumption of capital punishment in Louisiana. The state last carried out an execution 15 years ago. It also marks the spread of the controversial technique of nitrogen gas as a killing method. Hoffman's lawyers had argued that the procedure, which involves piping pure nitrogen through a gas mask to induce fatal oxygen deprivation, would violate the prisoner's constitutional rights by inflicting cruel and unusual punishment. The four previous executions carried out using nitrogen in Alabama led to distressing scenes in the death chamber. Eyewitnesses reported that Kenneth Smith shook violently, and writhed and convulsed on the gurney. Hoffman's lawyers also argued that death by nitrogen hypoxia – forcing the condemned man to breathe only nitrogen – would interfere with his religious practices as a Buddhist. They said that meditative breathing at the time of death was integral to the religion. Louisiana also faces questions about how it got hold of the nitrogen used in Hoffman's execution. Last year, the Guardian revealed that three of the biggest manufacturers of medical-grade nitrogen in the US had put a block on their products being used in executions. Airgas, Air Products and Matheson Gas all took steps to prevent their nitrogen from reaching departments of correction in death-penalty states. Yet photographs put into the public record in ongoing litigation in Louisiana show that the corrections department obtained canisters of nitrogen gas produced by Airgas, in apparent contravention of the company's strict rules. In a statement to the Guardian, Airgas said that it had been in direct contact with the department of corrections to affirm its position. 'Airgas has not and will not supply nitrogen or other inert gases to induce hypoxia for the purpose of human execution,' the company said. 'We have not supplied medical grade NF nitrogen and the facility does not have any such cylinders owned by Airgas, according to our records.' The statement added: 'The department of corrections in Louisiana has acknowledged our letter prohibiting the use of any nitrogen for execution purposes.' Before the execution went ahead, the sister-in-law of Hoffman's victim called for him to be pardoned. 'Executing Jessie Hoffman is not justice in my name, it is the opposite,' Kate Murphy wrote. Earlier on Tuesday Arkansas became the fifth state to adopt nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method, after Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma. Arkansas currently has 25 people on its death row.
The Guardian
19-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Louisiana uses nitrogen gas for first time in death row execution
Louisiana has carried out its first execution using nitrogen gas, an experimental method for judicial killings that has only been used by one other death-penalty state. Jessie Hoffman Jr, 46, was executed at the Louisiana state penitentiary at Angola shortly after 7pm local time on Tuesday evening. He had been convicted of the 1996 rape and murder in New Orleans of Mary Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive. Last-minute appeals for a reprieve failed when the US supreme court declined to take Hoffman's petition. The court had similarly refused to intervene in the earlier nitrogen executions carried out by Alabama. Five of the six rightwing supreme court justices voted to allow the execution to proceed, with the three liberal-leaning justices saying they would have halted it. The sixth conservative, Neil Gorsuch, said he would have stayed the killing to give time to consider Hoffman's religious objections. Hoffman's death marks the resumption of capital punishment in Louisiana. The state last carried out an execution 15 years ago. It also marks the spread of the controversial technique of nitrogen gas as a killing method. Hoffman's lawyers had argued that the procedure, which involves piping pure nitrogen through a gas mask to induce fatal oxygen deprivation, would violate the prisoner's constitutional rights by inflicting cruel and unusual punishment. The four previous executions carried out using nitrogen in Alabama led to distressing scenes in the death chamber. Eyewitnesses reported that Kenneth Smith shook violently, and writhed and convulsed on the gurney. Hoffman's lawyers also argued that death by nitrogen hypoxia – forcing the condemned man to breathe only nitrogen – would interfere with his religious practices as a Buddhist. They said that meditative breathing at the time of death was integral to the religion. Louisiana also faces questions about how it got hold of the nitrogen used in Hoffman's execution. Last year, the Guardian revealed that three of the biggest manufacturers of medical-grade nitrogen in the US had put a block on their products being used in executions. Airgas, Air Products and Matheson Gas all took steps to prevent their nitrogen from reaching departments of correction in death-penalty states. Yet photographs put into the public record in ongoing litigation in Louisiana show that the corrections department obtained canisters of nitrogen gas produced by Airgas, in apparent contravention of the company's strict rules. In a statement to the Guardian, Airgas said that it had been in direct contact with the department of corrections to affirm its position. 'Airgas has not and will not supply nitrogen or other inert gases to induce hypoxia for the purpose of human execution,' the company said. 'We have not supplied medical grade NF nitrogen and the facility does not have any such cylinders owned by Airgas, according to our records.' The statement added: 'The department of corrections in Louisiana has acknowledged our letter prohibiting the use of any nitrogen for execution purposes.' Before the execution went ahead, the sister-in-law of Hoffman's victim called for him to be pardoned. 'Executing Jessie Hoffman is not justice in my name, it is the opposite,' Kate Murphy wrote. Earlier on Tuesday Arkansas became the fifth state to adopt nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method, after Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma. Arkansas currently has 25 people on its death row.
Express Tribune
18-03-2025
- Express Tribune
Louisiana to execute prisoner using nitrogen gas banned for animal euthanasia
Listen to article The US state of Louisiana is set to carry out its first execution in 15 years using nitrogen gas, a method that is banned under the state's own laws for euthanizing cats and dogs. Unless the US Supreme Court intervenes, Jessie Hoffman, a 46-year-old prisoner, is scheduled to be executed in Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison. Hoffman was sentenced to death for the 1996 rape and murder of advertising executive Mary Elliott. If the execution proceeds, Louisiana will become only the second US state to use nitrogen gas for capital punishment. Photo: Jessie Hoffman/ Jessie Hoffman legal team Why Is nitrogen gas controversial? Nitrogen gas causes death by suffocation, depriving the body of oxygen in a process called hypoxia. The method has been widely criticized as inhumane, even for animals. The American Veterinary Medical Association states that nitrogen should not be used to euthanize conscious animals because they experience extreme distress before death. Louisiana law explicitly bans nitrogen gas for euthanizing cats and dogs due to its inhumane nature. A veterinarian in Louisiana, Dr. Lee Capone, recalled witnessing dogs being gassed in the 1980s and described it as horrific, with the animals showing fear, distress, and signs of suffering before they died. Concerns over past executions using nitrogen gas Louisiana's decision follows four recent executions in Alabama using the same method. Witnesses described disturbing scenes: Kenneth Smith was seen shaking violently, writhing, and convulsing as he was forced to inhale nitrogen. Alan Miller, another prisoner, shook and trembled for about two minutes before dying. Critics argue that nitrogen gas causes immense suffering, making it a cruel and unusual punishment under international human rights standards. Legal challenges and secret preparations Hoffman was granted a temporary reprieve last week by a federal judge. However, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative courts in the US, overturned the stay on Friday, clearing the way for the execution. Legal documents have revealed photographs from inside Louisiana's execution chamber, showing: A blue industrial-style mask placed on the execution gurney alongside leather straps and handcuffs. Pipes leading to nitrogen gas canisters, indicating how the lethal gas will be delivered Did Louisiana obtain execution gas illegally? Last year, three major US suppliers of medical-grade nitrogen—Airgas, Air Products, and Matheson Gas—banned the use of their products for executions. Despite this, court documents show that Louisiana has acquired nitrogen gas produced by Airgas, a company owned by the French multinational Air Liquide. This appears to violate Airgas' own policy, which explicitly forbids supplying gas for executions. The Guardian contacted Airgas for comment, but the company has yet to respond. Growing international concern over US execution methods The use of nitrogen gas for executions is drawing global criticism, with human rights groups and medical professionals warning against the suffering it causes. Many see Louisiana's decision as a step backward in human rights, especially considering that its use is banned for animals in the same state. The fate of Jessie Hoffman now depends on last-minute legal appeals or intervention from the US Supreme Court before the execution scheduled for Tuesday.
