Latest news with #MassachusettsCoalitionforOccupationalSafetyandHealth
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Marking 48 Mass. workplace deaths in past year-plus, advocates fear the cost of deregulation
SPRINGFIELD — Construction and excavation are the deadliest jobs across the state, accounting for 18 of the 48 workplace fatalities tracked over 2024 and the first four months of 2025, according to the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. The list of fatalities released Monday, in remembrance of Workers Memorial Day, includes three men — Igor Costa, 26, of Marlborough, Ryan Almeida, 48, of Brockton, and Raul Bohorquez, 57, of Brockton — who were killed March 28 on Interstate 91 northbound in West Springfield. A driver, prosecutors said, sped into their construction site at about 12:50 a.m. All three died at the scene. The driver, Bilal Griffith, 29, of West Springfield, faces three counts of manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Also included on the list of the dead is 66-year-old Matthew Nedorostek of Westfield, who died Jan. 24 after falling into a sand silo at Chicopee Concrete Service in Greenfield. Michael Potter, a 54-year-old carpenter, also died as a result of a workplace accident Jan. 27, 2024, in Chicopee, according to the report. Tony Nan, 61, was a HVAC installer who died following a December accident in Holyoke. In the transportation sector, the list included Nicholas Charles Constantino, 36, a truck driver from Mechanicville, New York, killed Aug. 16 on Interstate 90 in Blandford. And flight instructors Frederika Ballard, 53, of Southwick, and William Hampton, 68, of Indian Orchard, were killed in a plane crash Jan. 14, 2024, in Leyden, along with flight student Chad Davidson, 29, of Woodstock, Connecticut. Half of all workplace deaths were attributed to falls, slips and trips, according to Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety. The full report is available at MassCOSH — part of the state's AFL-CIO and the National AFL-CIO — marks Workers Memorial Day each April 28. It's the day in 1970 when the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect. This year's observance takes on urgency, with advocates fearing that those federal workplace regulations are under attack by the Trump administration. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is losing about 850 of its approximately 1,000 employees, according to The Associated Press. On Monday, MassCOSH warned that the institute pays for almost 75% of the Occupational Health Surveillance Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The report also called out the weakening of the National Labor Relations Board and the closing of regional Occupational Safety and Health Administration offices, including its North Andover location. 'The enforcement level was already poor,' said Jeff Jones, president of UFCW Local 1459 and also president of the Western Mass Area Labor Federation, 'and it's only going to get worse.' Jones said MassCOSH and the unions work on behalf of all employees everywhere, not just their own members. 'There is still a lot of work to do,' Jones said. 'And the new regime is rolling back the protections we have in place.' Colton Andrews, president for the Pioneer Valley Building Trades, said he hasn't been made aware of any cuts in the region. 'I just think unfortunately now they are going to be spread so thin,' he said. Andrews said Workers Memorial Day is also a chance to advocate for tougher laws mandating jail time for people who drive hazardously through work sites and cause injury. 'At the end of the day, our members and our people just want to go home to their families,' he said. Springfield's historic Paramount Theater faces $1.2 million roof repair challenge Meet Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, medicine's gift to Mason Square in Springfield Jaju Pierogi takes Polish taste of Feeding Hills, Wilbraham, to TV's 'Shark Tank' Read the original article on MassLive. Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
More than 100 people drown out counter protesters, rally at Boston City Hall to support Wu as she testifies in D.C.
Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, a daughter of immigrants and the first Haitian American to be elected to the City Council, said the city stands behind the mayor and supports Boston's diverse communities, when she addressed the crowd. Advertisement 'This is our city, and we show up for our residents,' Louijeune said. 'Our city is stronger, it is safer because of our immigrant residents.' Councilor Julia Mejia, who has occasionally clashed with Wu in the past, was one of the key organizers of Wednesday's rally. She stressed that Wu is fighting to defend Boston and its residents in her testimony before Congress. 'We needed to demonstrate to the immigrant community that Boston has their back, and the best way to do that is to have our mayor's back in that work,' Mejia said. 'I had to do this for my people, I had to do this for myself, I have to keep showing up and demonstrating that we're not going to be afraid.' Al Vega, a 43-year-old Boston resident, said it was important for him to attend Wednesday's rally given the widespread fear in immigrant communities right now due to the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration enforcement. Vega, who works for the workers' rights organization the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, also condemned Republicans' attacks on cities like Boston. 'They want to scapegoat [immigrants] to make our citizens believe that all of the things that are going wrong in our country are a result of immigrants, forgetting that immigrants built our country,' Vega said. 'It all comes from a place of fear and not really being willing to understand how to better support those immigrant workers.' Advertisement A handful of counter protesters did their best to disrupt the rally by chanting 'Legal, not illegal,' and holding signs that read 'End the Boston Trust Act,' and 'Sanctuary protects criminals.' Andre Barnes, who works for NumbersUSA, an anti-immigration advocacy group, traveled to Boston from Washington DC after receiving an invitation to participate in the counter protest. He said he believes less immigration into the country will make life better for average Americans who are struggling. 'We need to focus on more on domestic issues, focus on helping Americans,' Barnes said. Illegal immigration 'really [puts] a lot of down pressure on American wages, creates competition for jobs, and can increase rent prices as well. So we're here to express to Mayor Wu, yes, we want to help people, but we don't think it's at the right scale.' Niki Griswold can be reached at
