"Radiation in the Homeland: Honeywell’s Guilty Plea Shows Importance of Unions"

[TahitiNut]

Honeywell International Inc. pleaded guilty two weeks ago in federal court “to one felony offense for knowingly storing hazardous radioactive waste without a permit in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).” The waste was stored in such a way that large quantities of radioactive KOH mud were leaching into the water stream of the nearby Ohio River. Honeywell was fined $11.8 million by the federal government.
...
By the time EPA special agents raided the facility in April 2009, there were nearly 7,500 drums of illegally stored radioactive mud on site. As a result of the crackdown, Honeywell is being forced to store the radioactive mud in a way that is not harmful to the local community. Workers played a key role in making sure that mud wasn’t stored radioactively.

Over the years, workers notified Honeywell of the problem on many occasions. At a town hall meeting in 2007, John Jacobs, a union employee, confronted Honeywell CEO David Cote about the matter in person. An upset David Cote quickly ended the meeting when several workers said if something wasn't done, they would notify the company. Workers later did play a role in blowing the whistle on the lockout.

Many in the union feel that this particular incident led to Cote’s desire to lockout union workers and attempt to bust the union at Honeywell.

This could explain why Cote has spent $60 million to keep the workers locked out, when it would only cost $20 million over the course of their contract to provide what the workers wanted. Cote might not want to have a unionized workforce at his uranium plant that could report potential safety violations to the authorities.
...

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/7108/honeywells_guilty_plea_shows_importance_of_unions_in_prevent_radioacti/

This kind of event is FAR more common than almost anyone can imagine.

[TahitiNut]

1. ...

:boring:

[suffragette]

2. K&R

The last paragraph of that article is so true:
This week, as we watch events unfold in Japan and observe the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, it’s important we remember the role that unions have in preventing tragic accidents. Labor must make the argument that it's in the public best interest for workers to have the freedom, through unions, to hold employers accountable.

[TahitiNut]

3. Absolutely.

It troubles me that the "lesson" so many (so-called) Christians take from the Crucifixion is that someone else will give their life for their comforts. (I'm always reminded, then, of the Buddhists who self-immolated in Viet Nam.)

How great must our DEBT be to those who've sacrificed so that OUR lives are better ... before we get a clue???

[suffragette]

4. You always make these points so well and so succinctly