Jordan Barab

Jordan Barab

@jbarab.bsky.social

Workplace safety & health, & labor. OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary 2009-17. Ran AFSCME's health & safety program 1982-98. Also House Ed & Labor Ctte & Chemical Safety Board Read my workplace health & safety blog: Confined Space http://jordanbarab.com

3.3K followers2.3K following2.6K posts

Jordan Barab reposted

David Weil
@profsheenalives.bsky.social

Becky Ogle, Obama colleague, friend, and a fearless fighter for disability rights passed away last week. Please learn about her inspiring story in this bio on the @aapd.com website. May her memory--and lifelong story of making good trouble--be a light to us all. www.aapd.com/aapd-mourns-...

aapd.comAAPD Mourns and Remembers Disability Rights Leader Becky Ogle - AAPDFor Immediate Release: October 20, 2026 Contact: Naomi Hess, nhess@aapd.com; Jess Davidson, jdavidson@aapd.com, 202-975-0960 WASHINGTON, DC – The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD...
Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

California's OSHA program has often been praised for its innovative standards, but the program's budget is starved and corruption is demoralizing the agency, according to a Sacramento Bee investigative series jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

jordanbarab.comSacramento Bee investigative series documents shocking management failures at Cal/OSHA - Confined SpaceCal/OSHA has great standards, but the budget and operation of the organization are rife with malfeasance and corruption.
Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Heat stroke doesn't just kill. The heatstroke suffered by 38-year-old Vargas Moreno, a North Carolina farmworker, caused brain injury and disability, meaning he must use a wheelchair, and be bathed and fed by his wife. The heat index that day was 98.3F. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.comHeatstroke ruined his health. Years before, it took the life of another farm worker at the same companyA farm labor contractor exposed laborers on H-2A agricultural visas to heat-related health hazards, but the contractor is still bringing hundreds of migrant farm workers to North Carolina
Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Imagine doing a hard job in high heat or in darkness while thousands of pounds of steel hurtle by within inches of your body. Your only protection is a few plastic traffic cones and some flashing lights Why do so many workers continue to die in highway work zones? jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

jordanbarab.comCarnage in Highway Work Zones - Confined SpaceImagine trying to do a difficult, physically taxing job — often in hot, noisy, dusty environments, or in cold, dark environments — with thousands of pounds of steel hurtling by within inches of your b...
Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

How workers died last week: Heat, farming, falls, construction, woodchipper, helicopter crash, rollovers, occupational cancer, shootings and vehicular collisions. On average, 100 workers die every week from traumatic injuries on the job in the US: The Weekly Toll jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

jordanbarab.comNo Quiet on the Workers' Front: The Weekly Toll - Confined SpaceOn average, 100 workers die every week from traumatic injuries on the job in the United States. Here are how a few died last week.

Jordan Barab reposted

The Labor Radio Podcast Network
@laborradionet.bsky.social

October 4 - A Chain Reaction of Human Misery On this day in Labor History the year was 1918. That was the evening that a series of explosions began at the T.A. Gillespie Company near Morgan, New Jersey. The explosions would destroy the plant and 300 buildings and kill an estimated 100 people. The

laborhistoryin2.podbean.comOctober 4 - A Chain Reaction of Human MiseryOn this day in Labor History the year was 1918. That was the evening that a series of explosions began at the T.A. Gillespie Company near Morgan, New Jersey. The explosions would destroy the plant and 300 buildings and kill an estimated 100 people. The world was embroiled in war. The Unites States had entered the global conflict the year before. The nation’s factories were churning out munitions and other supplies for the war effort. On that fateful evening at Gillespie, workers were loading shells at the sprawling complex of 700 buildings that covered more than 2,000 acres. The initial explosion was likely an accident. Regardless the explosion was so severe that it cut the water lines to that part of the plant. Without water pressure, fire fighters struggled to douse the flames. A chain reaction of explosions touched off as the fire spread in the plant. Houses in the nearby town shook from the massive explosions. Windows exploded and residents fled. Residents from three towns were evacuated due to the disaster. The New York Sun described the exodus as “streams of human misery—mothers and fathers, frightened children clutching still more frightened dogs; old, old people tottering along, all with the same dazed expressions on their faces, as if they scarcely realized what had happened.” When the fire was finally put out, nearly half of the plants buildings were destroyed. It was impossible to say exactly how many workers were killed, so bad was the carnage. Two members of the US Coast Guard died responding to the disaster. The disaster was then compounded, when a flu epidemic swept through the residents evacuated from nearby towns. The death toll and misery from these tragic events mounted even higher.

Jordan Barab reposted

The Valley Labor Report
@tvlrfm.bsky.social

Former OSHA Official Jordan Barab Breaks Down House Hearing on Workplace Safety Congress attacked OSHA safety rules! We talk with former OSHA official @jbarab about the proposed heat standard and how politicians mislead the public on workplace protections. Watch now! 🧵

Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Obed Azahel Hernandez Perez, a 24-year-old man from Mexico, died Sept. 8 from prolonged heat exposure in Mississippi while harvesting sweet potatoes. It was 98 degrees. His death was preventable. A strong #OSHA standard likely would have saved his life. mississippitoday.org/2026/10/01/f...

mississippitoday.orgFarm worker, 24, dies of heat exposure in North MississippiA North Mississippi farm worker died of extreme heat exposure in early September amid one of the hottest summers in recent state history.

Jordan Barab reposted

Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Seven highway construction workers killed on the road last week. Workers were also killed from falls, electrocutions, skid steer incident, crane incident, stabbing, farming, tree care and vehicle incidents: The Weekly Toll. jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

jordanbarab.comWorkplace Tragedies: The Weekly Toll - Confined SpaceOn average, 100 workers die every week from traumatic injuries on the job in the United States. Here are how a few died last week.
Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Oh well, there goes the Blue Tsunami this November. Is that dancing in the streets I hear? Rising prices, the disastrous war, tariffs and the threat to American democracy are all forgotten. All hail the Republican Senate! www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/u...

nytimes.comSenate Resoundingly Approves Sweeping College Sports MeasureThe outlook for the legislation, which seeks to stabilize the unsettled collegiate sports landscape, is uncertain in the House. It was one of the last congressional actions before the midterms.

Jordan Barab reposted

Debbie Berkowitz
@debbieberkowitz.bsky.social

Horrible Ice raids on the same workers - heroes really- who came in every day during COVID as the virus raced like wildfire through their plants ,sickening and killing them- now treated sooo horribly. Why didn’t the industry fight for a path for these heroes? Shame! www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

kcur.orgKansas residents are reeling amid sweeping ICE enforcement action at meat processing plantsThe arrests of plant workers and others around southwest Kansas began Tuesday, causing alarm and confusion across the region, where immigrants make up a large portion of the agriculture workforce.
Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

So according to his logic, he can tear down and rebuild the Trump (Kennedy) Center as long as it comes equipped with drones and snipers. Maybe even a 52 story Trump Hotel on the National Mall (with drones and snipers.) He's hoping the Supreme Court will buy it? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/u...

nytimes.comTrump Says His D.C. Arch Would Be a ‘Military Complex’ Housing Drones and SnipersThe president’s announcement on Sunday echoed his justification for the White House ballroom: that the project was necessary for national security.

Jordan Barab reposted

David Michaels
@drdavidmichaels.bsky.social

If you haven't seen this yet, stop what you are doing and read the piece or just hit play on the video. Brittany Wagner tells the heart breaking story of her father, a construction worker injured at work, denied the workers comp & SSDI benefits to which he is entitled. @nytopinion.nytimes.com 1/🧵

nytimes.comOpinion | The $15,000 Settlement That Destroyed My Father’s Life (Gift Article)A 35-foot fall didn’t kill Michael Wagner. The nearly 18-year failure of the safety net did. Before he died, he recorded 694 videos explaining how.

Jordan Barab reposted

David Michaels
@drdavidmichaels.bsky.social

Replying to @drdavidmichaels.bsky.social

Sadly, Michael Wagner's story is not uncommon. While workers' compensation now has higher profits than all other property and casualty lines, states are competing with each other to reduce payments to injured workers. There is no federal oversight or guardrails to stop the race to the bottom. 2/

prospect.orgHow America Let Its Workers’ Compensation System Fail - The American ProspectIf you’re injured on the job these days, you’re simply out of luck.

Jordan Barab reposted

David Michaels
@drdavidmichaels.bsky.social

“I hope that we will look back at Cal/OSHA’s emergency standard as the beginning of the end of this terrible quartz countertop silicosis epidemic,” said David Michaels, a former head of federal OSHA who teaches at the George Washington University School of Public Health.

kqed.orgCalifornia Regulators Unveil Plan to Ban New Quartz Countertops Amid Rising Worker Deaths | KQEDThe Cal/OSHA draft would give fabrication shops nearly six months to phase out inventory of the popular countertop material, which is linked to a deadly lung disease among stonecutters.

Jordan Barab reposted

Debbie Berkowitz
@debbieberkowitz.bsky.social

Heartbreaking. Listen to this story please. When a worker gets injured at work - unsafe equipment and or hazardous conditions- which happens to millions each year- they can’t sue the employer, and the measly benefits they are due so they can live and heal are impossible to get.

David Michaels@drdavidmichaels.bsky.social

If you haven't seen this yet, stop what you are doing and read the piece or just hit play on the video. Brittany Wagner tells the heart breaking story of her father, a construction worker injured at work, denied the workers comp & SSDI benefits to which he is entitled. @nytopinion.nytimes.com 1/🧵

nytimes.comOpinion | The $15,000 Settlement That Destroyed My Father’s Life (Gift Article)A 35-foot fall didn’t kill Michael Wagner. The nearly 18-year failure of the safety net did. Before he died, he recorded 694 videos explaining how.

Jordan Barab reposted

David Weil
@profsheenalives.bsky.social

Silica remains a grave threat to working people. The brilliant @drdavidmichaels.bsky.social, former OSHA head, describes the ongoing danger and what to do about it. share.google/1syHHzdhzopj... @jbarab.bsky.social

share.googleQuartz countertops are driving a public health crisis in the US – 2 occupational health experts explain the surge of lung transplants and lawsuitsWorkers are facing a preventable and incurable lung disease from a material being used to renovate kitchens in millions of American homes.

Jordan Barab reposted

David Michaels
@drdavidmichaels.bsky.social

OSHA inspections prevent future injuries at the inspected establishment & at others nearby. But after Trump & DOGE's personnel cuts, OSHA inspects thousands fewer establishments annually. The result: many thousands of additional workers are now being injured. @mslaterjohnson.bsky.social

NBER@nber.org

OSHA inspections reduced injuries at nearby uninspected workplaces. Spillover effects were several times larger than direct effects and are missed by naïve estimates, from Matthew S. Johnson, David Levine, and Michael W. Toffel www.nber.org/papers/w35646

Jordan Barab reposted

Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Are you dreading the long boring weekend coming up? Well, never fear. Confined Space is providing you with lots of reading (and listening) matter that will interest, infuriate -- and hopefully motivate you to get out there to organize to fix shit. Read. And go forth! jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

jordanbarab.comDispatches From the Front Lines of Occupational Safety and Health - Confined SpaceAre you dreading the long boring weekend coming up? Well, never fear. Confined Space is providing you with lots of reading (and listening) matter that will interest, infuriate -- and hopefully motivat...
Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Are you dreading the long boring weekend coming up? Well, never fear. Confined Space is providing you with lots of reading (and listening) matter that will interest, infuriate -- and hopefully motivate you to get out there to organize to fix shit. Read. And go forth! jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

jordanbarab.comDispatches From the Front Lines of Occupational Safety and Health - Confined SpaceAre you dreading the long boring weekend coming up? Well, never fear. Confined Space is providing you with lots of reading (and listening) matter that will interest, infuriate -- and hopefully motivat...

Jordan Barab reposted

Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

Replying to @atrupar.com

To: The Federal Bureau of Investigation From: Citizens of the United States of America Re: Attempted Bribery ___ I'd like to report an attempt to bribe voters in the upcoming election. A fat orange man on TV has promised voters $5,000 each if his party wins the next election Please investigate

Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

I just charged $800 for car repairs on the credit card, and $200 to send a large box to New York. Then I get a Fraud Alert for $4.68 my wife spent at Starbucks.

Jordan Barab reposted

Jordan Barab
@jbarab.bsky.social

To: The Federal Bureau of Investigation From: Citizens of the United States of America Re: Attempted Bribery ___ I'd like to report an attempt to bribe voters in the upcoming election. A fat orange man on TV has promised voters $5,000 each if his party wins the next election Please investigate

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "We're making a fortune. So if the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump Dividend. Congratulations."