Gov. Murphy’s Announces $75 Million for Schools

“We’re pleased to see that Governor Murphy has identified $75 million in previously appropriated funds that can be used for badly-needed renovations and improvements in New Jersey’s public school buildings.

“This is just a small down payment, however, on the billions needed to create safe learning environments in both School Development Authority (SDA) districts and Regular Operating Districts (RODs). For example, the State estimates the cost to fund the next round of major projects in just the SDA districts is close to $2 billion.

“For too long, students, teachers and staff in many SDA buildings have been exposed daily to mold, mildew, asbestos, lead and vermin. Lack of indoor air quality is an issue and there is a pressing need to update HVAC systems to reduce exposure to deadly viruses like COVID-19.

Read the full statement from Heather Sorge, Organizer for Healthy Schools Now, WEC.

OSHA's COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard on Hold

On November 4, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that was immediately challenged in several federal circuit courts, suspending implementation and enforcement. The case was assigned to the 6th Circuit court on November 16.

The ETS requires paid time off for vaccines and recovery, but WEC is concerned that it does not require employers to pay for the costs of testing for unvaccinated workers, or for the cost of masks needed in the workplace. This is not how OSHA standards typically work, because employers are responsible for providing a safe workplace. We think it is unwise and unfair to put this burden on workers, who have already paid an enormous human and financial cost during this pandemic.

According to the NJ Department of Labor, more than 4,600 New Jersey businesses with more than 1.4 million workers will be affected by the ETS. Read WEC's full statement here.

COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids Ages 5-12

Approximately 28 million children, 700,000 in NJ, are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

On November 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that all children ages 5 through 11 receive a low-dose COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech. According to the White House. 10% of eligible kids have received their first vaccination. For information on how to get vaccinated, visit the NJ COVID information hub here. 

WEC is Hiring

Policy & Advocacy Director
The policy and advocacy director will be primarily responsible for policy development and senior level oversight to ensure high-quality organizational strategic and operational objectives are achieved in the WEC policy portfolio. A majority of the time will be spent on climate and clean energy work with partners in Jersey Renews. Read more here. 

Industrial Hygiene Consultant
The primary function of this position will be to identify and resolve environmental health and safety concerns, and to encourage all affected parties to work together in creating a safe and healthy workplace. Read more here. 

Tuesday, November 30, 2:00pm - 4:00pm: Identifying Workplace Hazards in the Time of COVID-19. Understanding the hierarchy of Systems of Safety (with design as the primary system) enables workers to become active participants in developing and implementing safe work practices (“training and procedures”). Join us as we introduce the concept of Systems of Safety and identifying safety system failures in the workplace. Click here for more information.

WEC & Rutgers LEARN Mini-Series Recap

On November 19, WEC and Rutgers LEARN wrapped up the Saving Lives, Protecting Workers mini-series. For the last episode in this eight-part miniseries we invited Dave Ellis, Executive Director, Office of Resilience, NJ Department of Children and Families; Amanda Adams, co-chair of the NJEA ACEs Taskforce; and Liz Warner to discuss how the pandemic has led to an increase of adverse conditions for children and families. Programs addressing social and emotional learning (SEL) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) help ensure that children and families live in good conditions with the supportive services they need. Read the full recap here.