'Terrified' Energy Workers Press Fed for Safety Standard
The president of the Utility Workers Union of America called yesterday for a federal infectious disease standard for the workplace as one member of his union described being "terrified" of working during the coronavirus pandemic. The push for a federal standard by James Slevin, whose union has about 50,000 members, followed legal action this week by the AFL-CIO that aims to force the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an emergency temporary standard for infectious diseases. "We definitely need this today," Slevin told reporters on a conference call. "We need it to make sure that there's no rollback on safety measures, to make sure that there's enforcement for companies that aren't doing the right thing."