A Great Take on President Obama Trading Away American Worker Protections to Cozy Up to Business Interests

Celeste Monforton, a Lecturer at the George Washington University School of Public Health's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, spent a decade working for the US Department of Labor and is currently on the team investigating the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster. In her blog, she makes a compelling case that OSHA has become a primary target for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and that President Obama is all too willing to trade away worker protections if it helps him score political points with the Republicans.
 
She writes: "In advance of the President's speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the chief of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) threw two OSHA initiatives under the bus. Right after mentioning President Obama's January 18 directive that agencies reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses, the OIRA chief boasted that they were already making great progress toward that goal. He offered four examples, and two of the four----2 of the 4---involved initiatives to advance worker health and safety. It's a sad day when OSHA becomes the whipping boy for a Democratic Administration
 
Read the rest here: http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2011/02/with_friends_like_thesewhi...