Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
An October investigation at a Des Moines U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution facility has led to two alleged serious and one alleged repeated violation of federal workplace safety standards, and a proposed fine of $46,200 against the Iowa center.
“Our inspection revealed that workers were not being properly trained to identify hazards associated with operating powered industrial trucks,” said Charles Adkins, a regional administrator for the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
The investigation, handled by the agency’s Des Moines-area office, was launched following a complaint of powered industrial truck training and operation deficiencies. The serious citations include failing to provide refresher training when workers were observed operating the trucks in an unsafe manner and certifying that workers were properly trained. Serious citations are issued when there is a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm resulting from a hazard about which the employer should have known.
The repeat citation was issued for failing to conduct an evaluation of each truck operator at least every three years. Such a citation is made by OSHA when an employer has previously been cited for the same or a similar violation within the past five years.
The U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center in Des Moines has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before an independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
The U.S. Department of Labor has also filed an enterprise-wide complaint against the U.S. Postal Service for electrical worker safety violations. That complaint asks the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to order the Postal Service to correct electrical violations at all its facilities nationwide. It marks the first time that OSHA has sought enterprise-wide relief as a remedy.
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