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Debbie Berkowitz

@debbieberkowitz.bsky.social
410 followers 65 following 127 posts

Worker safety policy expert. Former OSHA COS and Senior Policy Advisor 2009-2015. Fellow at Georgetown’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Debbie Berkowitz
James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I've reported first-hand on steel mills in Korea, China, Japan, Illinois, and Mississippi. This is 100% not going to happen. Disagree? Bet me. (Though I'm against online betting. It's just not going to happen.)
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Geoff Garin @geoffgarin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
There is no recent precedent for how unpopular Trump is and how deeply that cuts into support among voters of the president’s party.
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Josh Eidelson @josheidelson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
New podcast about our investigation (www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...) into artificial stone silicosis: swap.fm/l/hjLEObgNKY...
bloomberg.com
‘Death Sentences’: Crafting America’s Favorite Countertops Is Killing Workers
Hundreds of workers who’ve contracted silicosis are suing the artificial stone industry for billions. While California weighs a ban on fabricating the product, the manufacturers’ defenders in Congress...
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
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.org
Kansas residents are reeling amid sweeping ICE enforcement action at meat processing plants
The 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.
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The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell @lastwordmsnow.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
TONIGHT: ProPublica investigative reporter Avi Asher-Schapiro talks to @lawrenceodonnell.bsky.social on The #LastWord at 10pm ET.
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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NBER @nber.org · 14/09/2026
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
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Geoff Garin @geoffgarin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The cost of Trump
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Reposted by Debbie Berkowitz
Jacob Soboroff @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Republican Governor Jim Pillen has been a champion of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. But at least 20 of his family farms employed undocumented immigrants, according to a new investigation by the Flatwater Free Press and The New York Times. youtu.be/5RZgrR1_7Dc?...
youtu.be
This GOP governor said ‘illegal aliens’ have ‘invaded.’ His family farms EMPLOYED them, report finds
YouTube video by MS NOW
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The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 19/09/2026
The Kennedy Center crowd is singing America The Beautiful. This is what democracy looks like.
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David Michaels @drdavidmichaels.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
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.org
How America Let Its Workers’ Compensation System Fail - The American Prospect
If you’re injured on the job these days, you’re simply out of luck.
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
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.
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Workers are dying. Please spread the word. This can be prevented. Amazing reporting. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
‘Death Sentences’: Crafting America’s Favorite Countertops Is Killing Workers
Hundreds of workers who’ve contracted silicosis are suing the artificial stone industry for billions. While California weighs a ban on fabricating the product, the manufacturers’ defenders in Congress...
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Josh Eidelson @josheidelson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NEW @businessweektr.bsky.social investigation: Crafting America’s Favorite Countertops Is Killing Workers www.bloomberg.com/news/feature... Artificial stone manufacturers want Congress to shut down silicosis lawsuits seeking billions. Confidential company records undermine industry's safety claims
bloomberg.com
‘Death Sentences:’ Crafting America’s Favorite Countertops Is Killing Workers
Hundreds of workers who’ve contracted silicosis are suing the artificial stone industry for billions. While California weighs a ban on fabricating the product, the manufacturers’ defenders in Congress...
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Jordan Barab @jbarab.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Sounds like a job for the face-eating leopards. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/u...
nytimes.com
As He Backs ICE Crackdown, Nebraska Governor Employs Undocumented Workers
Gov. Jim Pillen’s family business is one of the nation’s largest pork producers. As he seeks re-election, he has aligned himself with President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda even though his farms have...
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Corporations spend more than $1.5 billion a year on union-busting. That’s $1.5 billion they could have spent on higher wages, better benefits, and improving workplace safety. Remember: if they weren’t so scared of worker power, they wouldn’t fight so hard against unions.
epi.org
U.S. employers spend more than $1.5 billion annually on union avoidance
Key takeaways Many U.S. employers hire union avoidance consultants to keep their workers from organizing and bargaining
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Jordan Barab @jbarab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Devastating podcast about six agricultural workers killed in a confined space last year, and the abuse and fear that farm workers face every day on the job in this country. share.google/Xj5Qi9NAJqOV...
share.google
To Live and Die as a Colorado Farmworker - Latino USA
On August 20th 2025, six workers died from toxic gas exposure at a dairy farm called Prospect Valley Dairy in...
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David Weil @profsheenalives.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
It's Labor Day--a chance to reflect on the state of work, workers and fairness. Inviting you to this @gamechangerspolicy.bsky.social webinar where @julietschor.bsky.social @paulsonn.bsky.social, Gerald Epstein & I will talk about fair work standards. Please join us! events.zoom.us/ev/ApCr_SWeb...
events.zoom.us
Game Changers Webinar Series
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Andy Garin @andygarin.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Very apropos: Trump turned HOMES into SHAME
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Gov. Safety agency- the CSB- finds the paper company in WA, where 11 workers were killed this May when a tank full of extremely dangerous chemicals failed, was told repeatedly the tank was unsafe and shouldn’t be used. And Trump wants to kill this agency. www.csb.gov/us-chemical-...
csb.gov
U.S. Chemical Safety Board Issues Update on Investigation into the Fatal Catastrophic Tank Failure at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Facility in Longview, Washington - General News - News | CSB
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
#BREAKING: In the League of Women Voters case, Judge Talwani (D. Mass.) has issued a temporary restraining order freezing the USPS Final Rule on mail-in ballots from going into effect for 14 days (while the parties litigate whether she should enter a preliminary injunction blocking it indefinitely).
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
One clarification: Judge Talwani granted a TRO in *both* the League of Women Voters case *and* the California case (this doesn't really matter, except that I misdescribed it as being in the LWV case, specifically, above).
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Link: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
Order on Motion for TRO AND Order on Motion for TRO – #218 in League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump (D. Mass., 1:26-cv-11549) – CourtListener.com
Judge Indira Talwani: ORDER entered granting in part [ 206 ] Motion for TRO in case 1:26-cv-11549-IT; granting in part [ 3 ] Motion for TRO in case 1:26-cv-13917-IT. See attached MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ...
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Liz Shuler @lizshuler.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I'm proud to be included on @time.com's list of the TIME100 AI of 2026, an acknowledgment that workers are on the front lines of the fight for fair, safe and equitable jobs in the face of AI. Labor is building a future that works for all of us. #TIME100AI ti.me/100ai
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
This is so cruel and horrible. How is this America. Who supports this injustice. What is happening to our country that we are doing this. For decades those with TPS have taken care of our parents , processed the meat we eat , taught our kids, conducted research and were my colleagues. OHIO rise up
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Senate Majority PAC @majoritypac.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The next United States Senator from the great state of Michigan: Abdul El-Sayed! Never stop believing!
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Trump Administration Is Undoing Plans to Boost Workplace Heat Protections www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Is Undoing Plans to Boost Workplace Heat Protections
The Biden administration took steps to shield workers from extreme temperatures. The Trump administration is taking a gentler approach with employers.
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Reposted by Debbie Berkowitz
Chuck Schumer @schumer.senate.gov · 30/07/2026
Trump is the most corrupt president in the history of our country He has filled the swamp to the brim while selling out Americans to the highest bidder Senate Democrats will be exposing, investigating, and holding him accountable for his brazen self-dealing at the expense of the American taxpayer
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Jordan Barab @jbarab.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Abilene city employee Frank Cortez died on the job July 21. The city provided no details, but reports say his death was "a medical issue & not the job he was performing" Heat related? It was 101 degrees that day but TX public workers aren't covered by OSHA. We may never know. tinyurl.com/mwtcvm52
jordanbarab.com
Heat Related Death? Who Knows? - Confined Space
Did Abilene Public Works employee Frank Cortez die from excessive heat? We may never know, because Texas public employees aren't covered by OSHA.
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Jordan Barab @jbarab.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
What are Republicans thinking as they try to kill a federal OSHA heat protection standard that would protect workers from excessive heat? Nothing good and nothing honest. jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...
jordanbarab.com
Republicans Try to Smother OSHA Heat Standard Under General Duty Clause - Confined Space
Republicans try to kill an OSHA heat standard in favor of misguided reliance on the General Duty Clause.
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Florida Policy Institute @floridapolicy.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
ICYMI: The rule proposed by the Board of Governors to block undocumented students from FL's public universities undermines legislative intent and would create more barriers to higher ed, notes FPI's Alexis Tsoukalas, PhD. Read FPI's comments below ⬇️ www.floridapolicy.org/posts/fpi-co...
floridapolicy.org
FPI Comments on Proposed Regulation 6.001(10), General Admissions
The Board of Governors has offered no financial estimate of how much this proposed regulation could cost universities and the larger state economy.
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Reposted by Debbie Berkowitz
Jordan Barab @jbarab.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
House Republicans Attempt to Kill OSHA Heat Standard. jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...
jordanbarab.com
House Republicans Attempt to Kill OSHA Heat Standard - Confined Space
Republicans will mark up a bill tomorrow that would prohibit OSHA from issuing an effective workplace heat standard.
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Jordan Barab @jbarab.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Trump's "anti-woke" agenda cripples agency that investigates sexual harassment, gender and race discrimination in federal contractors. Trump unravels anti-discrimination policies enacted more than a half-century ago in response to the civil rights movement. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Gutted Civil Rights Agency, Stifling U.S. Scrutiny of Workplace Bias (Gift Article)
A little-known federal office spent decades investigating potential discrimination by government contractors — until it was stopped by the Trump administration.
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Barb McQuade @barbmcquade.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Climate deniers take note—this smoke is the result of your indifference. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/w...
nytimes.com
Climate Change Contributes to a Smokier World (Gift Article)
Higher temperatures and drought conditions are contributing to more intense wildfires and extending the summer fire season in North America.
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Geoff Garin @geoffgarin.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
@cnbc.com poll: Disapproval of Trump on the economy is 24 points higher today than at a similar point in his first midterm election cycle.
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
In addition to taking care of older Americans, workers with TPS also work in our food industry- assuring Americans have chicken and meat to eat. They work the hardest and most dangerous jobs. Most have been here for decades. Forcing them off the job is totally wrong and insane.
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AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 13/07/2026
Immigrant workers with Temporary Protected Status are our coworkers and union siblings. Forcing them off the job is wrong and makes no sense — it’s bad for our communities, our workplaces and our economy. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/us/polit…
nytimes.com
U.S. Employers Told to Dismiss Thousands of Immigrant Workers
Shifting deadlines are confusing businesses as the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and others looms, making them ineligible to live and work in the United States.
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Barb McQuade @barbmcquade.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
This is a great piece, Anne. Thanks for re-upping. The powerful become complicit with the tyrant because they want to stay powerful. The hacks who could never gain prominence in any other situation become complicit to achieve glory.
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AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 30/06/2026
The Supreme Court gave President Trump power to fire members of independent government agencies, including potentially those that protect workers’ rights. This is an attack on workers that will embolden bad bosses and big corporations.
nytimes.com
‘Chaos Will Follow’ Ruling Allowing Trump Firings, Dissent Predicts
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
First (but *not* last) ruling from #SCOTUS today is in Watson v. RNC. For a 5-4 majority (with Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch, Kavanaugh dissenting), Justice Barrett holds that federal law does *not* bar states from counting late-arriving mail-in ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day.
supremecourt.gov
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Kalmanovitz Initiative @georgetownkilwp.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Kalmanovitz practitioner fellow Debbie Berkowitz (@debbieberkowitz.bsky.social) warns recent OSHA decision could send the message "OSHA is giving employers a pass" when "workers are seriously injured" | TIME Magazine time.com/article/2026...
time.com
Broken Bones, Lawsuits, and NDAs: Inside the Worker Safety Concerns at Stargate Data Center
A TIME investigation—drawing on government reports, court documents, 911 calls, and worker interviews—uncovers safety concerns at the flagship site of the $500 billion AI infrastructure project.
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Geoff Garin @geoffgarin.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
“More than 20,000 Haitian TPS holders work as direct caregivers and nursing assistants in the U.S. long-term care industry. Overall, immigrants make up roughly 28% of the nation's long-term care workforce, with over 112,000 Haitian-born individuals employed in the broader healthcare sector.”
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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Please read and call. Flood the zone.
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Debbie Berkowitz @debbieberkowitz.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Huge!
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Josh Eidelson @josheidelson.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Scoop: NLRB judge rules Amazon must collectively bargain with @teamsters.bsky.social union at a warehouse in San Francisco. Ruling applies the Biden-era Cemex precedent, which Trump labor board appointees could overturn in this case www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Amazon Ordered to Collectively Bargain at San Francisco Warehouse
A US labor board judge ruled that Amazon.com Inc. must collectively bargain with California warehouse workers, teeing up a legal battle that could end with President Donald Trump’s appointees reversin...
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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I KNEW we'd done a Juneteenth video! Found it, and I think it holds up. (I was determined to get in the "fled to Mexico" line even though it was a bit of a rabbit hole. 🙂 )
youtube.com
What is Juneteenth and Why Does it Matter: A Short History | Journey to American Democracy
YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson
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Leslie McBride @lesliemcbride.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Cool! I just found this on your YouTube channel. I can watch them all with on click! 🙂
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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Samuel Adams, as told by his biographer Stacy Schiff. #WeAreHistory250
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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Oh, my, heavens, this is BRILLIANT!!! Who knew?!?
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Honest to goodness, there was a time not so long ago when this would have been a massive scandal.
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