Tag Archives: BP

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

PLU adjunct faculty lose union vote, say they’ll try again


Posted by

in seattletimes.org Jan.15

Adjunct faculty members at Pacific Lutheran University, who won a precedent-setting national victory last month when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) endorsed their right to form a union, appear to have lost a vote to unionize.

The faculty group announced Wednesday that they were withdrawing a petition to form a union, but say they’ll likely attempt a new vote later this year.

The decision comes a week after the impounded ballots from the election — which was held in October 2013  — were finally counted. The vote was 54 votes against union representation and 30 votes in favor, but 38 votes were uncounted because they were challenged by either PLU or the contingent faculty.

The uncounted ballots were impounded immediately after the election when PLU appealed to the NLRB, arguing the school was exempt from national labor rules because it is a religious institution, and because full-time contingents (as adjuncts are called at PLU) were managerial employees.The NLRB, in its decision last month, rejected those arguments.

“The election was hopelessly flawed so we decided a new vote was the best course of action,” said Jane Harty, a contingent music teacher at the university, in an email. She said there were so many challenges to the ballots that it “would be very expensive and take months to contest” the challenges to the ballot.

PLU Provost Steven Starkovich said the university would try to address the contingents’ concerns through its faculty governance committee and a task force of contingents. “As we have stated before, we believe our robust, general-assembly style of faculty governance can serve as a model for other universities,” he said in a statement.

Adjunct faculty make up at least half the higher-education workforce nationwide, according to some studies. They are not eligible for tenure and teach anything from one class each quarter to a full-time slate of courses. They usually make less money than tenured professors and often have fewer benefits.

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Indiana and their New Reproductive Rights laws … that hurt Women


purvi

 

CREDIT: WNDU News Screenshot

A 33-year-old woman from Indiana faces decades in prison after she sought medical attention at a hospital as she was bleeding from a premature delivery. The case is just the latest example illustrating the real-world consequences of the harsh state laws that essentially criminalize pregnancy.

According to the charges being filed against her, Purvi Patel attempted to end her pregnancy last year by taking pills that she bought online from Hong Kong. The pills didn’t work, and Patel eventually delivered a premature baby at home. When she went to an emergency room to seek treatment after giving birth, the staff asked why she didn’t have an infant with her. She said her baby appeared to be dead, and she had wrapped it in a bag and placed it in a dumpster.

Now, Patel is being charged with both neglect and feticide, allegations that actually conflict with each other. She was initially charged with “neglect of a dependent” after prosecutors learned she left her baby in in a dumpster, a charge that won’t apply if the baby was already dead. But she’s now also being charged with “fetal murder of an unborn child” — a charge that an Indiana judge allowed to stand this week — for taking drugs that could have illegally ended her pregnancy.

As the Daily Beast’s Sally Kohn points out, the logic doesn’t exactly hold up. “The State of Indiana intends to convict and incarcerate Purvi Patel one way or another, whether the fetus she delivered was alive or not — never mind the fact that the facts necessary for filing the one charge (that the fetus have been alive) entirely contradict the facts necessary for filing the other (that the fetus have been dead) and vice versa,” Kohn writes.

On top of that, reproductive rights advocates and legal experts point out that Indiana’s “feticide” law was never intended to be applied to pregnant women themselves. It was originally written as a way to crack down on illegal abortion providers. Critics say Patel fits into a disturbing trend; similar “fetal homicide” laws are in place in at least 38 states, and they’re increasingly used to punish women who end up having miscarriages or stillbirths.

“Once again targeting a woman of color, prosecutors in Indiana are using this very sad situation to establish that intentional abortions as well as unintentional pregnancy losses should be punished as crimes,” Lynn Paltrow, the executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, which tracks these cases closely, said in a recent statement about Patel’s case. “In the U.S., as a matter of constitutional law and human decency, no woman should be arrested for the outcome of her pregnancy.”

Patel is the second woman to be prosecuted under Indiana’s feticide law. The state also pressed charges against Bei Bei Shuai, a Chinese immigrant who attempted suicide while pregnant and ended up delivering a baby that didn’t survive. Shaui was imprisoned for more than a year before a plea deal was reached in April, and her case sparked international outrage. More than 100,000 people signed onto a petition demanding Shuai’s release and pointing out that “it is wrong to have a set of separate and unequal laws for pregnant women.”

The laws that allow states to arrest pregnant women for allegedly harming their fetuses actually end up undermining public health. Major medical groups like the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists oppose “feticide” laws because they ultimately deter women from seeking the medical attention they need.

Harsh restrictions on abortion, as well as unreasonably broad definitions of “fetal homicide,” have created a society in which all pregnant women are transformed into potential suspects in the eyes of the law. And since miscarriage and abortion are relatively common pregnancy experiences — and research has proven that women are going to end their pregnancies whether or not it’s legal — that means we’re also approaching a society in which desperate women may be too terrified to ask for health treatment. For instance, if Patel had known that she was at risk for being charged with fetal homicide, would she have thought twice about going to the emergency room? Would she have joined the millions of women around the world who die from botched abortions and risky childbirth?

“We cannot afford to deter a woman from seeking reproductive health care,” the Indiana Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice pointed out in a statement released this week. “Those of us who are Christian know that when Jesus responded to the hemorrhaging woman there was no place for aggressive interrogation and punishment. It was all for healing.”

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org


We’ve had some major victories since we started.
Weneedyou

Will you donate $15 a month in honor of our 10th anniversary?

Donate

 

Next week, I’ll take the stage at our 10th anniversary ceremony. But before I do that, I want to send this message to thank you, the core of our 1 million members. With your help, we have been able to create real-world change for Black people in America.

As I prepare for our anniversary, I’m also thinking a lot about why Van Jones and James Rucker founded this organization ten years ago, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In the past year alone, we’ve seen too many Black lives taken at the hands of police to keep count. Even ten years after the storm that ravaged the Gulf Coast and spurred the founding of this organization, our brothers and sisters in Black communities are still in a state of crisis.

Help drive the next decade of racial justice work by donating $15 each month.

Van and James wanted to build an organization with the capacity to respond in times like these. They wanted to build a network of ordinary people with the passion to push for justice. Even before “Black Lives Matter,” they had a vision of how we could bring our voices together and use that collective voice to demand accountability and grow a movement for Black people. That’s what ColorofChange has spent the past 10 years doing.

When I address the crowd at the ceremony next week, I’ll take stock of precedents we’ve set and the systemic change we have been able to bring about:

  1. We organized in support of the Jena 6 and were able to contribute $250,000 to the young men’s legal team and help them avoid jail time.
  2. We helped stop Glenn Beck’s racist hate speech from being aired on Fox News by getting hundreds of advertisers to stop funding his show.
  3. We helped end Pat Buchanan’s tenure as a political commentator at MSNBC after he pushed his white supremacist views as mainstream opinion.
  4. In the aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s killing, we de-funded the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), hindering its ability to develop and spread “shoot first” laws and discriminatory voter ID laws.
  5. We convinced Clear Channel to remove a series of voter fraud billboards placed in Black communities before the 2012 election.
  6. We pushed FOX to cancel the television show “Cops” after 25 years of dehumanizing portrayals of Black people.
  7. We successfully pressured Saturday Night Live to add two Black women to the cast, Sasheer Zamata and Leslie Jones, in addition to one Black woman writer. Zamata became the first Black woman cast member since 2007.
  8. We donated $70,000 to the Organization for Black Struggle to help it build an organizing infrastructure on the ground in Ferguson to support the Movement for Black Lives.
  9. We were a driving force behind winning “net neutrality,” ensuring that the Internet remains free and open, especially for people with limited resources and for organizations like ours who use online organizing.
  10. We convinced GoFundMe and Indiegogo to stop allowing their platforms to be used to fundraise for killer cops, and we continue to push tech companies like Twitter and Facebook to diversify their staff.

We’ve done all of this with a small core staff of committed, dedicated campaigners and, most importantly, the voices and support of our members. In the next ten years of our organization’s life, there will be much more work to do. With your help, we can seek out and support new movements that elevate the value of Black lives, Black voices and Black political power.

But it all depends on you. Your donations–the hard-earned dollars you give because you believe in justice for our communities–are what sustain our work. As we lay out an ambitious vision for the next decade, we are asking you to give what you can to help support that vision.

If we can raise $150,000 for our tenth anniversary, we will have the funding we need to continue to fight for Black voices and Black lives. Our staff is small, dedicated and proven change agents. Click to contribute $15 a month towards our work, or give whatever you can.

Thanks and peace,

–Rashad Robinson, Executive Director, ColorofChange

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Costa Rica’s sea turtles are in danger … Change.org


Petitioning President of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solís

Stop Tourists and Poachers from Interrupting Sea Turtles from Nesting in Costa Rica
Petition by Lillian Zhang
Woodbridge, Connecticut
6,659
Supporters
~ FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

FDA/USDA ~ Alerts & Safety ~ September 2015


USFDA_footer

Salix Animal Health, LLC, Announces Voluntary Recall of One Lot of “Good ‘N’ Fun – Beefhide Chicken Sticks” Dog Treats Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination

09/30/2015 05:43 PM EDT

Salix Animal Health, LLC today announced it has initiated a voluntary recall of one lot of “Good ‘n’ Fun – Beefhide Chicken Sticks” because it may have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the product and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated products.

09/30/2015 05:09 PM EDT
United TC of Dayton, NJ is recalling Basma Golden Raisins, 16 oz. and bulk cartons of Golden Raisins, 30 Lb. because they may contain undeclared sulfites. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to sulfites run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.
09/29/2015 04:15 PM EDT

Royal Frozen Food, a Los Angeles, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 230 pounds of frozen beef and pork products that were not produced under a fully implemented Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan.

 Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for the following recalls:

09/28/2015 10:27 AM EDT

OC Raw Dog of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA is voluntarily recalling 640 lbs. of Chicken, Fish & Produce Raw Frozen Canine Formulation. This is being done in an abundance of caution, as the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

09/25/2015 09:26 PM EDT

Western Milling announced today that it has voluntarily recalled 50 lb bags of Western Blend horse feed, LOT 5251, manufactured on September 8, 2015. This voluntary recall was initiated by Western Milling after it learned that an ingredient in the feed in question may contain monensin, an ionophore.

09/25/2015 08:54 AM EDT

Murphy Farm Hay and Feed Company of Louisburg North Carolina has initiated a voluntary limited recall of alfalfa hay due to potential Blister Beetle contamination. The product was offered for sale to consumers at the following two retail locations, Murphy Farm Hay and Feed in Louisburg, NC and Jones Farm Hay and Feed in Middlesex, NC.

09/23/2015 07:30 PM EDT

Lucy’s Weight Loss System is voluntarily recalling all lots distributed May 25 – June 23 2015 of Pink Bikini and Shorts on the Beach Blue and Gold Edition, 30 blue capsules (750MG per) capsules and 30 gold capsule (800MG per) capsules to the consumer level. The Pink Bikini and Shorts on the Beach have been found positive for Sibutramine and Phenolphthalein after FDA sampling and testing.

09/23/2015 07:29 PM EDT

US Compounding, Inc. (“USC”) is voluntarily recalling all lots of sterile products aseptically compounded and packaged by USC and that remain within expiry due to the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”)_ concern over a lack of sterility assurance. The sterile products were distributed nationwide to patients, providers, hospitals, or clinics between March 14, 2015 and September 9, 2015.

09/21/2015 05:33 PM EDT

Out of an abundance of caution, Picnic Gourmet Spreads is issuing a recall on their yogurt cheese spreads. These spreads could potentially be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

09/22/2015 10:02 AM EDT

NatPets LLC, d/b/a “I and love and you,” of Boulder, CO (the “Company”), is expanding its voluntary recall of cow-boom! strips – beef gullet because the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

FSIS Issues Public Health Alert For Stuffed Chicken Products Due To Possible Salmonella ContaminationThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is alerting consumers that frozen, raw, stuffed and breaded chicken products produced by Aspen Foods, a division of Koch Poultry Company, a Chicago, Ill. establishment have been confirmed as having the same Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak strain which was part of a July 15, 2015 recall.

 

Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for the following recalls:

  • 071-2015, Golden Krust Patties Recalls Beef and Chicken Products Due To Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens  (Apr 29, 2015) | List
  • 109-2015, Create Common Good Recalls Jambalaya Products Due To Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens  (Aug 11, 2015) | List
09/17/2015 02:30 PM EDT

Butala Emporium, Inc of Jackson Heights, NY, is voluntarily recalling eleven Ayurvedic (dietary) supplements (listed below) because the products were found to contain elevated lead and mercury levels which may cause health problems to consumers, particularly infants, small children, pregnant women, and those with underlying kidney disorders if consumed.The concentration of lead exceeds the recommended daily lead exposure for children less than 6 years of age and women of childbearing age and would likely be injurious to health.

09/17/2015 09:48 AM EDT

Today Karoun Dairies, Inc. announced that it is voluntarily recalling a variety of cheeses it distributes due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. To date, no product has tested positive for Listeria but in view of the association with listeriosis cases Karoun Dairies Inc. is initiating a voluntary recall in the interest of protecting public health.

Di Stefano Cheese Co. Recalls Ham Products Produced Without Benefit Of Inspection   Di Stefano Cheese Co., a Pomona, Calif., establishment, is recalling approximately 1,280 pounds of Parma Boneless Ham produced in Italy that were not presented at the U.S. point of entry for inspection.

09/15/2015 04:59 PM EDT

Appeeling Fruit Inc. in Dauberville, Penn. has been informed by one of its customers that some of the Snack Fresh brand, 2 oz. bagged red apple slices with Best-if-Used-by date 09/21/15 and production date 310815 that was voluntarily recalled on Wednesday, September 9 due to the potential of being contaminated with listeria monocytogenes may have been distributed to schools in Florida’s Palm Beach County School District (product photo is available at www.appeelingfruit.com). Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for recall 117-2015, Ocho Rios Recalls Corned Beef Products Produced Without Benefit of Import Inspection (Apr 31, 2015).

09/12/2015 11:31 AM EDT

Custom Produce Sales (“Custom Produce”) of Parlier, California is voluntarily recalling all cucumbers sold under the Fat Boy® label starting August 1, 2015 because they may be contaminated with Salmonella and are covered by an ongoing recall. No other Fat Boy® products are covered by this recall.

09/14/2015 05:15 PM EDT

organicgirl Produce is voluntarily recalling a limited quantity of 5 oz. organicgirl Baby Spinach with a Use-by Date of September 13 and Product Code B030298-001B08S due to test results indicating the presence of trace levels of the naturally-occurring element cadmium. The recall includes 1,290 cases distributed primarily to Western and Midwestern states.

09/12/2015 10:31 AM EDT

Custom Produce Sales (“Custom Produce”) of Parlier, California is voluntarily recalling all cucumbers sold under the Fat Boy® label starting August 1, 2015 because they may be contaminated with Salmonella and are covered by an ongoing recall. No other Fat Boy® products are covered by this recall.

09/10/2015 06:05 PM EDT

Appeeling Fruit Inc. in Dauberville, Penn. is voluntarily recalling a limited number of consumer packages of fresh sliced apples with Best-if-Used-by dates of 09/14/15 and 09/21/15, due to the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

09/10/2015 06:09 PM EDT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care professionals and patients of a voluntary recall of all non-expired drug products produced for sterile use and distributed nationwide by Medistat RX, LLC, in Foley, Alabama, due to possible contamination. The recalled products were distributed between November 1, 2014, and September 3, 2015.

09/09/2015 08:42 PM EDT

In cooperation with the Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce recall of cucumbers that may be contaminated with Salmonella Poona, Safeway is voluntarily recalling made-to-order deli sandwiches with cucumbers produced by Andrew and Williamson and sold in nine Safeway and Carrs stores in Alaska.

Schrader Farms Meat Market Recalls Beef Product Due To Possible Non-O157 E. Coli Contamination Schrader Farms Meat Market, a Romulus, N.Y., establishment, is recalling approximately 20 pounds of ground beef product that may be contaminated with non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli

09/08/2015 01:53 PM EDT

The Kraft Heinz Company is expanding the voluntary recall of select code dates and manufacturing codes of individually-wrapped American slices due to the possibility that a thin strip of the individual packaging film may remain adhered to the slice after the wrapper has been removed. If the film sticks to the slice and is not removed, it could potentially cause a choking hazard.

09/08/2015 10:15 PM EDT

Schrader Farms Meat Market, a Romulus, N.Y., establishment, is recalling approximately 20 pounds of ground beef product that may be contaminated with non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

09/08/2015 09:59 PM EDT

Okarche Bakery of Okarche, OK is recalling ALL FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH, because it may contain undeclared Milk, Soy, Wheat and Yellow #5. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to these allergens run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.

09/08/2015 12:53 PM EDT

The Kraft Heinz Company is expanding the voluntary recall of select code dates and manufacturing codes of individually-wrapped American slices due to the possibility that a thin strip of the individual packaging film may remain adhered to the slice after the wrapper has been removed. If the film sticks to the slice and is not removed, it could potentially cause a choking hazard.

09/05/2015 02:27 PM EDT
Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce (“A&W”) of San Diego, California is voluntarily recalling all cucumbers sold under the Limited Edition® label during the period from August 1, 2015 through September 3, 2015 because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.

 

 

Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for recall 080-2015, ZYK Enterprises, Inc. Recalls Boneless Veal Trim Products Due to Possible Contamination with E. Coli O157:H7 (May 18, 2015).

09/03/2015 06:11 PM EDT

Best Cash & Carry, 56-30 56 Street, Maspeth, NY 11378 is recalling ROSE BRAND CRANBERRY MIX, because it may contain undeclared sulfites. People who have severe sensitivity to sulfites run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product.

 

08/31/2015 09:16 PM EDT
Bonduelle USA Inc. of Brockport, NY is recalling 9,335 cases of frozen corn because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

 

H-E-B Issues A Voluntary Recall On Hill Country Fare One Gallon Spring Water Due To The Possible Presence Of Undeclared Allergen 09/02/2015 10:57 PM EDT  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Austin, TX  H-E-B has issued a voluntary recall specifically for the Hill Country Fare One Gallon Spring Water with the Best By date of December 19, 2015, due to the possible presence of a milk allergen. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.

Sincerely Nuts Recalls Raw Macadamia Nuts Because of Possible Health Risk
09/02/2015 01:22 PM EDT

Sincerely Nuts Inc. of Brooklyn, NY, is recalling packages of Sincerely Nuts Macadamia Nuts (Raw) Whole and Sincerely Nuts Macadamia Nuts (Raw) Unsalted Halves and Pieces because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Kenosha Beef Recalls Pork Sausage Products Due to Possible Foreign Matter Contamination
Kenosha Beef International LTD, a Kenosha, Wis. establishment, is recalling approximately 89,235 pounds of pork sausage patty products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials.