NEW YORK — Environmental and health activists announced plans for a lawsuit to make four major firms reveal the chemical ingredients of their cleaning products and their research on the products' effects, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The suit, to be filed today in New York by six state and national environmental and health groups, including the Sierra Club and American Lung Association, seeks to use a little-known 1976 New York law passed to combat phosphates in detergent, the story stated.
The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) said the following about the suit: "Activist groups are using an arcane New York state regulation as a way to disparage cleaning product formulators whose products are used safely and effectively by millions of people every day."
Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble; New York-based Colgate-Palmolive; Princeton, N.J.-based Church & Dwight Co.; and Britain-based Reckitt Benckiser Group are all mentioned in the lawsuit, the story noted.
In California, two laws were approved in 2008 that require the state to identify "chemicals of concern," to evaluate safer alternatives and to create a scientific clearinghouse for information on chemicals' effects, the story added.
According to the story, The Consumer Product Safety Commission is the federal agency charged with overseeing home cleaning products, but it doesn't require cleaning product manufacturers to provide comprehensive ingredient lists, so few companies do.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Overnight fire at Cintas facility
INDIANAPOLIS — Nobody was injured in a fire that started inside a Cintas facility around 3 o'clock this morning, according to WISH-TV.
The fire at the JanSan uniform and mat rental company is being blamed on faulty electrical equipment, the story stated.
No employees were in the building at the time of the blaze; no estimations of the extent of the damage have been made as of yet, the story noted.
The building's sprinkler system did its job in helping control the blaze until firefighters arrived and subdued the flames, the story added.
The fire at the JanSan uniform and mat rental company is being blamed on faulty electrical equipment, the story stated.
No employees were in the building at the time of the blaze; no estimations of the extent of the damage have been made as of yet, the story noted.
The building's sprinkler system did its job in helping control the blaze until firefighters arrived and subdued the flames, the story added.
Apartment manager embezzles $500,000
WEST WHITELAND, PA — The former property manager of Hollow Run Apartments has been charged with stealing nearly $500,000 in more than 700 thefts she committed between 2001 and 2008, according to WFMZ-TV.
Tracey Totten-Davis is accused of manipulating the accounts of more than 700 tenants who lived in the complex and funneling $412,000 in rent and security deposits into her personal bank account, the story stated.
According to police, "The investigation was an arduous process of putting together the paper trail needed for prosecution."
Totten-Davis was fired for paying an excessive amount of money to Choice Cleaning L.L.C., a company she hired for cleaning services, the story noted.
Investigations uncovered the fact that Totten-Davis actually owned the cleaning company, and the $78,000 she billed for services over a two-year period was three times the amount paid to the previous cleaning company, the story added.
According to the story, Totten-Davis also charged home improvements worth $7,000 to the owner of the apartment complex, Fitzpatrick Fanning Corporation, making the total loss to Fitzpatrick Fanning more than $497,000.
Tracey Totten-Davis is accused of manipulating the accounts of more than 700 tenants who lived in the complex and funneling $412,000 in rent and security deposits into her personal bank account, the story stated.
According to police, "The investigation was an arduous process of putting together the paper trail needed for prosecution."
Totten-Davis was fired for paying an excessive amount of money to Choice Cleaning L.L.C., a company she hired for cleaning services, the story noted.
Investigations uncovered the fact that Totten-Davis actually owned the cleaning company, and the $78,000 she billed for services over a two-year period was three times the amount paid to the previous cleaning company, the story added.
According to the story, Totten-Davis also charged home improvements worth $7,000 to the owner of the apartment complex, Fitzpatrick Fanning Corporation, making the total loss to Fitzpatrick Fanning more than $497,000.
Custodians with invalid Social Security numbers fired
MANSFIELD, TX — Forty of the 269 custodians in the Mansfield School District have been fired after an internal audit that began in August found that the Social Security numbers they gave the district were incorrect or invalid, according to the Star-Telegram.
One hundred twenty employees' numbers have been checked and verified so far; employees with invalid numbers were given 90 days to resolve the issue and many worked until the last day possible, the story stated.
Jeff Brogden, director of facilities and operations for the district, said: "The situation is heartbreaking. They’re like family."
According to the story, some of the employees involved had been with the district as long as 10 years.
The district is not required by law to verify Social Security numbers that it submits to the Internal Revenue Service, and has yet to contact law enforcement about the invalid numbers and presumed illegal status of the custodians, the story noted.
Each of the custodians had undergone criminal background checks based on fingerprints, but the checks did not reveal the invalid Social Security numbers, the story added.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, at least 17 percent of all JanSan employees (an estimated 680,000 plus workers) are illegal immigrants.
One hundred twenty employees' numbers have been checked and verified so far; employees with invalid numbers were given 90 days to resolve the issue and many worked until the last day possible, the story stated.
Jeff Brogden, director of facilities and operations for the district, said: "The situation is heartbreaking. They’re like family."
According to the story, some of the employees involved had been with the district as long as 10 years.
The district is not required by law to verify Social Security numbers that it submits to the Internal Revenue Service, and has yet to contact law enforcement about the invalid numbers and presumed illegal status of the custodians, the story noted.
Each of the custodians had undergone criminal background checks based on fingerprints, but the checks did not reveal the invalid Social Security numbers, the story added.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, at least 17 percent of all JanSan employees (an estimated 680,000 plus workers) are illegal immigrants.
Bacterial meningitis closes several rooms at UNCC
CHARLOTTE, NC — The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) has closed several rooms and facilities for cleaning after a student from the soccer team was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, according to the Charlotte Observer.
The Athletic Academic Center, the weight room and men's soccer locker room and shower area have all been temporarily closed so custodians can extensively clean and disinfect the areas, the story stated.
Officials claim there is no need to perform widespread testing of students as only those who had close contact with the student need to be tested and possibly treated, the story noted.
Bacterial meningitis is spread through exchange of respiratory and throat secretions, such as from coughing or kissing, and symptoms may include fever, headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea and sleepiness, the story added.
The Athletic Academic Center, the weight room and men's soccer locker room and shower area have all been temporarily closed so custodians can extensively clean and disinfect the areas, the story stated.
Officials claim there is no need to perform widespread testing of students as only those who had close contact with the student need to be tested and possibly treated, the story noted.
Bacterial meningitis is spread through exchange of respiratory and throat secretions, such as from coughing or kissing, and symptoms may include fever, headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea and sleepiness, the story added.
UNITE-HERE Local 2 calls for San Francisco hotel boycott
SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of members of the UNITE-HERE Local 2 are calling for a boycott of two San Francisco hotels: The HEI Le Meridien and the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf, according to the San Francisco Bay Area Independent.
Workers at these hotels are seeking more respect, better job security and better livelihoods for themselves and their families and want management to respect their choice whether or not to form a union through the majority sign-up process, the story stated.
Peter Ho, a lobby porter who has worked at HEI’s Le Meridien for 19 years, said: "We want the same opportunities as other hotel workers in San Francisco. If it’s good enough for workers at other hotels, why not for us? We’ve given years of service to these hotels. We just want respect."
Despite repeated efforts by workers to adopt the majority sign-up process, HEI and Hyatt have both refused; similar efforts are under way at other hotels, including the HEI Hilton in Long Beach, the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, and the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, the story noted.
Over 340 hospitality workers and their families at these two San Francisco hotels face unfair layoffs, unaffordable health care and a lack of respect on the job, the story added.
Workers at these hotels are seeking more respect, better job security and better livelihoods for themselves and their families and want management to respect their choice whether or not to form a union through the majority sign-up process, the story stated.
Peter Ho, a lobby porter who has worked at HEI’s Le Meridien for 19 years, said: "We want the same opportunities as other hotel workers in San Francisco. If it’s good enough for workers at other hotels, why not for us? We’ve given years of service to these hotels. We just want respect."
Despite repeated efforts by workers to adopt the majority sign-up process, HEI and Hyatt have both refused; similar efforts are under way at other hotels, including the HEI Hilton in Long Beach, the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, and the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, the story noted.
Over 340 hospitality workers and their families at these two San Francisco hotels face unfair layoffs, unaffordable health care and a lack of respect on the job, the story added.
Custodian pleads guilty in stolen check scheme
HUNTINGTON, WV — A former custodian who cleaned several offices in the St. James Building at 4th Avenue and 10th Street was sentenced to one year and one month in federal prison for her role in a stolen check scheme, according to The Herald Dispatch.
Catherine L. Scarberry and five other defendants plead guilty to conspiracy to possess and utter forged securities, the story stated.
The charges stem from several incidents in May and June 2003 when Scarberry used her position as a custodian at the St. James Building to gain access to at least four businesses; pre-printed, blank checks were taken, forged and passed off to her accomplices who then cashed them at various businesses, the story noted.
On top of the prison time, each of the defendants was ordered to pay $21,244.80 in restitution, the story added.
Catherine L. Scarberry and five other defendants plead guilty to conspiracy to possess and utter forged securities, the story stated.
The charges stem from several incidents in May and June 2003 when Scarberry used her position as a custodian at the St. James Building to gain access to at least four businesses; pre-printed, blank checks were taken, forged and passed off to her accomplices who then cashed them at various businesses, the story noted.
On top of the prison time, each of the defendants was ordered to pay $21,244.80 in restitution, the story added.
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