WEBVTT - The Dangers of Silica ft. Kim Kelly

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<v Speaker 1>Also media.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello and welcome to it could happen here. My name's

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<v Speaker 2>Kim Kelly, and I'll be your host for this morning

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<v Speaker 2>or evening or afternoon. I don't know your schedule, little

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<v Speaker 2>web me. I'm a freelance journalist based in Philly, a

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<v Speaker 2>third generation union member and author of the books Fight

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<v Speaker 2>Like Hell, The Untold History of American Labor and his

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<v Speaker 2>Young Reader's edition, Fight to Win Heroes of American Labor.

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<v Speaker 2>Labor industry is obviously a passion of mine, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>also my job to keep up with current worker struggles

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<v Speaker 2>here in the US and abroad. Our pal Sophie, Robert James,

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<v Speaker 2>everybody else have kindly given me the opportunity here to

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<v Speaker 2>share some recent labor stories you might have missed, and

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<v Speaker 2>adding a little historical context here and there to explain

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<v Speaker 2>why exactly they're so important. All that being said, let's

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<v Speaker 2>talk about silica. There are a lot of things out

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<v Speaker 2>there that can kill you at work, but silica, specifically

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<v Speaker 2>respirable crystalline silica, really goes above and beyond the call

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<v Speaker 2>of duty. What is silica, you might ask, Well, it's

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<v Speaker 2>a chemical compound made up of silicon and oxygen that

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<v Speaker 2>is extremely common. Its government name is silicon dioxide. There's

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<v Speaker 2>actually the second most abundant element on Earth after oxygen.

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<v Speaker 2>Doesn't sound so bad, right, Well, it all comes down

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<v Speaker 2>to how you encounter it. If you eat it in

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<v Speaker 2>the form of dietary silica, that's fine. You can find

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<v Speaker 2>it in leafy greens, oats, brown rice is actually pretty

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<v Speaker 2>good for you. But and this is a big butt,

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<v Speaker 2>if you breathe in silica dust, you're pretty much fucked. See.

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<v Speaker 2>Silica dust is extremely harmful, toxic, dangerous, no good. If

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<v Speaker 2>it gets into your lungs. It causes swelling and inflammation,

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<v Speaker 2>which then turns into hard scar tissue, which makes it

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<v Speaker 2>really hard to wreath at least even bigger problems like

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<v Speaker 2>lung cancer, tuberculosis, silicosis, COPD, kidney disease, and one of

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<v Speaker 2>the scariest occupational diseases in American history coal workers numoconiosis,

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<v Speaker 2>which you might know better as black lung see. Silica

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<v Speaker 2>is ten times more toxic than coal dust and has

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<v Speaker 2>been fueling a quiet epidemic in the Appalachian coal fields

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<v Speaker 2>for years now. A new report from the National Institute

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<v Speaker 2>for Occupational Safety and Health reveals that black lung rates

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<v Speaker 2>are higher than they've been in fifty years. A disease

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<v Speaker 2>that most people assume has been eradicated has come roaring back,

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<v Speaker 2>and now one in three miners with twenty five or

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<v Speaker 2>more years experience in the mines has this brutal, fatal,

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<v Speaker 2>incurable disease. There's no longer an old man's disease either.

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<v Speaker 2>Do the math real quick. So if a worker goes

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<v Speaker 2>underground when they're eighteen nineteen, you know, right out of

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<v Speaker 2>high school, get their first big job, go down the mines.

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<v Speaker 2>Twenty five years later, they've barely hit their forties. These

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<v Speaker 2>are not old dudes. This is not the end of

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<v Speaker 2>the line. Like the stereotype of the elderly coal miner

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<v Speaker 2>with the oxygen tank. These people in their late twenties,

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<v Speaker 2>their thirties, their forties. It's horrifying. These workers have so

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<v Speaker 2>much more life to live, but their futures are being

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<v Speaker 2>stolen from them by silica and more specifically, the mine

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<v Speaker 2>operators who refuse to follow the proper safety protocols and

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<v Speaker 2>engineering controls needed to protect them, and the Trunk administration's

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<v Speaker 2>refusal to do deadly squat to make them. Actually, this

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<v Speaker 2>administration is actively making the problem worse they see. After

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<v Speaker 2>decades of work from coal miners and their allies, the

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<v Speaker 2>Department of Labor under Biden was poised to enact a

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<v Speaker 2>new silica rule that would have the amount of deadly

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<v Speaker 2>dust that miners would be exposed to. Finally, it took

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<v Speaker 2>decades to get to this point, and this rule was

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<v Speaker 2>supposed to go in defect in April twenty twenty five.

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<v Speaker 2>A guess who was president then, for all trumps squawking

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<v Speaker 2>about beautiful clean coal and American workers and blah blah lah,

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<v Speaker 2>he and the scrubs who work for him are actively

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<v Speaker 2>killing coal miners to protect their coal barren Buddi's bottom line.

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<v Speaker 2>And silica isn't just wreaking Havoc and Appalachia and his

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<v Speaker 2>coal mines. It's a huge problem in the construction industry too,

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<v Speaker 2>specifically among stone masons and countertop fabricators. See, silica isn't

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<v Speaker 2>just floating around like Lucy Goosey. It's not like you're

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<v Speaker 2>not going to breathe it in and walking down the street.

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<v Speaker 2>You got to dig it out of rocks like granite

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<v Speaker 2>marble courts. Coal miners digate out of the earth. For

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<v Speaker 2>stone masons and countertop fabricators. They release the dust when

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<v Speaker 2>they're cutting and finishing slabs of stone. Artificial stone aka

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<v Speaker 2>manufacturer courts isn't especially popular material for that kitchen makeover.

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<v Speaker 2>It is chock full of silica. That's right, you're a

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<v Speaker 2>shining new kitchen counter. It might have killed someone already, sorry.

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<v Speaker 2>California is currently grappling with a silicosis epidemic that is

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<v Speaker 2>sickened over five hundred workers, fifty of them and needed

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<v Speaker 2>lung transplants, and as of today, thirty two of them

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<v Speaker 2>have died. These are not old men either. Their median

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<v Speaker 2>age is forty six. In almost every case in California

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<v Speaker 2>has occurred among Mexican and Central American immigrant workers, many

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<v Speaker 2>of them have died within a few years of their diagnosis.

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<v Speaker 2>It is a fucking nightmare, and like black lung and Appalachia,

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<v Speaker 2>it is completely preventable when workers' health and safety is

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<v Speaker 2>taken into account and existing regulations are followed. When they aren't,

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<v Speaker 2>people die. Regulations are there for a reason, like it's

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<v Speaker 2>not just for funzies, like it matters. Man makes me

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<v Speaker 2>so mad. But with all that in mine, let's wrap

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<v Speaker 2>up this silica sponsored portion of our program with a

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<v Speaker 2>little sweet treat from Starbucks. Yes, the coffee giant has

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<v Speaker 2>gone all in on blended and frozen drinks. You've seen

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<v Speaker 2>them on Instagram, TikTok. They're very pretty, they look very

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<v Speaker 2>radioactive in like a fun way, and they've recently started

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<v Speaker 2>using a new blending powder that contains wait for it,

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<v Speaker 2>silicon dioxide. Our old friend. Now, this silica is food

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<v Speaker 2>grade FDA proved and it's safe to ingest. Caveat caveat caveat.

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<v Speaker 2>The trouble is that the workers who are required to

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<v Speaker 2>use this blending powder in the drinks they're making for

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<v Speaker 2>you are being exposed to it as they mix up

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<v Speaker 2>these little treats. That's not good. Members of the Starbucks

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<v Speaker 2>Workers United union have raised the alarm over this and

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<v Speaker 2>collected testimonies from hundreds of Starbucks workers who started to

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<v Speaker 2>suffer adverse health effects as soon as the new blending

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<v Speaker 2>powders showed up in their stores. As one worker explained

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<v Speaker 2>on the union's Instagram, you inhale those powders every time

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<v Speaker 2>you scoop them. Workers report experiencing rashes, headaches, coughing fits, nausea,

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<v Speaker 2>throat irritation, swelling, they had trouble breathing, and, as one

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<v Speaker 2>of them said, this powder is literally unavoidable. Now, given

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<v Speaker 2>what we've learned about silica today, you might be feeling

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<v Speaker 2>a little nervous for those Starbucks workers. Some of those

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<v Speaker 2>symptoms might sound a little familiar. Doesn't sound good. We

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<v Speaker 2>don't like silica in things. We don't want silica in

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<v Speaker 2>anybody's lungs. And you think that after said workers alerted

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<v Speaker 2>their company to this issue, Starbucks management would have swiftly

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<v Speaker 2>removed this potentially dangerous substance from their stores and stopped

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<v Speaker 2>requiring their employees to handle it. But as of now, anyway,

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<v Speaker 2>you'd be wrong. So far, their response has been to

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<v Speaker 2>blog about it. Here's the entirety of the response Starbucks

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<v Speaker 2>posted on their official website and I quote. Their product

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<v Speaker 2>used in our coffee houses is a blending powder which

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<v Speaker 2>contains a small amount of food grade silica, an FDA

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<v Speaker 2>approved ingredient commonly used in food products that helps ingredients

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<v Speaker 2>mixed consistently and supports a consistent beverage experience. It does

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<v Speaker 2>not contain crystalline silica and is safe for use in food.

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<v Speaker 2>We are committed to providing accurate information about our ingredients.

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<v Speaker 2>To learn more about our commitment to high quality food

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<v Speaker 2>and drinks, visit this link. End quote. So okay, that's

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<v Speaker 2>not the problem though. We know it's food safe. We

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<v Speaker 2>know it's fine once you get in your guts. It's

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<v Speaker 2>the lungs we're worried about. We know it's food safe.

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<v Speaker 2>The issue is that it's not worker safe. In a

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<v Speaker 2>message the company sent out to its stores, it avoided

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<v Speaker 2>the potential health issue entirely and instead simply told the

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<v Speaker 2>workers to poor slower when handling it, putting the burden

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<v Speaker 2>on them to protect their health instead of actually doing

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<v Speaker 2>something about it. Classic case, you hate to see it,

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<v Speaker 2>And for now, Starbucks work as United are continuing to

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<v Speaker 2>push the company to address the actual issue here and

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<v Speaker 2>I bet data appreciate yourself, So keep an eye out

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<v Speaker 2>on their social media accounts to follow this story. Let

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<v Speaker 2>them know I sent you. And now a word from

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<v Speaker 2>our sponsors. And now for some good news. Deborah Kapisia,

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<v Speaker 2>a medical surgical nurse at Maine Medical Center in Portland,

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<v Speaker 2>is back home after a terrifying encounter with ice. According

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<v Speaker 2>to her union, the Maine State Nurses Association SLASH National

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<v Speaker 2>Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United. Kapisia

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<v Speaker 2>was detained on July thirtieth while traveling through Boston Logan

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<v Speaker 2>International Airport. The union and her fellow nurses at Main

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<v Speaker 2>Med immediately organized a rally that saw hundreds of nurses

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<v Speaker 2>and allies mobilized and successfully blocked her transfer to a

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<v Speaker 2>facility in Louisiana. Quote. We knew we had to take

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<v Speaker 2>action first to stop her from being transferred out of

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<v Speaker 2>New England while in custody, but also to demand her release.

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<v Speaker 2>We're incredibly proud that nurses and the community came together

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<v Speaker 2>in Portland to advocate for her, and now we need

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<v Speaker 2>to figure out how to stop ICE. That's a quote

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<v Speaker 2>from Kelly Brennan, a registered nurse at Main Med and

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<v Speaker 2>a nurse leader with a union got done a press release.

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<v Speaker 2>So Kapisha was born in Zambia and she's legally authorized

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<v Speaker 2>to live and work in the United States. She's waiting

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<v Speaker 2>for asylum case we processed. I have no reason for

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<v Speaker 2>ICE to snatch her up bother her any of that.

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<v Speaker 2>Her fellow nurses have written more than one hundred letters

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<v Speaker 2>of support while the union continues to coordinate with her

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<v Speaker 2>attorneys and her coworkers that made med are demanding their

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<v Speaker 2>employer sponsor her permanent residency. She has a bond hearing

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<v Speaker 2>on August tenth, and I know we're all crossing fingers

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<v Speaker 2>for her.

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<v Speaker 1>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know if this is common knowledge, but nurses unions,

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<v Speaker 2>especially National Nurses United, go ridiculously hard for their members

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<v Speaker 2>and their communities, like they are so tough. And then

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<v Speaker 2>you has been on ICE's neck, calling it a illegitimate,

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<v Speaker 2>violent paramilitary organization that must be abolished. They've been publicly

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<v Speaker 2>mourning the ICE murder of Lorenzo Salgado Arajo and condemning

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<v Speaker 2>the persecution of anti ICE activists in Minnesota and Texas.

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<v Speaker 2>The union has been extremely outspoken on other human rights

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<v Speaker 2>issues too, that many other big unions have ignored or

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<v Speaker 2>barely acknowledged because they're politically sensitive. Not really if you

0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.080
<v Speaker 2>have a heart in the brain. They've been calling out

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<v Speaker 2>Israel for destroying medical warehouses and hospitals and gaza killing

0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.960
<v Speaker 2>thousands of healthcare workers and Palestinian patients. And they just

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<v Speaker 2>demanded an end to the US blockade of Cuba. This

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<v Speaker 2>is just the last couple of months of press releases

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<v Speaker 2>like they've been out here and then you. Is also

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<v Speaker 2>the biggest nurses union in the country, with more than

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<v Speaker 2>two hundred and twenty five thousand members. They have a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of power and they're not afraid to use it

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<v Speaker 2>for good. Today they're trying to free a member from

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<v Speaker 2>ISI's clutches to or they may be striking for safing

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<v Speaker 2>staffing levels, or organizing a new union in Louisiana, or

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<v Speaker 2>holding your grandma's hand as she takes her last breath.

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<v Speaker 2>Nurses really are the best of us, and I'm really

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<v Speaker 2>glad they're on our side. So everyone say good luck

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<v Speaker 2>to Deborah. Finally, I want to end today's episode with

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<v Speaker 2>some very big news. As I'm sure you all know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's now Black August, the month we dedicate each year

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<v Speaker 2>to honoring the memory of fallen black freedom fighters and

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<v Speaker 2>political prisoners. It's a tradition that began in nineteen seventy

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<v Speaker 2>nine after the assassination of George Jackson, a Black panther

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<v Speaker 2>and black liberation activist. With that memory in mind, jailhouse

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<v Speaker 2>Lawyers Speak, a collective of formerly and currently incarcerated workers

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<v Speaker 2>around the country, have just gone public with their plans

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<v Speaker 2>for a big nationwide prison strike in twenty twenty seven,

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<v Speaker 2>and they're calling for allies and comrades to support and

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<v Speaker 2>spread the word. On August second, they announced that prisoners

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<v Speaker 2>will hold a national prisoner's human rights strike from May one,

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<v Speaker 2>the International Workers Day, through June nineteenth June teenth, twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty seven, uniting the fight to and legalize slavery with

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<v Speaker 2>the struggle to restore voting rights to the prison class.

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<v Speaker 2>They share three core demands, which I'll read to you now.

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<v Speaker 2>They also maintain ten national demands on their website. They

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<v Speaker 2>have a bigger program going on, but this specific campaign

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<v Speaker 2>is focusing on these three things. One and legalized slavery repeal.

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<v Speaker 2>The exception clause is the thirteenth Amendment. Two restore voting

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<v Speaker 2>rights repeal exception clauses including Section two of the Fourteenth

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<v Speaker 2>Amendment that strip voting rights from confined citizens, pre trial detainees,

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<v Speaker 2>and former felons. Three free all the political prisoners in

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<v Speaker 2>US prisons. So they've got a lot of work ahead

0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.920
<v Speaker 2>of them. It all sounds very reasonable to me, but

0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:57.840
<v Speaker 2>unfortunately I'm not in charge. You know, this isn't the

0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:01.320
<v Speaker 2>first time the JLS and their affiliated prisoner led organizations

0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.800
<v Speaker 2>have raised these demands norms of the first time they

0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:06.959
<v Speaker 2>put their bodies on the line for them. There's a long,

0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:10.080
<v Speaker 2>long history of resistance behind the walls of the American

0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:13.400
<v Speaker 2>prison industrial complex. I devoted a whole chapter to in

0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:17.680
<v Speaker 2>my book, and groups like JLS, the Free Alabama Movement,

0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:21.320
<v Speaker 2>and the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee have done an incredible

0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:23.880
<v Speaker 2>amount of work over the years keeping the spirit of

0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:27.920
<v Speaker 2>hope and rebellion alive and organizing these huge nationwide actions

0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:31.680
<v Speaker 2>under nearly impossible circumstances. Just because you haven't heard about

0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.320
<v Speaker 2>them doesn't mean they're not happening. There is so much

0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.520
<v Speaker 2>organizing happening in tign prison in the US, it's just

0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:42.120
<v Speaker 2>difficult to report on unless you have contacts and you

0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.840
<v Speaker 2>care enough to do a little bit of digging, which

0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:48.240
<v Speaker 2>I guess not that many mainstream reporters do, but fuck

0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:52.280
<v Speaker 2>them now. The largest prison strike in modern US history

0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.240
<v Speaker 2>is said to have been the twenty ten Georgia prison strike,

0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:58.520
<v Speaker 2>wherein prisoners in seven facilities across the state one on

0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:02.480
<v Speaker 2>strike for six days. Between twenty eleven and twenty thirteen,

0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.800
<v Speaker 2>thousands of prisoners in California when our hunger strikes to

0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:09.480
<v Speaker 2>protest the dire conditions in which they're held. Since then,

0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:13.960
<v Speaker 2>we've seen large scale, coordinated prison labor strikes in twenty seventeen,

0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:18.880
<v Speaker 2>twenty eighteen, and perhaps most notably twenty sixteen, which commemorated

0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:22.480
<v Speaker 2>the forty fifth anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, which

0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:26.040
<v Speaker 2>itself bears a historical precedent to ancient Rome, when in

0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:29.000
<v Speaker 2>about one hundred and thirty five BC, just after the

0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:32.760
<v Speaker 2>First Servile War, a thousand slaves let a bloody revolt

0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:37.040
<v Speaker 2>in Attica, a region of what is now Greece. There

0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.720
<v Speaker 2>really is nothing new under the sun, at least when

0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:43.080
<v Speaker 2>it comes to the carsoral system and human enslavement, and

0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:46.640
<v Speaker 2>the twenty twenty seven prison strike makes the connection explicit

0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.480
<v Speaker 2>with its slogan, from May Day to Juneteenth, we refuse

0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:54.040
<v Speaker 2>to slave. Now, a prison strike may look a little

0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.000
<v Speaker 2>different from what you're thinking. Strikers have to get very

0:15:57.080 --> 0:16:00.280
<v Speaker 2>creative since they can't exactly walk out of their workplace. Yes,

0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:04.640
<v Speaker 2>there won't be any picket lines or cool matching T shirts,

0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:08.440
<v Speaker 2>and I'd be very pleasantly surprised if any elected officials

0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.920
<v Speaker 2>or political hopefuls showed up to support these strikes. May

0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.040
<v Speaker 2>it sure would be nice, given that one of the

0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:17.040
<v Speaker 2>major goals of this action is to have these incarcerated

0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:20.480
<v Speaker 2>workers voting rights restored. People in prison are a part

0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.920
<v Speaker 2>of our society and always have been. Ripping away their

0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:26.120
<v Speaker 2>rights as well as their freedoms is a crime against

0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.440
<v Speaker 2>their humanity, and this strike is another desperate cry for

0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:32.520
<v Speaker 2>help from people who have been left behind and forgotten.

0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.000
<v Speaker 2>A lot can happen in nine months, and a lot

0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:38.960
<v Speaker 2>needs to happen to pull off an action of this magnitude.

0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:43.160
<v Speaker 2>Prison strikes aren't easy. There's so many dangers and risks

0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:47.520
<v Speaker 2>for the people that participate, so much repressions, so many repercussions.

0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:51.600
<v Speaker 2>It's truly an incredibly difficult and brave thing to take

0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.160
<v Speaker 2>part in a strike behind the walls, and they need

0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:58.479
<v Speaker 2>support from people outside too. JLS is calling on supporters

0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:01.520
<v Speaker 2>of the strike to get involved and support their resistance

0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:06.080
<v Speaker 2>inside by sharing the strike statement widely, centering prisoner voices,

0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.600
<v Speaker 2>and pressuring Congress and all those other fancy powerful people

0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:13.720
<v Speaker 2>to heed their demands or at the absolute least show

0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:18.120
<v Speaker 2>that they're listening. As JLS stated, the National Prisoner's Human

0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:21.320
<v Speaker 2>Rights Strike is more than a strike. There's a commitment

0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:27.080
<v Speaker 2>to building lasting institutions, expanding legal knowledge, strengthening political education,

0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:31.800
<v Speaker 2>and organizing inside and outside the walls until legalized slavery

0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:36.080
<v Speaker 2>and the broader system of exploitation are abolished. So, if

0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.920
<v Speaker 2>you got some time, you got some skills, and a

0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:42.520
<v Speaker 2>desire to burn down the American plantation, give a little whistle.

0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:45.159
<v Speaker 2>JLS is waiting for you, and they need all the

0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:48.359
<v Speaker 2>help they can get. This has been a special labor

0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.680
<v Speaker 2>episode of It Can Happen Here. I'm still Kim Kelly

0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:55.040
<v Speaker 2>and it's been lovely talking with you. Until next time,

0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.800
<v Speaker 2>Be good, do no harm, and take no shit.

0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.600
<v Speaker 1>It Could Happen Here is a production of cool Zone Media.

0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:07.840
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website

0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:11.480
<v Speaker 1>coolzonmedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app,

0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:15.080
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0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:17.479
<v Speaker 1>now find sources for It Could Happen Here listed directly

0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:19.800
<v Speaker 1>in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening.