A putsch yesterday at Cal/OSHA’s Standard Board is a lesson in not angering Governor Gavin Newsom.
The Governor replaced former Board Chair Dave Thomas with member Joseph Alioto. Notably, Thomas remains a member of the Board, as his appointment hasn’t expired. It is unknown if Thomas will choose to stay or resign from the Board.
Laura Stock, director of the Labor and Occupational Health Program at UC Berkeley, was removed from the Board completely. Her appointment to the Board expired last June.
A certain amount of palace intrigue is connected with the Governor’s move. Both Thomas and Stock, upset and angry, expressed their dissatisfaction with the administration’s decision to halt the vote on the Heat Standard while it was modified to exclude California’s state and local prisons and jails from the standard.
Friday’s premium edition of Cal-OSHA Reporter will have a more complete insider story about the changes.
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