2014 LaborFest
Events related to Injured Workers

July 18 (Friday) 7:00 PM (Donation) First Unitarian Universalist Church - 1187 Franklin Street, SF
FilmWorks United International Working Class Film & Video Festival
Empire of Shame Director - Hong Li-gyeong (92 min) 2013, Korea
Empire of Shame is about the struggle of Samsung workers to defend their health and safety and get compensation from the company. The corporation refused to admit that workers were getting cancer from the chemicals and toxins that were used in the plants.
A total of 193 employees have applied for workers compensation for industrial diseases and 73 of these workers have already lost their lives to disease.
Workers are required to give direct proof of a casual link between their duties and their sickness. This makes it extremely difficult for worker who are very sick to get the treatment they need.
This film shows the struggle to get to the truth and to defend the health and safety of the workers.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/624867.html

July 19 (Saturday) 10:00 - 1:00 PM ILWU Local 34 Hall - 801 2nd St. next to AT&T ball park
Life And Death! The Attack On OSHA, Workers Health And Safety And Injured Workers - Public Forum
Millions of workers are facing dangerous health and safety conditions. There are only 1200 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors in the United States, and 170 in California for 18.5 million workers. While the Federal government cuts the budget on OSHA and the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) refuses to use the money already appropriated for OSHA staff. At the same time, technologies and industries like biotech and nano-tech are unregulated and threaten not just workers, but also the public.
This forum will look at the deregulation and attacks on injured workers and their families who are stalled on getting proper healthcare by a obstacle course with anonymous outsourced doctors who are not even licensed in California.
They also have lost compensation for mental health issues such as depression and insomnia as the rules have been manipulated to force injured workers to go on State disability and Federal disability in a massive cost shifting scam. Many of the injured workers have lost most of their vocational rehabilitation as insurance companies profits skyrocket.
At the same time workers who speak out about financial malfeasance and violations of the law are bullied and retaliated against. We will hear from health and safety advocates, whistleblowers, WC experts and injured workers.
Sponsored by Injured Workers National Network
www.iwnn.org