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Probably not the brightest move ever

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The press conference scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today at All-Feed Processing and Packaging in Galva has been cancelled.

A representative of Bobby Schilling sent out an email about 7:30 this morning saying the press conference was being cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances.” No reschedule date was given.

The press conference had been scheduled for today so Schilling could address Friday’s announcement that All-Feed was planning to cease business in two or three months due to inability to pay fines levied by OSHA. All-Feed owner Tim Anderson indicated Friday that Schilling has been a supporter of All-Feed.

* Standing up for a business that is being unfairly maligned by the government is one thing, and standing with workers about their lose their jobs is also a good idea, but the Dems sent over the OSHA report. The company had been put into OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program…

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has again cited All-Feed Processing and Packaging Inc. for willful and repeat violations for exposing workers to combustible and respiratory dust hazards. In addition to creating an explosion hazard, the plant’s high concentration of airborne dust could cause workplace-induced asthma* and other illnesses. The company was cited for willful electrical and equipment violations for failing to provide approved equipment for working near combustible dust. OSHA initiated an inspection in November 2013 after a complaint and found one repeat and five willful violations. OSHA has proposed penalties of $254,000 for the pet food manufacturer, which remains in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. […]

Because of the most recent inspection, OSHA has cited the company for five willful violations involving exposing workers to combustible pea flour dust by failing to install a dust collection system with explosion protection. Any combustible material can burn rapidly when in a finely divided form. If such a dust is suspended in the air in the right concentration, under certain conditions, it can become explosive. OSHA also found that electrical equipment and forklifts used by the company were not approved for use in combustible-dust atmospheres. Arcs and sparks from forklifts had the potential to ignite the dust, causing an explosion hazard. […]

OSHA has inspected All-Feed 14 times since 2000, resulting in more than 70 violations.

In early 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Peoria Division, found Galva-based All-Feed in civil contempt of court for failing to allow OSHA to inspect its facility between May 4-July 5, 2011, to monitor employee’s eight-hour time-weighted average exposure to airborne dust. After gaining entry to conduct the monitoring, workers were found to be exposed to dust particles in excess of the time-weighted allowance per shift.

Sheesh.

* And then, Schilling doubled down…

Republican Bobby Schilling says a pet food plant in Galva that’s expected to close soon with the loss of 20 jobs is being unfairly treated by federal government regulators. […]

Colin Milligan, Rep. Bustos’ spokesman, said Mr. Schilling wanted “to go to bat for a company that, even after an explosion at its plant in 2009 sent three workers to the hospital, was found in contempt of court for refusing to allow safety inspectors to do their jobs.”

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:17 pm

Comments

For crying out loud, pick your fights wisely.

Comment by Wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:20 pm
I guess he chose this place because he couldn’t hold a press conference at an outsourcing firm, so he chose the next best thing.

Comment by Precinct Captain Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:22 pm
Is this Schilling’s best example of the federal government being too aggressive enforcing regulations?

It’s stuff like this that reminds people that Bustos may do dumb stuff (making a pledge she didn’t intend to keep), but Schilling’s bad judgment affects people’s lives.

Comment by Carl Nyberg Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:25 pm
These are the regulations that the Republicans keep saying stymie businesses. Those regulations are in place for a reason.

Comment by Joe M Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:25 pm
Yikes. Combustible dust is serious stuff. Case in point, this explosion at Imperial Sugar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg7mLSG-Yws

Comment by drew Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:30 pm
But this is the fight. The right wing wants to eliminate regulation. Shut down the EPA. Neuter OSHA. Get the FDA off the farmer’s backs. And on and on. It’s INSANE.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:32 pm
If Schilling had the courage of his convictions, he would have showed up. He believes in a deregulated world. This is what it would look like

Comment by truthteller Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:39 pm
Treated unfairly by federal government regulators? The better question is why are they still in business if they’ve had 70 violations since 2000?

Comment by pundent Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:46 pm
Perhaps All-Feed would like to take advantage of the business recruitment drive in Texas. They certainly have a low regulatory environment that All-Feed would prefer. Just ask the town of West, Texas that blew up along with a fertilizer factory that hadn’t been inspected in decades.

Comment by Aldyth Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:51 pm
Anyone else see a movie with Jodie Foster or Meryl Streep playing the Bustos role?

Comment by A guy... Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:55 pm
Well, I guess defending a scumbag operation like All-Feed kind of blew up in Schilling’s face, didn’t it?

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 1:59 pm
With Robert Carradine playing the roll of “Bobby”.

Comment by lil enchilada Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 2:01 pm
For a down to earth regular guy, he sure can’t wait to get back to Washington. Looks like a family of insiders-his son went to work for DC “think tank” that is probably against OSHA too.
http://www.americanprinciplesinaction.org/staff/

Comment by lost in translation Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 2:48 pm
a frank sign of the direction where republicans (especially those in the house) want to take this country…

Comment by bored now Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 2:53 pm
With 22 days until the election, this might be the final nail in Bobby’s coffin. Good riddance.

Comment by Chicago_Finest Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 3:03 pm
There will be two Bustos on the ballot in Rock Island County. Cheri’s husband Gerry was sworn in on 9/12 as RI County Sheriff to replace Jeff Boyd, who pled guilty to harassing and threatening a woman he met at a local gym. GB replaces JB on the ballot as he was up for re-election.

Comment by PolPal56 Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 3:44 pm
While the Osha side of the story seems serious, and the veracity of their story not yet a matter of anything but their record, I am forever mindful of many of the silly rules that Oshawa has in place. For example, if a worker is six foot off the ground, he or she, must ware fall protection. However, the standard Laniard is six foot, meaning if you fell, you would hit the ground with plenty of laniard to spare. Just recently they have moved away from steel toes for electricians, seems like a no brainer.

Comment by Oracle Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 10:01 pm
Set that’s lanyards

Comment by Oracle Tuesday, Oct 14, 14 @ 10:03 pm
I am amazed at some of the astoundingly absurd comments posted on here. Especially the Schilling bashing. Wow.

If the company is a bad apple, then they should be punished. Absolutely. But the Schilling bashing is just weird.

Comment by Amazed Wednesday, Oct 15, 14 @ 12:52 pm