COSH Network in the News

  • Inside Climate News

    Trump Guts Agency Critical to Worker Safety as Temperatures Rise

    11 Apr 2025

    The cuts to NIOSH pose a dire threat to immigrant workers, particularly those in high-heat, high-risk jobs like agriculture, warehousing and construction, said Jessica Martinez, executive director of the nonprofit National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. “We will see more injuries, more heatstroke and more deaths. The workers who feed us, build for us and care for our families deserve protection, not abandonment.”

  • Documented

    RFK Jr. Slammed for Layoffs That Could Bring ‘More Injuries, More Deaths’ to Immigrant Workers

    4 Apr 2025

    “This is one of the biggest attacks on public health I have ever seen in my career,” said Charlene Obernauer, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH). “When you think about the work NIOSH does and what dismantling the agency means, it is pretty significant.”

    “NIOSH reports in multiple languages are crucial,” Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a national federation of 25 grassroots worker organizations including NYCOSH.

  • EHS Today

    Trump Administration Plans Sweeping Cuts to Shrink NIOSH by Two-Thirds

    3 Apr 2025

    The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), a group that advocates on behalf of workers, is taking an even dimmer view of the HHS’s workforce reductions. “The gutting of NIOSH is a direct assault on workers’ safety, health and lives, leading to more death, more injury and less accountability,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of National COSH, in a statement.

  • OHS Online

    National COSH Voices Concern Over NIOSH Restructuring

    2 Apr 2025

    “NIOSH plays a vital role in protecting worker health and safety,” said Jessica E. Martinez, Executive Director of National COSH. “Changes to its structure must not compromise its mission or the well-being of workers.”

  • NJ Education Association

    A time to “Mourn the dead. Fight like hell for the living!”

    31 Mar 2025

    The National COSH Network, a bilingual federation of grassroots worker organizations, including NJWEC, built campaigns around the day. They provide tools to write reports, organize events and more.

  • Safety + Health Magazine

    Kentucky governor vetoes bill aimed at limiting state-specific safety rules

    28 Mar 2025

    The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a worker advocacy group, said in a press release that the bill “undermines essential protections” by restricting state enforcement of safety rules, disclosing the identity of workers who file workplace complaints, and limiting the time frame for workers to file complaints and the state to issue citations.

  • OSHA Today

    National COSH Comes Out Against Kentucky OSHA Changes

    21 Mar 2025

    The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health is voicing concerns about Kentucky’s proposed House Bill 398 (HB 398), legislation the group said threatens to “dismantle essential workplace safety protections in a state already grappling with alarmingly high workplace fatality rates.”

  • Insurance Journal

    Kentucky Bill to Trim State OSHA Agency Powers Now on the Governor’s Desk

    18 Mar 2025

    “We cannot allow legislation that places the lives of workers at risk and fosters an environment where speaking out against unsafe conditions is not only discouraged but also dangerous,” National COSH Executive Director Jessica Martinez said in a statement. “What happens in Kentucky can set a troubling precedent for workers everywhere.”

  • Workplace Material Handling and Safety

    National COSH Sounds Alarm on Kentucky’s HB 398

    16 Mar 2025

    The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is raising urgent concerns about Kentucky’s proposed House Bill 398 (HB 398), legislation that threatens to dismantle essential workplace safety protections in a state already grappling with alarmingly high workplace fatality rates – 5.0 per 100,000 workers, significantly above the national average of 3.5. 

  • OHS Online

    National COSH Warns of Dangerous Legislation in Kentucky

    14 Mar 2025

    The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is raising urgent concerns about Kentucky’s proposed House Bill 398 (HB 398), legislation that threatens to dismantle essential workplace safety protections in a state already grappling with alarmingly high workplace fatality rates

  • Bloomberg Law

    Amazon, UPS Safety Maven Faces OSHA Staffing, Policy Pressures

    14 Feb 2025

    Keeling will be under pressure to take some of these initiatives across the finish line. Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said her group wants OSHA to adopt a national heat rule.

    “Now more than ever, OSHA must be a strong and proactive agency that enforces safety laws, protects all workers, and moves urgently to adopt critical new standards, including a national heat protection rule,” she said.

  • Documented

    Trump’s Attack on DEI Initiatives Could Put the Kibosh on Immigrant Worker Safety Programs

    4 Feb 2025

    Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), says that by restricting DEI policies, organizations like hers would not be able to effectively reach the most vulnerable workers, like undocumented immigrants who may need workplace training in languages other than English.

  • Chicago Tribune

    State lawmakers move measure aimed at protecting warehouse workers amid complaints that demands for speed hinder safety

    30 Jan 2025

    “Heat is something that a lot of people misunderstand, but high indoor heat is something that we see a lot in this work,” said Jessie Cruz, who represents the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health in Chicago. “This bill is protecting a lot of warehouse workers from unrealistic quotas and hazardous safety conditions, but we would like to see more addressing indoor heat and ergonomics for the workers.”
     

  • The Robot Report

    Miso Robotics refines Flippy Fry Station with AI and partners

    28 Jan 2025

    Attending the fry station is one of the most dangerous jobs in commercial kitchens, noted Miso Robotics. Almost 80% of fast-food employees have sustained burns within the past year, according to a 2024 survey conducted by Hart Research Associates on behalf of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
     

  • WTOPnews

    From LA wildfires to hurricanes, immigrants help rebuild after disasters. Many may be deported

    16 Jan 2025

    Day laborers hired to clean up homes often don’t have protective equipment or safety training, exposing them to “severe hazardous materials” and dangerous environments, said Jessica Martinez, executive director for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a network of labor organizations that has trained workers in post-hurricane recovery. She added that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric also discourages workers from asking for basic resources because they fear being targeted and deported.
     

  • OHS Online

    National COSH Opens ‘Dirty Dozen’ Nominations, Announces COSHCON2025 Location

    9 Jan 2025

    National COSH is accepting nominations for its 2025 Dirty Dozen report and relocating its annual COSHCON conference to Chicago.

  • The Good Men Project

    National COSH on More Than 5,200 Us Workplace Deaths in 2023: To Save Lives, Listen to Workers

    9 Jan 2025

    “We know from long experience that the surest way to make our workplaces safer is to put workers at the center of the conversation,” said Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of National COSH. “Workers know their jobs. They know where the hazards are and how to eliminate them.

  • Risk & Insurance

    US Workplace Deaths Drop 3.7% in 2023: Department of Labor

    6 Jan 2025

    “More than 5,200 deaths on the job is still way too many,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). “We are also deeply concerned that Black and Brown workers continue to suffer from a higher rate of occupational fatalities, a sign of the persistent effects of discrimination in our workplaces.”
     

  • EHS Today

    Fewer Workers Died on the Job in 2023

    20 Dec 2024

    "We know from long experience that the surest way to make our workplaces safer is to put workers at the center of the conversation," said Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of National COSH. "Workers know their jobs. They know where the hazards are and how to eliminate them.

  • CNN

    There were 458 workplace murders last year. They’ve become disturbingly frequent

    19 Dec 2024

    “The average third grader gets more training in what to do (with an active shooter) than most workers,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health, a public interest group."