COSH Network in the News

  • In These Times

    The Race Against the Clock to a Workplace Heat Rule

    18 Oct 2024

    The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH), which advocates for abuse- and exploitation-free workplaces, is building on local organizing with a nationwide campaign to pass the federal OSHA rule. It has 20 local affiliates and also serves as a hub for smaller grassroots groups like Warehouse Workers for Justice (WWJ), a worker center in Illinois. 
     

  • Chicago Tribune

    Recent string of violence at Chicago workplaces raises concerns about employee weapon possession

    11 Oct 2024

    Workplace violence is a “known and dangerous workplace hazard,” particularly in retail environments, said Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
     

  • Civil Eats

    Battling Meltdown: If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Work for Change in the Kitchen

    7 Oct 2024

    In the interim, workers are fighting for what the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) calls “heat justice.” COSH, a federation of 26 grassroots worker groups, is advocating for a slightly more comprehensive national heat standard than proposed by OSHA. The COSH standard would require workplaces to maintain a maximum temperature of 80 degrees, and if that is exceeded, ensure that workers have access to water and breaks in air-conditioned spaces.

  • OSV News

    At Catholic institutions, unions and employers negotiate tensions for the sake of mission

    4 Oct 2024

    Ascension — the largest nonprofit and Catholic health system in the United States as of 2021, with 140 hospitals in 19 states — has come under fire from the NNU and other labor advocacy groups. In April, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a worker health and safety advocacy group, listed Ascension among its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of employers, alleging poor safety practices and “severe staff cuts” that “create unsafe conditions for patients and workers” in its report.

  • Arizona's Family (CBS Affiliate)

    Labor secretary to visit Tucson as OSHA pushes federal heat protections for workers

    17 Sep 2024

    “It is hard to overstate how life saving this proposal will be if it becomes a rule,” said Katelyn Parady, a Phoenix-based staffer with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

  • Safety + Health Magazine

    OSHA and safety advocate group call for worker input on proposed heat rule

    9 Sep 2024

    “Not only talking about the need for the rule,” Parker said during a Sept. 5 webinar hosted by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, “but how we can make the rule better would be really, really helpful from workers. These are conversations that are often dominated by industry organizations. Workers’ voices on these issues are critical.”

  • Arizona's Family

    OSHA proposes new rule to provide first-ever federally enforced heat protections for workers

    6 Sep 2024

    According to Katelyn Parady, Phoenix staffer of the National Council for Occupational Safety, said federal enforcement is vital to make sure working Arizonans are staying safe because the local enforcement does not protect all workers who work in the deadly heat.

    “The numbers we’re talking about are very small,” Parady said. “I think in Phoenix the estimate is that it’s going to cover something like 10,000 people, and obviously we know many, many more people are dealing with heat on the job here.”

  • KJZZ Phoenix

    Proposed OSHA rule could provide 1st-ever federally enforceable worker heat protections

    4 Sep 2024

    Only five U.S. states currently have their own heat safety standards for workers. Katelyn Parady, a Phoenix staffer of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, says Arizona is not included in that list.

  • OHS Online

    National COSH Town Hall on Sept. 5 to Address Dangers of Workplace Heat Hazards

    4 Sep 2024

    As extreme heat continues to pose a threat to workers across the United States, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is organizing a virtual town hall to address this issue. 

  • Business Insurance

    Minority workers face increased injury risks

    1 Sep 2024

    “There’s ample data going back decades that shows that Black and Latino workers have the most dangerous, dirtiest job assignments, and immigrant Latino workers typically face a higher risk of both fatal and nonfatal injuries on the job,” said Jessica Martinez, Los Angeles-based co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.


     

  • Business Insurance

    OSHA rules in crosshairs after court ruling

    1 Sep 2024

    “The Supreme Court majority, over the opposition of two justices, let stand the rejection of these claims, which would have catastrophically hobbled OSHA’s mandate to protect worker safety,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the Somerville, Massachusetts-based National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

  • Waste Dive

    Focus on heat illness intensifies after death of Baltimore sanitation worker

    20 Aug 2024

    Darryl Alexander, an industrial hygienist and advisor for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said Silver’s death underscores a greater need for employers to take heat illnesses seriously. Though many waste operators take meticulous steps to protect their workers, she said, some employers aren’t prioritizing heat safety measures, either because they aren’t required to by law or are not aware of the specific conditions their employees endure.

  • Clarion Ledger

    Mar-Jac, OSHA reach settlement on safety violations connected with Hattiesburg teen's death

    20 Aug 2024

    Perez's death has caused outrage across the country, with activists in Mississippi demanding Mar-Jac be held accountable for the teen's death less than two weeks after he was killed. In April, another group, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health named the company to its Dirty Dozen, claiming Mar-Jac is one of the country's most dangerous places to work.

  • WCBC

    Maryland Department of Labor Files Heat Standards

    19 Aug 2024

    Scott Schneider with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health says the draft does not address workers in specific types of clothing…“If you are working and you are wearing impermeable clothing, like you’re wearing a Tychem suit like you’re doing asbestos abatement, or you’re out in the field and wearing protective clothing to protect you from pesticide use, that clothing can prevent you sweating and that will increase your heat stress risk.”

  • WMAR

    Changes coming to protect Maryland workers from dangerous heat

    13 Aug 2024

    Scott Schneider is one of Maryland's members of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH). He says the push for heat stress standards in the workplace is happening on the federal level too. But the process of changing Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) regulations takes significantly longer. Schneider showed us the 33 steps it takes for OSHA to add a new rule.

  • Sourcing Journal

    Walmart to Pay Out $2.5 Million After Settling Class Action Over Wages

    30 Jul 2024

    Over the course of the past several months, Walmart has faced several instances of scrutiny over its labor practices. It was named to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH)’s “Dirty Dozen” list earlier this year. The organization highlighted what it considers unsafe working practices and lack of care for employees’ wellbeing going on inside Walmart.

  • ABC15 Arizona

    Audit: Arizona not doing enough worker-safety inspections

    22 Jul 2024

    The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health released a statement on the audit that says, in part:

    “After years of failing to ensure workers’ safety on the job, Arizona’s Department of Occupational Safety and Health is moving in the right direction and operating with more staff resources. But we’re still a long way from where we need to be, with far too few inspections and findings of enforcement delays.”

  • WBUR

    Workers struggle to stay cool as summer heat continues to worsen

    17 Jul 2024

    "My sense is definitely, in keeping with climate change, that more workers are complaining about higher and higher heat and humidity," said Rick Rabin, trainer and technical consultant at the workers' rights nonprofit Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH).

  • Business Insurance

    Experts say OSHA’s pending heat standard faces obstacles

    17 Jul 2024

    The proposal is a long-awaited move in the agency’s efforts to keep workers safe in soaring temperatures. The draft of the document was hailed by worker advocacy groups that say federal OSHA has lagged behind states such as Arizona and California in creating guidelines for employers whose workers face such risks as heat stroke. The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health issued a statement on July 2 calling OSHA’s announcement “a critical step in protecting millions of workers from heat-related illnesses and injuries.”

  • Equipment World

    Proposed OSHA Heat Rule Too Rigid, Construction Groups Say

    15 Jul 2024

    "These protections ensure that employers proactively safeguard their workforce,” says Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. “Heat-related illnesses are preventable, and no worker should endure unsafe conditions. This rule provides a clear framework for promoting a culture of safety and responsibility."