“In passing a heartless, unnecessary and shortsighted bill, elected officials are turning their backs on workers and disregarding the dangers of working outdoors in searing heat,” said Jessica E. Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, in a statement.

In a controversial move, the Florida Legislature has passed a bill that prohibits local jurisdictions from mandating employers to provide workers with heat safety measures, such as access to water, rest and shade. This decision has sparked outrage among safety advocates like the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH).

Marcy Goldstein-Gelb is co-executive director for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, an advocacy group. She said OSHA has found companies willfully violating safety rules after deadly accidents — especially when the investigation finds that a company failed to establish a confined space entry program, necessary to keep workers safe. 
 

“Sadly, workers have a well-grounded fear of retaliation against those who speak up about safety problems, including the threat of getting fired,” Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said in a statement in November. “Including a representative selected by workers can overcome obstacles and improve communication during the inspection process. That creates a better opportunity to identify and correct safety problems that put workers at risk.”
 

“Unfortunately, it’s still a hazard in the workplace,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the Somerville, Massachusetts-based National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

“Giving workers the right to select someone as their representative is critical to ensuring their safety and health,” Shelly Anand, co-founder and executive director of the Sur Legal Collaborative, said in a National COSH press release. “Many times workers don’t even know they have the right to participate in the walkaround process.

Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said the lack of national occupational standards around airborne disease protection represents a fatal flaw in the Biden administration’s decision to relinquish its control of the pandemic.

“Every workplace needs to have a plan for reducing the threat of infectious disease,” she said. “If you only focus on the individual, you fail workers.”

Jessica Martinez, co–executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said OSHA is underfunded and overwhelmed, making it nearly impossible to effectively oversee Walmart’s behavior.

“This year again, we see that Black and Brown workers are dying at a higher rate than other workers,” said Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, in a statement. “This disparity reflects both historical and current discrimination in our workplaces and cannot be tolerated. All workers have a right to get home safe and sound after a day at work.” 

Jessica E. Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), specifically responded to the revelation that the fatal injury rate for Black or African American workers (4.2 percent) and Hispanic or Latino workers (4.6 percent) increased in 2022. Both totals surpassed the all-worker rate of 3.7 percent per 100,000 FTE workers, with transportation incidents the leading cause of death for both groups.

“We live in a world with many intractable problems,” said Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of National COSH. “Reducing workplace deaths and injuries is not one of them. A worker-centered approach, based on sound science, can reduce and eliminate the hazards we face on the job, and result in fewer empty seats during next year’s holiday celebrations.”

According to National COSH, there were 5,486 sudden workplace deaths in 2022, marking a 5.7% rise from the previous year. Jessica E. Martinez, co-executive director of National COSH, emphasized that worker safety should be a priority and that lives should not be at stake for a paycheck.

"There's a long history of citations by OSHA," Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the nonprofit National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, told the Texas Observer in May. "We're definitely well aware of Tesla's history of apparent negligence towards their workers."

Antonio Flores, a Cincinnati construction worker, still suffers the effects of a severe workplace injury from last December. Working without proper equipment for heavy lifting, he was hurt when a large pipe fell on him, breaking his back.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) has announced the recipients of its prestigious 2023 awards, recognizing standout health and safety activists and organizations. The awards will be presented at the COSHCON2023 Awards Banquet on December 7, part of the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health.

 

Also submitting a comment in support of the proposal was a group of 67 organizations, via a letter. Among the coalition is the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health and Sur Legal Collaborative, an immigrant and worker rights nonprofit. 

“Giving workers the right to select someone as their representative is critical to ensuring their safety and health,” Shelly Anand, co-founder and executive director of the Sur Legal Collaborative, said in a National COSH press release. “Many times workers don’t even know they have the right to participate in the walkaround process.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) recently revealed that there are major issues in the way that injury and illness from the jobsite are handled. It suggests that improvements to worker safety are highly needed and a top priority.

 

According to a statement from the National COSH,  “the BLS survey, which includes serious injuries and illnesses that require medical treatment beyond first aid, is based on self-reports from employers. The U.S. Congress, the Government Accountability Office and academic experts all agree that BLS significantly underestimates the real toll of pain and suffering. 

 

“In terms of exposure to the airborne nature of [respiratory illnesses], you think about cashiers, they're having lots of close contact with people,” Peter Dooley, a Certified Industrial Hygienist for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said of the large jump in cases of respiratory illnesses among grocery store workers.

The latest BLS injury and illness statistics “show the urgent need for worker-centered safety reforms,” especially since the data only reflects injuries and illnesses that are officially reported, meaning higher numbers of incidents are likely occurring in U.S. workplaces, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a federation of grassroots worker groups, said in a statement.

“Workers more than anyone understand their jobs and worker-centered solutions lead to the most effective safety reforms that can prevent injuries and illnesses before they happen,” said Jessica Martinez, National COSH’s co-executive director.