Whatever OSHA does (or fails to do) this fall; whatever becomes of the laboriously crafted standards, the movement for “heat justice” is on fire and burning bright. Fired Up! Workers for Heat Justice!, led by the National Council for Safety and Health (NCOSH), has built cross-class, multi-racial coalitions in 25 states, uniting environmentalists, immigrant workers, unions, racial justice activists, students, scientists, faith-based groups, and public health organizations.
 

Today, Pineda advocates for health, safety, and agency for other workers as a leader with Tucson’s Josefina Ahumada Worker Center and a recent graduate of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health’s We Rise! Worker Leadership Academy. 

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), operates at the intersection of labor and health, supporting workers’ leadership for health, safety, and power and convening a national federation of 25 local affiliates.

"The solution isn't more corporate wellness programs. It's real, enforceable protections."

Jessica Martinez
Executive Director, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

National Council for Occupational Safety and Health calls for better conflict de-escalation techniques training to break down arguments before the situation escalates and better safety protocols to protect workers.

One South Florida nursery was even named by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health as one of the most dangerous employers in the country. That’s why I joined the Que Calor campaign to fight for enforceable heat protections. 

More than 69 million U.S. workers are at risk from extreme heat as summer begins, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH), a network of worker safety organizations that launched its heat campaign last year.

Brittney Jenkins, a COSH coordinator, has been helping workers prepare their testimony.

“Protecting workers is not optional. It is a moral responsibility. If we are good enough to build the houses, clean the buildings, wash the cars, and pick the food, then we are good enough to be protected while we do it,” said Tony Pineda, Advisor for the Josefina Ahumada Worker Center and We Rise! Worker Leader with the National Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). “We are not asking for anything extravagant. We are asking for water, shade, rest, and respect. We are asking for training and real protections, so we do not have to risk our lives every time we go to work,” he added.

Jazmin Moreno Dominguez, a community organizer and representative of the Arizona Heat Coalition, advocates for worker heat protections in the state. But she didn’t speak at the rally as an organizer. She spoke as a daughter who has feared the summer months for as long as she can remember.

The groups call themselves the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition. In a letter to Gov. Katie Hobbs this week, they said they want the Arizona Department of Occupational Safety and Health to adopt heat safety rules for all workers in the state, including requirements for water, shade and rest breaks.

“Workers are not disposable,” said Brittney Jenkins, National COSH’s Worker and Network Organizer for the Southern Region. “We expect construction workers, farmworkers, and delivery drivers to labor under deadly conditions—without even the most basic safeguards. That is unacceptable.”

Jessica Martinez, executive director of National COSH, emphasizes the severity of the situation: “Every year, we tragically lose around 2,000 workers to preventable fatalities and witness over 170,000 injuries and illnesses linked to extreme heat. These staggering figures, while alarming, are likely just the tip of the iceberg.”

There are also long-term health concerns associated with heat and environmental stressors, such as chronic kidney disease and worsening of conditions like asthma and diabetes, Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a worker-led advocacy group, said in an email.

In the last episode of the season, host Shaka Tafari speaks with three women who work at the intersection of labor and immigration. They discuss the most pressing threats to immigrant workers, as well as the ways immigrants can resist these threats and support one another.

Our guests include: Mary from Mujeres Inspiradas en Sueños, Metas, y Acciones (MISMA); Saba Waheed, director of the UCLA Labor Center, and Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH).

In fact, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health named Uber and Lyft among the most unsafe employers last year, alongside certain meatpacking, industrial farm and lumber mill companies.

In a statement, Katelyn Parady, with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said her organization hoped to see the state outline rules for paid breaks and access to water, but also hoped the guidelines would include clear enforcement measures.

Two of Musk’s companies made it to the National Council of Occupational Safety and Health’s (COSH) “Dirty Dozen,” a list of the worst workplace safety offenders.

Jessica Martinez, Executive Director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the statistics of workplace injuries and fatalities, the annual release of the 2025 Dirty Dozen report highlighting negligent employers and the greater challenges faced by immigrant workers in hazardous industries.

Jessica Martinez, executive director of National COSH, said, “This is a tragedy. The gutting of NIOSH is a direct assault on workers’ safety, health, and lives. Leading to more death, more injury and less accountability.”

Labor Organizer of the Year Katherine Passley [of COSH Affiliate Beyond the Bars] is bridging the gap between—and combining the strengths of—labor and criminal justice reform movements.