Coshnet's Blog

No doubt you’ve already seen your fair share of lists for the New Year, from resolutions to goals, predictions to countdowns. Here at National COSH, we are gearing up for what’s sure to be a busy new year in advocating for workers’ health and safety. While we’re at it, we’ve put together our 2013 wish list for workers’ rights.

The New York Times' Jack Healy has a story today about the influx of teenagers ditching college for work on oil rigs. Though the positions may be lucrative -- some starting at $50,000 a year -- are oil rigs really any place to send our nation's teenagers?

SeaWorld is in hot water with OSHA again after the marine theme park refused to provide personnel to speak with the agency in a follow-up to its recent citations. OSHA cited SeaWorld in August 2010, six months after Tilikum, a six-ton killer whale, drowned a SeaWorld trainer during a show. OSHA now has to see if the violation related to trainers’ exposure to struck-by and drowning hazards when engaged in performances with killer whales has been corrected.

Well, that’s what we’d call a success. Last week, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health hosted its second-annual National Worker Safety and Health Conference in Baltimore, Maryland – and it was a spectacular event.

Approximately 300 participants – coming from unions at the local, state and national levels, worker centers, advocacy groups, family support groups, COSH organizations, and the federal government – gathered at the Maritime Institute to share their experiences and work together to advance the rights and protections for workers across the country. See some photos here. (Thanks to Henry Plimack for taking most of these excellent shots.)

The conference featured powerful speakers and presentations from OSHA’s Jordan Barab, the National Council of La Raza’s Clarissa Martinez de Castro, CWA’s Larry Cohen, the United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities, and more! (Click the links for videos.)

National COSH also awarded a number of health and safety activists for their impressive work in advancing the rights of workers. (Read the press releases for the awardees, and watch video clips from the awards banquet: Luzdary Giraldo, Carmen Martino & New Labor, Chloe Osmer, Tonya Ford, and the USW's Health, Safety and Environment Department.) 

The conference also included workshops on everything from “Basic Worker Health & Safety Rights Under OSHA,” to “Fighting Under-Reporting of Injuries and Illnesses,” to “Reaching ‘Yet-to-Be-Reached’ Workers” and “Young Worker Health and Safety,” to the Whistleblower Protection Campaign, to “Using Social Media to Promote Worker Health & Safety,” and much more!