Earlier this week, I wrote about the countdown on OSHA’s website to the National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety (April 14-15) but noted the paucity of information about the what will actually occur at the event. I’m pleased to report that the website now offers more details on what a participant can expect at the summit, including descriptions of the 10 concurrent workshops to be offered. The sessions will address issues such as:
- Worker rights as provided by the OSH Act and Wage & Hour requirements, especially for construction workers
- Effective S&H educational materials and programs for Latino construction workers
- On-the-job, high-quality training programs for Latino workers in construction, general industry and agriculture
- The role of clinics, health departments and worker centers in identifying and preventing work-related injuries and illnesses
- Effective strategies for communicating H&S messages to Latino workers
The OSHA website now announces “39 Days Left.” With the new details provided by the Department of Labor, individuals who were on the fence about attending now have better information about whether the Latino Action Summit on Worker Health and Safety will be worth the investment of their time and resources.
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March 5, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Chuck Levenstein
As a child of immigrants and as someone who taught for years in Lowell, MA, an “immigrant city”, I know that I have a biased view — but I know that there are certain industries (and firms) that prey on immigrant workers — and, I suspect, have done this generation after generation — just the language and country of origin of the workers has changed. This conference doesn’t seem to focus on changing those industries — but on helping the workers to cope with them. Something is the matter with the approach.
March 6, 2010 at 8:50 pm
chip Hughes
I understand that the construction industry is the main focus by Solis as a prime industry that preys on immigrant and Latino workers. Of course, agriculture would be in that category also.
March 7, 2010 at 10:58 am
Chuck Levenstein
When Lenore Azaroff did research on Asian immigrants in Lowell, Mass., a few years ago, she found that small manufacturing businesses employed a far greater number than we expected. These are difficult to regulate (are rarely inspected by OSHA or anybody else), are mainly non-union, and are frequently environmental polluters as well as violators of worker health and safety standards. Community based training in rights as well as skills is a good idea — but we really need an approach to these small enterprises that can be reasonably effective.