Strategic Training: Reaching Workers Where They Are

Twice a year, MassCOSH’s Trainer & Technical Consultant Rick Rabin reaches out to close to 40 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) schools in the area, letting them know that MassCOSH will be offering free trainings for their students, staff, and others on their rights as workers in the Commonwealth. The training gives participants a working knowledge of workplace discrimination, wage and hour law, workers’ compensation benefits, and how to identify and mitigate hazards on the job. Rabin is currently preparing to host this training at the Somerville Center for Adult Learning Experiences for later this month and is expecting a crowd of up to 40 participants.
 
In partnership with 1199SEIU, we are also hard at work holding train the trainers for Personal Care Assistants (PCA) on how they can stay safe on the job caring for those who can no longer care for themselves. Lead by Labor-Community Training Coordinator and Organizer Ben Weilerstein, MassCOSH is crossing the state from Springfield to Quincy training these workers on their rights. These trainings include interactive hazard mapping exercises, reviewing dangers they may encounter in homes, such as chemical, slip/fall, and workplace violence. The goal for these trainings is to teach approximately 25 trainers who can then fan out across the state to teach other PCA’s on how to best protect themselves on the job.