When an injured worker meets with MassCOSH’s Worker Center staff for the first time, their stories and background may vary, but their primary concerns are always the same: ‘Due to work, I am hurt, can’t receive the care I need, and am going broke.’ Hurt on the…
Many schools around Boston have trophy cases full or winning teams and record-breaking athletes. Yet these schools are now also home to equally deserving champions who are fighting to help staff and students with asthma breath with ease. Thanks to a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency aimed at reducing…
When firefighters rush into a burning building, flames are not the only thing they have to worry about on the job. With the average house fire temperature reaching 1,100 degrees, toxins released and created by items in a fire can lead to exposures that can cause very serious health issues for…
On July 23, 2014, Jason Faria, a 26-year-old Fall River native was working for Diaz Construction Co., a concrete company, on top of a concrete form that was incorrectly attached. The form came loose and fell, crushing him underneath. Faria died on site from his injuries just 3 days before…
With the latest state data showing that from 2007-2011, Massachusetts teens under the age of 18 required 2,291 Emergency Department visits for work-related injuries, teen labor leaders and state officials announced the winners of the statewide 5th annual Safe Jobs for Youth poster contest March 12, at the Massachusetts State…
The 2014 MassCOSH Legal Access Attorney Directory is our latest effort to ensure that all workers have the tools and resources to fight against unjust and unsafe working conditions. The critical funds donated by the legal professionals in this document will be used in the coming year to…
With over 100 inches of snow falling in parts of Massachusetts in less than a month, companies and officals have been racing to clear snow from roads and roofs, and in the process, requiring their workers to complete extremely dangerous tasks with fatal results. Two workers died this past week…
On January 15, as protestors were lying down on Interstate 93 to draw attention to institutional racism, another show of force was taking place; over 100 labor supporters were gathered at the Great Hall in the State House, urging legislators to support legislation that would improve workplace safety and benefits…
Just before the holiday season, temporary workers employed at Fulfillment America, a supplier to chain stories like Dunkin Donuts, finally had something to celebrate. After years suffering from wage theft and unsafe work conditions working for Job Done, a temp agency employed by Fulfillment America to supply itself with workers,…
MassCOSH Teens Lead @ Work (TL@W) peer leader Tiana Golding has seen the data and knows that young people suffer higher rates of injury on the job than adults. She also knows that it’s these at-risk workers who will become the next generation of union stewards, presidents, and leaders of…
In “Baker names Democrat as secretary of labor” (Metro, Dec. 13), the Globe highlights the pressing need for a well-run workforce development program within the Baker administration and the strong experience that Ronald L. Walker II brings as incoming secretary of labor and workforce development. What’s missing from the article…
At a public hearing before the state’s Department of Labor Standards, safety experts and labor representatives urged the administration to move forward with proposed regulations on state employee safety, ensure that the labor agency has sufficient resources to enforce the law, and strengthen whistleblower provisions of the new regulations. The…