MassCOSH is so incredibly proud of the Worker Center members who completed our month-long, comprehensive Leadership Training on how to organize for better working conditions. Our notable graduates include Adelaida C, Ana P, Edy M, Irma B, Idalia A, Ivett S, Jenny C, Laura O, Marina M, Maritza M, and Mayra M. These 11 workers are excited to bring their new skills to support projects and campaigns at their workplaces and communities to make Greater…
Dear Governor Baker, As public health and occupational health and safety experts, we are gravely concerned about the health and lives of workers in the Commonwealth, their families, and their communities in light of the infectiousness and transmissibility of the COVID-19 Delta Variant. Massachusetts must update protections accordingly. On August…
With MassCOSH staff and many of its Worker Center members vaccinated, the Worker Center has recently resumed limited, in-person trainings for low-income and immigrant workers. On August 7, the Worker Center held its first in a series of leadership trainings for newer members to build their capacity to fight for better working conditions. Joining the Somerville Worker Center, the…
As schools set to reopen for the 2021-2022 school year, on July 30, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education lifted all health and safety requirements for the Commonwealth’s schools, replacing them with recommendations that not only fail to protect students and teachers but go against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Specifically, they recommend that districts…
MassCOSH is very proud of the 22 young people who graduated from our Teens Lead @ Work summer programs on August 12. During their six weeks as paid staff, these young people learned about workers’ rights and led trainings for their peers across Boston about young workers’ rights and how to stay safe on the job. MassCOSH is especially proud of Jaleah Clark and Haley Alphonse who graduated high school this spring and will be…
Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 has made thousands of workers in Massachusetts sick and likely resulted in hundreds of fatalities. MassCOSH has little doubt countless workers were unaware of their rights to paid sick time off and workers’ compensation benefits, hitting low-income workers with little emergency savings especially hard. The federal American Rescue Plan has directed $5.3 billion dollars to…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently issued updated guidance to help protect workers from the coronavirus. The guidance reflects developments in science and data, including the Centers for Disease Control's updated COVID-19 guidance issued July 27. Among other recommendations, it urges vaccinated workers…
MassCOSH is working on an outreach project to understand how you and other workers are feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are distributing a survey across the state to ensure that MassCOSH tailors our priorities to best meet your needs in the ongoing fight for workplace safety and health. We…
Over the last month, the Department of Labor Standards (DLS) has taken two steps that have left workers unprotected from occupational exposure to COVID-19. First, on May 29, DLS stopped enforcing its COVID-19 Workplace Safety regulations despite the fact that these protections are still needed and that there is a…
MassCOSH is excited to welcome new Labor-Community Training Coordinator and Organizer, Jazmin Morinigo! Jazmin joins MassCOSH’s team with ample experience engaging with workers and advocating for their rights through Oxfam America’s campaign for improving workers' rights in poultry processing plants and Northeastern University’s dining hall workers’ contract campaign fight. Jazmin recently graduated…
Each year, high temperatures and heat stress kill more people than any other natural disaster in the US. While we are always concerned about workers who work outdoors, those who work indoors without air conditioning can also be impacted when high temperatures, humidity, and long hours combine to create very…
MassCOSH moved, but just up the street still in Fields Corner! Our new address is 42 Charles Street, Dorchester, MA 02122. We are excited to be renting space in the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (VietAID). VietAID is one of MassCOSH’s partners in the Dorchester Crossroads Collaborative. Sharing a building means we will now be…
