A recently published study on COVID‐19 deaths by occupation in Massachusetts from March 1 to July 31, 2020 is one of the first to demonstrate that certain jobs in the state are at higher risk of death due to COVID-19. Conceived and conducted by MCPHS University Public Health Instructor Devan…
On February 3, MassCOSH joined with National COSH and over 100 worker groups to release the National Agenda for Worker Safety and Health. Developed by workers, unions, safety advocates, and worker organizations, the agenda brings together ideas, based on real experience in our workplaces, to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and…
MassCOSH is very happy to announce its newest team member in the fight for good, safe jobs for all. Joe Tache joined MassCOSH this past January as its new Youth Programs Director leading our Teens Lead @ Work (TL@W) program. Joe brings several years of youth education and counseling experience…
Since the beginning of the pandemic, MassCOSH has reached thousands of workers through multi-lingual, virtual town halls that provide science-based information on how to stay safe, how to access paid time-off benefits to quarantine and recover from COVID-19, and how to enforce COVID-19 worker health and safety regulations. With…
Child Care Workers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the virus has taken its toll on those who work in the industry. Massachusetts Department of Public Health Data shows that there are currently 312 clusters of COVID-19 cases in child care settings affecting hundreds of child care…
Thanks to our partners in the Raise Up Massachusetts Coalition, two critical benefits for working people in Massachusetts started on January 1. First, the minimum wage has increased to $13.50. This is part of a gradual increase that will bring the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour…
MassCOSH is very pleased to announce that after years of advocacy, An Act to protect children, families, and firefighters from harmful flame retardants has been signed into law. This means manufacturers and retailers in Massachusetts will soon be banned from selling or importing items treated with toxic, cancer-causing chemicals. Cancer…
January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and MassCOSH’s newest partnership with Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey aims to bring labor trafficking out of the shadows. Attorney Healey’s office released an important Public Service Announcement on recognizing potential signs of labor trafficking that MassCOSH is helping to distribute. Labor trafficking, a…
Good safe jobs are a right for all workers, but equally critical is the right to a safe, secure home. The current economic crisis caused by the pandemic has led countless low-wage and immigrant workers to face the very real possibility of not only losing their jobs but also their homes. MassCOSH’s worker-led Immigrant Worker…
On May 18, when the Commonwealth began to reopen for business, the Governor’s Reopening Advisory Board created a set of Mandatory Workplace Safety Standards. With no representation from workers, labor, or occupational health experts on the Reopening Advisory Board, it is no surprise that these Standards failed to protect…
Today, MassCOSH released a special report documenting the loss of life taking place at worksites across Massachusetts due to the pandemic. Titled Dying for Work: Documenting the Pandemic’s Deadly Toll on Massachusetts Workers, the report details how many working-age Mass. residents have died of COVID-19 and lists workers who died…
MassCOSH is actively involved in three campaigns to aid immigrant workers who have been treated unjustly on the job. Working in partnership with La Comunidad, Inc., the Worker Center is supporting bakery workers whose employer is attempting to use their undocumented status against them. The workers, many of whom have…