Al Vega

For over 20 years, Al has worked primarily in the nonprofit social justice field with a focus on using worker safety and health to engage all workers to become more empowered in their workplaces and engaged citizens in their communities to advocate for good jobs and a better quality of life for all. He joined MassCOSH in 2009 in an administrative role and quickly got involved in many of MassCOSH’s core programs (Teens Lead @ Work & the Immigrant Worker Center) through health and safety trainings (indoor air quality, hazard & body mapping, worker rights, etc) and campaigns that directly impacted the most vulnerable workers from many cities around the state. Most recently, he has worked to make immediate change in schools and HeadStart buildings through the Healthy Schools Initiative. He serves in the role of Director of Policy & Programs, where he continues to build on and create new relationships with allies, partners, foundations and other organizations to support MassCOSH and its policy initiatives that push for systemic change to ensure better working conditions for all workers. He has extensive experience working with coalitions (unions, community organizations, worker centers and government agencies), which are crucial to the work of MassCOSH and has played key roles for the organization to be both recognized in the community and have national visibility and reputation. Al also serves as the Chair of the National COSH’s (Council for Occupational Safety and Health) Executive Board, is on the MA Jobs with Justice Executive Board and is currently the Unit 1 President of United Steel Workers Local 9358, which is an amalgamated local also representing MassCOSH staff and workers from the MWRA (MA Water Resource Authority). His leadership for young workers has also been recognized in the last few years as he serves as a VP on both Executive Boards of the Greater Boston CLC and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, representing young trade unionists and their issues throughout the region and state. Most recently, Al was appointed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Future of Work Commission by MA Attorney General Maura Healey, to lend his experience and advocacy to ensure worker health and safety is prioritized and centered as part of this group's work over the next year.