Governor proclaims May "Safe Jobs for Youth Month"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    

April 30, 2008

Contact:

Whitney Soenksen- MassCOSH

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617-309-6179 (cell)

Governor proclaims May "Safe Jobs for Youth Month"

Youth lead effort to halt teen injuries, death

Seventeen-year-old James Whittemore was helping his father take down scaffolding when a pole he was holding fell against a high-voltage electrical wire and electrocuted him.  Benedelson Ovalle Chavez, also 17, fell to his death while fixing the roof of a church.  Neither teen had proper safety equipment or training.

With summer just around the corner and tens of thousands of young people entering the workforce in Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick has proclaimed May "Safe Jobs for Youth Month" to focus attention on preventing workplace injuries and deaths.  The proclamation was announced at a youth leadership conference, held last week. There, students from across the Commonwealth came together to plan public awareness efforts for their communities to be showcased in May. The youth-led outreach will work to stem the tide of Child Labor Law violations, work-related injuries, and deaths.

"Governor Patrick proclaimed May 'Safe Jobs for Youth Month' because he believes that Massachusetts must continue to lead the way in making our workplaces safe for workers, especially teenagers," said Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump.  "The Patrick Administration is proud to be working with a partner like MassCOSH, and with young leaders from LEAPS to keep our teenage workers healthy and safe at work."

The three day conference, called LEAPS (Leadership Education and Action to Promote Safety for young workers) was organized by youth leaders from MassCOSH (the Massachusetts Coalition of Occupational Safety and Health)’s Teens Lead at Work program and was funded by the Department of Public Health.  Teens Lead at Work also partnered with the Community Action Agency of Somerville and held the conference to prevent more young people from losing their lives or becoming injured at work.     

“My worst job experience was when I worked [in the cafeteria of a local college]. Not only did I not get safety training, I didn’t get any sort of training at all,” says Teens Lead at Work peer leader and Dorchester youth Nagela St. Juste.  “I was really scared on my first day because I was trying to do everything right. I even went to cut a cake and I almost cut my fingers off! I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to do, but

no one told me until it was too late.” Continues St. Juste, “It was shocking when I started working at MassCOSH, because I realized these were things I wasn’t supposed to be doing without training.”

Since 2000, eight teens in the Commonwealth have been killed at work, many doing jobs prohibited under the Child Labor Laws.  Each year, an estimated 900 minors in the state are treated in emergency rooms for work-related injuries.  While workers, in general, can be exposed to many hazards on the job that can result in injury, illness, or even death, young workers are at increased risk.  They are sometimes asked to perform tasks for which they lack the size, strength or experience.  As new workers, they are also often unfamiliar with workplace hazards, ways to avoid injuries, and their rights as workers.

“I work as a dietary aide and I did get some training when I first started, but nothing prepared me for getting harassed in the workplace.  Most of the time I work an entire eight hour shift and they don’t give me breaks,” says Courtney Everett, a LEAPS participant from Lowell.  “There are times when I am scheduled for a 6-2:30 shift, but I usually don’t get out until 4. I think that they are taking advantage of me because of my age.  After everything I’ve learned at LEAPS, I think it’s important for me and other people to stand up [against poor treatment of young workers] and say it’s not right.”

Young Worker Safety month increases the awareness of Child Labor laws, as well as health and safety issues young workers face on the job. Information will be available at www.masscosh.org for young workers, parents, employers and educators about keeping youth safe at work. Educational brochures and flyers were distributed to LEAPS participants by Attorney General Martha Coakley's Fair Labor Division to bring back to their high schools and communities.  These materials are available to young workers through the Attorney General's youth employment website, www.laborlowdown.com.  MassCOSH Teens Lead @ Work contributed valuable input to laborlowdown.com, which increases access to important information for young workers.