Audacious Action for Health and Safety in the Age of Obama

“After the past eight years of OSHA destruction, we finally have a real opportunity to change things,” Emily Spieler, Dean of Northeastern Law School and Obama Transition Team Leader on OSHA, told an enthusiastic crowd, determined to restore workers’ rights to safe jobs. 

Organized by MassCOSH’s Health Tech and Legal Committees, the June forum, “The Audacity of Hope: Workplace Health and Safety in the Age of Obama,” brought together workers, health professionals and attorneys to explore opportunities to influence national health and safety policies.

Spieler highlighted a number of priorities that warranted concerted advocacy: new OSHA standards, a revamping of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program, ergonomics, health and safety programs and chemical exposure levels.  She also highlighted enforcement and recordkeeping.  She cautioned about the danger of overestimating what we can accomplish, and expressed concern about the 17 whistleblower standards that OSHA is responsible for enforcing.

Letitia Davis, Director of the state’s Occupational Health Surveillance Program at the Department of Public Health, identified opportunities to address the critical issue of injury underreporting. She welcomedOSHA’s new emphasis program on recordkeeping, and suggestedother data-collecting initiatives that supplement the OSHA 300 logs.   Electronic medical records, health care reform and work-site wellness programs, all hot topics both nationally and in Massachusetts, provide opportunities for improved record-keeping of workplace injuries and illnesses.  But, Davis added, worker health and safety will only be incorporated into these discussions if occupational health advocates are at the table advocating for it.

MassCOSH’s Tolle Graham, Chair of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health and Senior Trainer/Organizer for MassCOSH gave a call for action, encouraging activists to become involved in a COSH-led national coalition, the Protecting Workers Alliance. The Alliance is actively seeking passage of the Protecting America’s Workers Act (link to fact sheet). The federal bill would expand OSHA to protect more workers, strengthen penalties, improve whistleblower protections and allow workers and their families to hold employers accountable.

Lawyers’ Committee Co-Chair David Strouss ended the event with a call for on-going collaboration between occupational health professionals, the legal community and labor. United behind a common agenda, we’ll begin to see some audacious action. 

To participate in the Protecting Workers Alliance and/or to receive updates on PWA’s efforts, email marcy gelb@masscosh.org.