Become a 2016 MassCOSH Member Today!
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When 18-year-old MassCOSH Peer Leader Kenton Bennett got a second job this November with Primark, a new, fashionable clothing store priding itself on rock bottom prices, his very first day included a meeting about how joining a union would only hurt him. But since the age of 16, Kenton has been a part of, and is now leading, Teens Lead @ Work (TL@W), MassCOSH’s young worker program. For years, he’s been training his fellow peers on how to stay safe on the job, how to respond to harassment and retaliation, and how collective action can benefit low-wage workers. Primark's propaganda did not work on him.
Kenton came to work for TL@W like many others before him. Having a hard time in and outside of school, Kenton was enrolled in the state Department of Youth Services Safe and Successful Youth Initiative program, where he would receive special schooling so he could graduate high school. Kenton was also assigned to work for TL@W to ensure his time after classes were spent under productive supervision.
To MassCOSH, it became apparent that Kenton had the skills to take on even more responsibly than just leading trainings and in 2015, his youth peers nominated him to serve as one of four youth representatives on the Board of Directors, helping to ensure young worker issues are represented during MassCOSH policy discussions. This rare opportunity to change the direction of a young person’s life is why we need your support.
Your 2016 MassCOSH membership makes these opportunities for young people like Kenton possible. Last year, members just like you helped TL@W:
· Give our youth leaders the resources and training to forcefully oppose and kill a bill that would have weakened the fines employers face when they violate child labor laws;
· Train over 350 teens on health, safety and worker rights topics, including sexual harassment, wage and hour laws, and workplace violence;
· Take action to bolster worker campaigns, including Fight for $15 rallies, airport cleaning worker organizing, and a Carpenters’ union rally to support Callahan Construction workers in Cambridge.
Your membership also helps fund our work in schools, fighting for the rights of vulnerable immigrant workers, aiding labor campaigns working towards better working conditions, and all our other efforts you can read more about by exploring our website.
Not only will your membership ensure you are doing your part to keep worker health and safety a priority in the state and strengthen the labor movement, but you will also receive SafetyNet, our print newsletter; Dying for Work, our cutting edge report on the loss of life and limb in Massachusetts workplaces; but labor updates and invites to events that influence public policy as well.
MassCOSH’s efforts to ensure everyone can go to work and return home safe and well is only possible with the support of the people. With our 40th anniversary just around the corner, together we have been able to pass laws, improve benefits, and increase the rights of workers – guaranteeing that they don’t have to sacrifice their health or their lives to make a living. Please join us so that together, we can continue to build on this legacy.