A new GoFundMe campaign has beenlaunched to provide urgent financial assistance to families experiencinghardship due to immigration enforcement actions and related challenges. Thefundraiser aims to help ensure that children, elderly family members, and otherdependents have access to essential needs during times of uncertainty andcrisis.

MassCOSH extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and coworkers of Manuel Chuqui, who died Thursday after a fall from scaffolding while performing exterior work in Jamaica Plain. NBC10 Boston reported that Manuel’s family identified him, that fire officials said the cause of the fall is under investigation, and that OSHA has been notified.

Extreme heat is a growing public health risk for Massachusetts residents and workers. MassCOSH urges statewide heat protections, building on Boston’s new worker heat-safety ordinance, to ensure safe homes and workplaces as extreme heat becomes more common.

Dying for Work 2026 is MassCOSH and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO’s annual Workers’ Memorial Day report documenting 59 work-related injury deaths in Massachusetts in 2025—a 22.9% increase from 2024—and connecting those losses to weakened federal enforcement, climate-driven hazards, immigration retaliation, and specific policy fixes. The 76-page booklet is both a memorial record and an advocacy roadmap spanning construction accountability, transportation safety, maritime labor abuse, heat standards, and 2026 State House priorities.

Several dozen students from Boston Public Schools rallied on City Hall Plaza Tuesday to make their needs heard by Mayor Michelle Wu.

On March 26, 2022, Peter Monsini, 51, was operating a piece of heavy machinery for JDC Demolition Company, Inc. at the Government Center parking garage in Boston, when the floor underneath his machine buckled and he fell nine stories to his death.

The contractor involved in the tragic incident that killed a Billerica cop is being slammed by a leading job safety group for its past OSHA violations and for continuing to ignore and blatantly disregard worker safety. Sgt.

We spoke with MassCOSH about this year's May Day March in commemoration of International Workers' Day!

We spoke with members of the community who are promoting a May Day action in recognition of International Workers' Day

Today, we're talking about this year's May Day March!

"I think it's worth it to take a pause and figure out how to have those conversations and really make sure that people do feel comfortable." - Al Vega, MassCOSH Chief of Strategy & Engagement in conversation with NBC Boston

More than a dozen migrant fishermen, industry workers, and labor advocates rallied Sunday outside a seafood industry convention, calling for better working conditions and Wi-Fi access on Taiwanese deep-water fishing vessels, which supply some of the worlds largest seafood companies.

BOSTON - Peter Monsini was known as Brockton Pete. On March 26, 2022 , he was operating heavy demolition equipment at the Government Center Parking Garage when the floor beneath him collapsed, sending him plummeting eight stories to his death.

Some $1 billion in wages are stolen each year in the commonwealth by employers and contractors, and workers recoup less than 2 percent of their stolen pay, according to data from the Wage Theft Coalition led by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, or MassCOSH, teaches workers to recognize the signs of heat-related illnesses, such as fatigue, fainting, vomiting, confusion, dizziness, and seizures.

Francisca Sepulveda, an organizer with the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, tells WBURs Stevee Chapman that heat can adversely affect people at as low as 80 degrees. With the humidity today making it feel closer to 100, workers should be extra careful.

Esas nuevas medidas le conceden a madres el derecho a adaptaciones en el lugar de trabajo durante y despus del nacimiento de un beb.

Las jvenes ms afectados son los jvenes inmigrantes que muchas veces vienen al pas solos y que no tienen conocimiento sobre sus derechos.

There is clearly a documented history from OSHA of negligence committed by this nonunion company towards the safety of its workers, said Al Vega, chief of strategy & engagement for the nonprofit Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health in a statement.

We at MassCOSH are saddened to see that Seqens ignored these many warnings from OSHA, and that this continued negligence sent four workers to the hospital and led to one worker who is still yet to be found by a rescue team, Vega continued.

"Why are we allowing companies to continue to operate knowing that there's a laundry list of these kinds of concerns already brought to their attention?" said Al Vega, chief of strategy and engagement at Massachusetts Coalition For Occupational Safety And Health, or MassCOSH.

"There is clearly a documented history from OSHA of negligence committed by this nonunion company towards the safety of its workers, MassCOSH Chief of Strategy & Engagement Al Vega said in a statement.

Las organizaciones miembros de la Coalicin del 1 de Mayo continan no solo conmemorando la labor de todos los trabajadores, sino tambin dicen estar luchando contra el racismo y la exclusin.

These examples and figures were published in a study of occupational hazards, called “2023 Dying for Work: Loss of Life and Limb in Massachusetts Workplaces,” as part of a collaborative effort between the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, a non-profit, and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, an umbr...

The average penalty issued by Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the 23 inspections that followed 39 workplace fatalities was roughly $38,430. Employer appeals brought the average final penalty down 42.9%, to $21,927, states a new report compiled by Massachusetts AFL-CIO and MassCOSH.

Lorna McMurrey was 27 when she collapsed after inhaling cannabis dust at a production facility in Holyoke early last year. It was the second time in two months shed been rushed to the hospital because she couldnt breathe at her job filling pre-rolled joints. She died a few days later.

There were 51 workplace deaths in Massachusetts last year, according to a new report by the nonprofit Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

The MassCOSH Immigrant Worker Center applauds the Globe and reporter Katie Johnston for the compelling article about the failures of the Massachusetts workers compensation system ( Workers comp system has patients at a loss: Few Mass. doctors will accept low reimbursements, Page A1, April 20).

Francisca Sepulveda, director of the MassCOSH Worker Center, said recognizing the lingering and ongoing costs from the pandemic is crucial. Its one of the reasons why she said the coalition has signed on to support the proposed remembrance day.

HANCOCK Fatal accidents among professional snowmakers like the one that claimed the life of a woman at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort earlier this week are rare, but industry experts say the job comes with a lot of risks.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) is a nonprofit organization that builds the power of workers both youth and adults to lead efforts that achieve safe, healthy working conditions.

The opioid abuse epidemic is one of the worst public-health crises in American history. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 1999 and 2017, almost 400,000 people died in the U.S. from an overdose of either prescription or illicit opioids.

By Anastasia E. Lennon / The Patriot Ledger Posted May 29, 2020 at 1:23 PMUpdated May 30, 2020 at 2:14 PM Employer is not sanitizing workspace. Temporary employees are being transported to workplace in crowded vans. Store is not enforcing social distancing.

'We're Not Just Essential Workers, We're Human Beings': Advocates Want Slowdown Of Mass. Reopening May 25, 2020 By Simn Rios This Memorial Day, those who have died of COVID-19 are also being remembered.

Massachusetts contractors faced $2.7M in wage theft penalties in 2018 AUTHOR Kim Slowey @kimslowey PUBLISHED Feb.

Task force: Reopening plans dont offer enough help for people disproportionately affected by crisis Among the conditions it wants met is a drop in the infection rates among minority groups.By Anissa Gardizy Globe Correspondent,Updated June 4, 2020, 10:19 a.m.

By Katie Johnston Globe Staff November 27, 2017 One womans supervisor told her hed give her credit for working a shift at a Charlestown bread company if she went home with him instead. When she resisted his advances, he cut her hours, according to a complaint filed with the state.

Boston Globe OP ED City, state let contractor slip through cracks JOHN TLUMACKI/BOSTON GLOBE FILE PHOTO Two workers from Atlantic Drain died at this Dartmouth Street work site after the trench filled with water.

By Beth Healy and Megan Woolhouse GLOBE STAFF SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 Luis Mayancela was 15 years old when he fell from the roof of a house in Portland, Maine, where he was helping fasten shingles. He tumbled two stories, severely breaking his leg. His employer did not call an ambulance.

Workers’ comp agency urged to speed handling of claims ByBeth HealyGLOBE STAFFSEPTEMBER 21, 2016 Two dozen immigrant workers and their advocates packed into a small downtown hearing room Wednesday to urge a state agency to speed the handling of workers’ compensation claims and press employers to meet their obligatio...

A top-to-bottom review ordered by Gov. Charlie Baker of the state's maze of regulations continues to generate pushback from a number of outside groups despite the administration's attempts to ease their concerns.

By Justine Hofherr @Jhofherr29 Boston.com Staff | 04.10.15 | 2:37 PMSylbert Stewart lives in a state of constant pain. If he were asked to rate his agony on a scale of one to 10, he says it would be well past 11. Day-to-day life is very hard, Stewart said. I cant walk down the stairs.

As federal inspectors investigate an elevator fall at an Assembly Square construction project that killed one worker and injured another last week, construction officials say they met all safety standards at the site.

Why Workers Wont Unite GLOBALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY HAVE GUTTED THE LABOR MOVEMENT, AND PART-TIME WORK IS SABOTAGING SOLIDARITY. IS THERE A NEW WAY TO CHALLENGE THE POLITICS OF INEQUALITY?

A Broken Compensation System Is Leaving the Most Vulnerable Workers in Pain By Michelle Chen In the toughest industries, the cardinal rule of prevention, safety first, often gets papered over by an unspoken law of the workplace: the most dangerous jobs are done by those who cant afford safety.

DAVID GREENE, HOST: Some call it a grand bargain in the American workplace - if you're injured on the job, you're supposed to get guaranteed medical care and money to live on. Employers and their insurance companies pay for that and in return employers don't get sued for workplace accidents.

At the time of their accidents, Jeremy Lewis was 27, Josh Potter 25. The men lived within 75 miles of each other. Both were married with two children about the same age. Both even had tattoos of their children's names.

In Baker names Democrat as secretary of labor (Metro, Dec. 13), the Globe highlights the pressing need for a well-run workforce development program within the Baker administration and the strong experience that Ronald L. Walker II brings as incoming secretary of labor and workforce development.

BOSTON A new WBUR poll finds strong support for a ballot question that would allow every employee in Massachusetts part- and full-time to accrue and use sick time.

I WAS saddened to read about the Vermont floor worker who suffered severe burns when the solvent he was using on a laundromat floor burst into flames, reportedly heated by a nearby dryer (Worker hurt in dryer-sparked blaze, New England in brief, June 9).

Federal officials are investigating the violent death of a man caught in machinery Thursday while working the night shift at a seafood-processing plant in New Bedford. Victor Gerena, 35, was cleaning a shellfish-shucking machine at Sea Watch International around 1:30 a.m.

NEW BEDFORD The death of seafood worker Victor Gerena could have been prevented had Sea Watch International followed safety protocol, according to his mother Ada Garcia. And now, she said, five kids are without a father.

By Megan Woolhouse | Globe Staff March 06, 2014 A temporary staffing agency sued by its workers for not paying overtime failed to register to do business in Massachusetts and meet requirements of a year-old law regulating these companies, according to the state Labor Department.

By Megan Woolhouse BILLERICA About a year ago, a worker sued a Billerica packaging company and the temporary employment agency that placed her there, claiming she was owed thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime.

Its easy to recognize a former restaurant dishwasher. Long, deep scars often line their forearms the result of nights when, as the lowest on the chain of kitchen workers, they must plunge their hands into boiling hot water to unclog industrial-size dish-washing machines.

A Newbury Street address. Proclamations of praise from the city and state. An extravagant launch party at a Back Bay venue where a group of teen writers signed magazine copies like rock stars. An over-the-top press release hailing the event's success as something unforgettable.

As president of a worker center in Boston, I was thrilled to see a reporter recognize the growing role that these centers play in protecting workers from wage theft, dangerous jobs, and other forms of labor abuse (Worker advocacy groups gain clout, clash with businesses, Business, Jan. 17).

In her native Sri Lanka, Yoga Pasupathipillai was too poor to go to college, buy a home, or even get married. But in 1995, she won the green card lottery to come to America and finally claimed the independence she craved.

After seeing [Boston mayoral candidate] Marty Walsh repeatedly questioned about his ability to be both pro-labor and a mayor who can effectively negotiate with municipal employees (Path carries Walsh closer to his dream, Sept. 25), I felt compelled to rebut the notion that this is a contradiction.

Co-authored by Tolle Graham, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health With back-to-school time in full swing, each school day, 55 million children and 7 million adults -- 20 percent of the total U.S.

We agree that you should not put a dollar figure on what is right for student learning, as Dot Joyce, spokeswoman for Mayor Menino, says in reference to the announcement of a proposed $261 million construction project to house two Boston schools (Page A1, Oct. 1).

On July 5, James Baldasarre, a 45-year old a Medford, Massachusetts US Postal Service employee who had worked for USPS for 24 years, died from excessive heat.

A hearing officer with the National Labor Relations Boards Boston office has recommended that all objections filed by Citizens League for Adult Special Services Inc. regarding an employee vote to unionize be overruled.

Almost 80 teenagers were expected to be sent home from an eastern Illinois hospital Thursday after being accidentally sprayed with fungicide from a crop-dusting plane as they worked in corn field, officials said. URBANA, Ill.

Workers concerned they were exposed to asbestos while renovating a town building have asked state Attorney General Martha Coakley to investigate whether Barnstable officials allowed the work to continue despite knowing the carcinogenic material may have been present.

The Pump Handle Really?

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE Published: August 7, 2013 Wal-Mart Stores has agreed to a corporatewide settlement to improve safety conditions related to trash compactors and cleaning chemicals in more than 2,800 of its stores, the United States Department of Labor announced on Wednesday.

Letters to the editor REDUCE, REUSE, ETC. Barbara Morans article on the challenges Boston faces in raising recycling rates through a single-stream strategy (Out of Sorts, July 14) captures key factors as we weigh the cost, quantity, and quality of recycled materials.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is opening an investigation into the circumstances of the death of a postal worker who collapsed on the job in Medford Friday, a spokesmen for the Department of Labor said Monday.

In the midst of the doctor shortage and burnout epidemic, occupational medicine is the best-kept secret in U.S. health care.

OSHA issues two very serious violation citations to a cement plant where a worker was killed.

Abusive bosses who target employees with ridicule not only have a bad effect on them but negatively impact the work environment for their co-workers, who suffer from "second-hand" or vicarious abusive supervision, a new study has claimed.

Anne Whitledge, who died last August from brain cancer was an emloyee of Maxim Healthcare Services, a health care giant that fired her rather than make accommodations for her disability. They must now send a letter of condolences to her survivors, along with a check for $160,000.

An extraordinary delay in the development of federal protections against exposure to crystalline silica is harming American workers, more than 300 public health scientists, doctors and occupational safety experts told President Obama today.

Health advocates are ramping up pressure on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to remove the keratin hair-straightening product Brazilian Blowout from the marketplace in light of a legal settlement announced today in a California court against the company that makes the product.

The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company this month entered negotiations with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to address health and safety violations recently cited against MBCR's Somerville maintenance facility.

Century later, issues still resonate, (Jan. 11) highlights the parallels of the haves and have nots of 1912 and those of 2012.

Romulo de Oliveira Santoss first night on a demolition job at a Walmart in Walpole was also his last. Santoss death is now the subject of a lawsuit that seeks to hold Walmart Stores Inc. accountable.

Mark Your Calendars!

Amanda is a Team Leader with our Teens Lead @ Work program. She first joined TL@W in the summer of 2022 and quickly became an invaluable asset to our team, moving up to the role of Team Leader in the summer of 2023.

JOB OPENING: MassCOSH Youth Coordinator The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) is a nonprofit organization that builds the power of workers both youth and adults to lead efforts that achieve safe, healthy working conditions.

On October 23, MassCOSH and its members held a memorial and call to action to remember fallen workers Robert Higgins and Kelvin Mattocks who died on the job October 21, 2016.

According to media reports, the 34-year-old construction worker was working on the rooftop of a five-story building in Salem on Friday, August 8, around 12:11pm, when he tragically fell to his death.

Much like the rest of the country, with the gutting of federal programs critical to occupational safety and health, Massachusetts faces a perilous road ahead for workers.

On January 14 th , 72-year-old Samuel Mooskian from Saugus was working at the Everett Home Depot, when he tragically fell and injured himself. Unfortunately, four days later he died from head injuries pertaining to this fall.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) has advocated for safe, healthy workplaces for almost 50 years.

Today, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety Health (MassCOSH) and Boston College Law School Civil Rights Clinic released their first-of-its-kind report: “Equal Treatment for Equal Work: The Need to Enhance Protections for Temporary Workers in Massachusetts.” The report memorializes a yearlong st...

As part of Greater Boston’s observation of the 35th annual International Workers’ Memorial Day, we gathered on Friday, April 26, at the steps of the Massachusetts State House to distribute this year's Dying for Work report and honor and remember the 62 workers who lost their lives on the job in Massachusetts in 2023...

According to media reports, 49-year-old Sergeant Ian Taylor of the Billerica Police Department was helping move a trailer-tractor at a road construction site on Friday, April 26, around 2pm, when he was struck by an excavator that was backing up.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) seeks a dynamic Executive Director to build on the organizations exceptional record of advocating for safe, healthy workplaces since 1976.

BOSTON On March 26, 2022, Peter Monsini, 51, was operating a piece of heavy machinery for JDC Demolition Company, Inc. at the Government Center parking garage, when the floor underneath his machine buckled and he fell nine stories.

The Immigrant Worker Center was hard at work this year assisting workers with a myriad of cases, from refusal to cover sick time, to retaliation, to refusal to pay workers compensation, to outright wage theft.

Three other National Grid workers were also injured in the crash. During a court appearance yesterday, Simon plead not guilty to charges including manslaughter.

Health and safety regulations are urgently needed for this emerging industry. This is exactly what cannabis workers and occupational safety and health activists have long identified as necessary.

After receiving a shock from the equipment, he was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead.Unfortunately, workplace electrical hazards have a history of posing lethal threats to workers, especially contract workers.

Plescia, a 74-year-old resident of East Falmouth who worked for the Falmouth Public Works Department, was operating a Public Works pickup truck when the vehicle crashed into a tree. He sustained serious injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving to Falmouth Hospital.

The beam had a sign indicating a vertical clearance of 86, which the forklift exceeded due to a raised backrest extension. Several co-workers arrived at the scene after hearing the crash and used an aircraft tow bar to pull him out from under the machine.

There are multiple machinery/equipment violations, including failure to follow lockout/tagout procedures in energy control. They were also cited for failure to protect against falling objects and respiratory hazards.

Workers across the state are being given until June 30th before they no longer need to report to work. The closures are set to impact 128 workers.Workers and advocates have increasingly spoken up about health and safety concerns following the death of Holyoke worker Lorna McMurrey in 2022.

After extricating the worker, first responders sadly pronounced him dead at the scene. The worker was identified as Roger Porter, age 63. He was a resident of East Sandwich.