Keep workers healthy and safe by ensuring that each training is tailored to the hazards, conditions, and concerns of our participants and who can then develop strategies for addressing workplace hazards.
MassCOSH is one of the preeminent providers of worker safety and health training in Massachusetts. Each year, we train over 1,000 workers on a wide range of safety and health topics - from chemical hazards to workplace violence to indoor air quality. Our expert staff has extensive training experience, many are OSHA-authorized, and several have advanced degrees in public health.
MassCOSH trainings help to keep workers healthy and safe. The trainers consult with workers and employers to ensure that each training is tailored to the hazards, conditions, and concerns of participants. Participants learn how to develop strategies for addressing workplace hazards. Sessions are highly participatory and may include small group activities, role-playing, discussion, and hands-on training. Training is made available in various ways. Most programs are arranged through unions, community organizations, worker centers or other non-profit organizations.
Local unions that are members of MassCOSH are entitled to a yearly training of up to 2 hours on a topic of their choice. Other trainings and industrial hygiene services are available on a low-cost, fee-for-service basis.
The New England Consortium (TNEC)
MassCOSH partners with The New England Consortium (TNEC) to provide quality training to workers in some of the most hazardous jobs – hazardous waste workers and emergency responders. TNEC provides dynamic, hands-on health and safety training to thousands of workers. With simulated work tasks and mock incidents, students gain a better understanding of work site hazards and how to properly respond in an emergency situation. (Click here for more info on TNEC)
Workplace Violence Prevention
Clerks, attendants and cashiers who staff the counters at gas stations and corner grocery stores, often alone and late into the night, are among the most vulnerable to workplace violence. MassCOSH offers violence prevention training for retail employers and for youth, using curricula developed in collaboration with NYCOSH, PhilaPOSH, SoCalCOSH and UC Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program, and funded by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The Retail Employer Violence Prevention Training, conducted through Main Streets programs and other employer associations, provides employers with information and concrete tools to identify risks and develop concrete solutions to prevent theft, robberies and other crimes that put employees and owners in harm’s way (click here for a copy of the retail employer curriculum). The Young Worker Violence Prevention Training, conducted through youth employers and community organizations, is an innovative, interactive program that teaches skills and provides resources for identifying, reducing and eliminating violence at work (click here for a copy of the young worker curriculum).
OSHA 10 Class in Construction
Under Massachusetts law, for most construction projects funded with public money all workers must complete a 10-hour course authorized by OSHA. This course, available in English or Spanish and presented over 2 days, provides an introduction to several health and safety topics in construction, such as: introduction to OSHA, falls, electrical hazards, material handling, chemical hazards, trenches and power tools. (Click links for OSHA 10 Construction flyer in English or Spanish)
Introduction to Health and Safety
This 1-2 hour presentation, available in English, Spanish or Portuguese, introduces participants to the field of workplace health and safety.
Topics include:
OSHA
Discrimination
Safety hazards
Sexual harassment
Chemical exposure
Indoor air quality
Health hazards
Ergonomics
Workers’ compensation
Lead
Child Labor Laws/Teen safety
