Millions of individuals in the workforce are working at jobs where they are not guaranteed a safe and healthy work environment. Immigrants (especially Latino immigrants), low-literacy workers, young workers and low-wage workers are particularly vulnerable to unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Through grants from NIOSH, the Public Welfare Foundation, and OSHA's Susan Harwood program, Interfaith Worker Justice and members of its national worker center network are rapidly expanding their health and safety work, doing outreach, training, and organizing of workers.

"Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living." 

 

 

 

—Mary Harris "Mother" Jones

What is IWJ doing to address health and safety in the workplace?

• Through grants from NIOSH, the Public Welfare Foundation, and Susan Harwood, IWJ National and its Worker Centers are rapidly expanding their health and safety work, doing outreach, training, and organizing of workers.
• Our Worker Centers collect stories on workplace injuries and illnesses, as well as conducting surveys of workers to learn the scope of health and safety violations in their communities. Worker Centers are sending members to trainings, facilitated by IWJ National staff, so that these members can conduct trainings for other workers back home. And many worker centers host public forums on health and safety and conduct legislative visits to urge passage of laws that will protect American workers.
• IWJ re-grants funds to worker centers to conduct health and safety trainings of their own for workers, develops training materials for industries with the worst record of health and safety violation, builds relationships with OSHA and strategizes to promote OSHA reform and best practices.
• IWJ develops training materials and hosts Health and Safety trainings multiple times annually.

 When is the next health and safety training?