Occupational health org hits 50—and fights on for employee safety
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OSHA was founded with the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act. But individual councils, each known as a COSH, of workers, health organizations and allied groups took off in 1972, and ensured that the new agency and its regulations were able to take effect on the ground.
A half-century ago, a wide range of councils for occupational safety and health, known as COSH groups, coalesced to work together, pushing for healthy workplaces with allies in organized labor as well as legal, health and community organizations—building upon the strengths of the then-new Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970).
Now, the inheritor of the network of COSH groups—the National COSH organization—is marking the event, both to celebrate this important anniversary and to raise money for lobbying and awareness of the continuing need for improvements to worker health and safety across the country.
“The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health is dedicated to promoting safe and healthy working conditions for all working people through organizing and advocacy,” NCOSH states on its site. “Our belief that almost all work-related deaths and serious injuries and illnesses are preventable motivates us to encourage workers to take action to protect their safety and health, promote protection from retaliation under job safety laws, and provide quality information and training about hazards on the job and workers’ rights.”
Fed employee orgs and unions are joining in on the events—and encouraging government workers to check it all out. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) heralded the event with a special message.
“National COSH has been an important ally of AFGE in our fight for safe and healthy workplaces,” the union stated this week. “Our union would like to invite you to celebrate the organization’s 50 years of amazing work on behalf of workers everywhere and to help create a vision for the future.”
The focus of the anniversary is a June 15 event, filled with art and music—and more on workplace safety—all of it available virtually. For more information, see the event website.