July 13, 2008 by wiscosh.

That’s right, the National COSH Conference will be hosted by WisCOSH this year and held in Milwaukee, WI from Wednesday, November 12th to Saturday, November 15th, 2008. The conference is a part of the Vulnerable Workers Grant and moves it’s location each year. At one time the conference was held in conjunction with the National AFL-CIO Health & Safety Conference or the American Public Health Assoc. Conference on alternating years. The AFL-CIO no longer hosts a safety and health conference. Last years conference was held at the National Labor College and had several opportunities to interact with the APHA conference attendees.

The conference will be held at the Wyndham (Milwaukee airport hotel & convention center, 4747 S. Howell Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207). WisCOSH has reserved a group of rooms at a special low price in effect from 11/11 to 11/16 so come a day early and/or stay a day extra and see some of Milwaukee’s great attractions. Make your reservations early! The cost of the room is $92/night + local and state tax (currently 14.6%) for single or double occupancy. A roll away bed can be rented for an additional $20 + tax per night. Rooms have 2 queen sized or 1 king sized bed. Children 17 and younger can share a room with their parents for no additional cost! The hotel offers 24/7 pick-up from General Mitchel International Airport as well as parking for those driving. You must make your reservation by October 11th, 2008 to ensure these great prices.

Additional information on what topics will be covered at the conference, group activities and plans for community involvement will be posted as they are discussed and finalized. We hope to have a lot of interaction with local workers and unions as well as some interesting outings to local venues. Won’t you join us?

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July 13, 2008 by wiscosh.

The 3rd Quarter of the long running, Dept. of Labor funded (via OSHA’s Susan Harwood  Institutional Competency Building Grant program), Vulnerable Workers Training Grant ended June 30th, 2008 and WisCOSH was able to provide training to over 260 people since April 1st!

During this quarter WisCOSH was able to provide training and information on worker’s workplace safety and health rights and how to use them to a wide range of workers. Some were new workers (teens), some were mature workers returning to new a profession, some had been in the workforce for a long time working in high risk industries and some were workers who worked mostly or solely from temporary placement agencies. Some had a union in their workplace, most did not. WisCOSH provided them all with information about what their rights are under the Occupational Safety & Health Act, how to use them to help make their workplaces safer and healthier and how to prevent retaliation in the workplace because they used their rights.

In this last quarter of our 8th year of the grant WisCOSH wants to provide training to even more workers. The training is FREE! Every attendee receives a folder with information, contact phone numbers and websites where they can attain more information or help.There are many different trainings that are available as a part of this grant. Some of them include : Your Basic OSHA Rights; Workplace Safety & Health Rights for Teen Workers; Identifying Hazards In The Workplace; Respiratory Protection Plan for Nursing Homes, Community Based Residential Facilities, Day Care and Other Long Term Care Facilities. If you would like to know more about how you can participate in a class contact training@wiscosh.org and we will let you know how you can host or join a training class. WisCOSH works with unions, worker centers, businesses and anyone concerned about their safety in the workplace.

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