November 2, 2008 by wiscosh.

I would like to thank all of you who have stopped by WisCOSH whether in person or at our website or this blog. This past summer WisCOSH has had many new visitors to our website, to this blog and the many events that WisCOSH hosted, participated in, spoke at and those WisCOSH visited. Especially Worker’s Memorial Day in April, Share-A-Meal with Community Shares of Greater Milwaukee, Laborfest 2008 and the many training classes WisCOSH held.

Speaking of training classes I’d like to thank our newest trainer with helping with the investigation, planning and implimenting of several of WisCOSH’s new training programs. Namely our new Emergency Planning; Dealing With Violence in the Workplace : The Silent Epidemic; Focus Four Hazards for Building and Construction Trades Workers and Identifying Hazards In Your Workplace trainings.  The added areas in work experience has opened many new venues for WisCOSH to help workers.  WisCOSH has held most of these training sessions over the summer and had good response from those in attendance.

I would also like to thank those of you who came to WisCOSH for help in dealing with workplace safety and health situations you are facing. And there have been a growing number throughout the year. Continue to work with your coworkers to document unsafe working situations. Please remember to check in once in a while to keep WisCOSH updated on the progress and let us know if there is more that WisCOSH can do to help.

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July 16, 2008 by wiscosh.

While a date has not yet been set WisCOSH has begun planning some very special activities to commemorate 30 years of helping workers and businesses make workplaces safer and healthier. WisCOSH is looking to have a very special evening this year for our Annual Membership Meeting & Dinner this fall.

As  a part of our 30th year commemoration WisCOSH is holding a design contest for possible use on t-shirts, posters, coffee mugs and perhaps even the WisCOSH website. WisCOSH will be posting the details of the contest soon so check back to find out how, when and where to submit your artwork and designs.

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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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June 11, 2008 by wiscosh.

Although it got a late start to it this year WisCOSH has been continuing to provide training and outreach to vulnerable workers under OSHA’s Susan Harwood Grant. WisCOSH has many training classes available under this grant including : Basic OSHA Rights; Workplace Safety & Health Rights for Teen Workers; Identifying Workplace Hazards & Body Mapping; Employer Recordkeeping Requirements Under OSHA as well as many other specific topic hazard training classes [such as Ergonomics, Starting a Health & Safety Committee in Your Workplace, Understanding OSHA’s HazComm Program and more!].

Why did WisCOSH get such a late start this year? Like so many other things last year it was due to the Federal Budget process. The line item which funded the DOL funded OSHA Susan Harwood Institutional Competency Building Grant was removed and no progress on returning it was made until late December 2007. Unfortunately there were no changes made to the timeline of the grant so even though the RFP was not released until January 2008 the grant period remained October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008. There was an attempt to change the grant and make it a larger version of the DOL funded OSHA Susan Harwood Targeted Training Topic Grant. The budgetary law that provided the funding didn’t attempt this, but rather the agency appointees did.

Each year under the Targeted Training Topic Grant OSHA identifies a number of topics which tend to be focused on a particular issue within a particular occupation. The Susan Harwood ICB Grant has been a catch all training program which reaches out to all workers, in all occupations and has the ability to train workers on a variety of occupational safety and health topics. It is complementary to the Targeted Training Topic Grant in it’s scope of who can be trained and on what subjects. Therefore it is able to reach an even greater audience and provide additional information and training. This information and training generally reaches workers who may be immigrants, workers whose primary language may not be English, are new workers to an industry or teens who have little to no prior work experience or frame of reference. These are also workers who work in OSHA identified high hazard occupations. Many of these workers have little to no access to the information due to not have a computer nor access to one. Many workers who do have access to a computer may not have Internet access. Many workers who have a computer and Internet access still have little idea on where to find, or how to understand, the information they would receive in the training classes WisCOSH holds.

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June 11, 2008 by wiscosh.

WisCOSH has joined Central New York COSH (CNYCOSH) on their Susan Harwood Targeted Topic Training Grant. WisCOSH is replacing a COSH group that had to drop out. This is WisCOSH’s first partnership with CNYCOSH and will be working with NYCOSH (New York City COSH) and ConnectiCOSH to provide training to B&C Trade Workers on OSHA’s identified most common hazards for B&C workers in the workplace.

In May WisCOSH sent three representatives to New York to meet with the other partners to review the materials produced by NYCOSH for use in these trainings. Several areas needing special attention were identified and resolutions found.

Since returning WisCOSH has been working on finalizing the curricula for the classes and ensuring that all materials needed will be available. Shortly WisCOSH will begin holding classes in Milwaukee and around the state. If your union or company would like more information please check our trainings page on the website and contact WisCOSH.

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February 9, 2007 by wiscosh.

Welcome the WisCOSH Web Blog! Here you’ll find out about WisCOSH’s recent activities and events.

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