23 Apr 2021
Friday, April 23, 2021
Press Contacts:
Contact / Contacto: Roger Kerson, Roger@nationalcosh.org, 734.645.0535
Advisory: Tuesday 4/27, 2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT
National COSH to Host Speak Out
on 4/27 For Workers’ Memorial Week
“Deadly Risks, Costly Failures” report to show
impact of COVID-19 and other workplace hazards;
Workers and families to share testimony as push continues
for Emergency Temporary Standard from U.S. OSHA
LOS ANGELES, CA – The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) will host a bilingual National Speak Out in observance of Workers’ Memorial Week this coming Tuesday, April 27th at 2:00 pm EDT/ 11:00 am PDT.
The National Speak Out will feature testimony from injured workers, surviving family members and co-workers and local organizers. National COSH will also release its “Deadly Risks, Costly Failures” report during the event, which documents the impact of COVID-19 and other workplace hazards on workers and families during 2020 and 2021.
News media are invited to attend the Speak Out and will have an opportunity for Q and A with panelists.
Who:
- Jessica E. Martinez, Co-Executive Director, National COSH
- Pascaline Muhindura, National Nurses United, speaking about her co-worker Celia Yap-Banago, who died from COVID-19 at an HCA hospital in Kansas City in 2020
- Hugo Flores from Georgia Familias Unidas, survivor of the fatal explosion at Foundation Food Group in Gainesville, GA, which claimed six lives
- Jenifer Enamorado Ayala, Workers' Dignity, speaking about her brother Gustavo “Kike” Ramirez, who died at age 16 from a preventable fall on a Nashville construction site
- Adrian Ventura, Executive Director, Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, speaking about a successful campaign by seafood workers in New Bedford, MA to win COVID-19 safety protections
What: National SPEAK OUT in observance of Workers’ Memorial Week
When: Tuesday, April 27rd, 2:00pm EDT/ 11:00 am PDT
Where: Register for Zoom call here or RSVP to roger@nationalcosh.org
“COVID-19 has introduced a terrible new risk in frontline workplaces, on top of the many safety hazards workers already face,” said Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of National COSH. “Tragically, many employers -- as well as government safety officials -- have failed to respond to this public health emergency.”
“Workers can’t wait, and that’s why we’ve seen a wave of strikes, job actions and campaigns to win safety protections,” said Martinez. “It’s vital that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) release a COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) now. Workers must be involved, from start to finish, in creating and implementing COVID-19 prevention plans in every workplace.”
No U.S. public agency is tracking COVID-19 workplace infections, illnesses and fatalities. The total number of work-related deaths from the pandemic is untracked and unknown.
Workers’ Memorial Week -- April 24 - May 3, 2021 -- remembers all those who have been injured, suffered illnesses or lost their lives at work. The event is observed nationwide and around the world by workers, unions, surviving family members, and health and safety activists in workplaces and communities.
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National COSH links the efforts of local worker health and safety coalitions in communities across the United States, advocating for elimination of preventable hazards in the workplace. For more information, please visit nationalcosh.org. Follow us at National COSH on Facebook, and @NationalCOSH on Twitter.