COSH Activists Win Awards from American Public Health Association

28 Oct 2021

Thursday, October 28, 2021
Press Contacts: 
Contact: Melissa Moriarty, melissa@nationalcosh.org

COSH Activists Win Awards from American Public Health Association

Peter Dooley of National COSH, Milagros Barreto of MassCOSH and Debra Coyle McFadden of NJWEC recognized for contributions to health and safety movement

LOS ANGELES – The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) offers warm and heartfelt congratulations today to three outstanding COSH activists who are winning awards from the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) section of the American Public Health Association.

  • Peter Dooley, (MS, CIH, CSP) Safety and Health Senior Project Coordinator for National COSH, will be presented with the Alice Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.  
  • Milagros Barreto, worker center director at the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) will be presented with the Tony Mazzocchi Award for Grassroots Activism.
  • Deb Coyle McFadden, executive director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council (NJWEC) will be presented with the Eula Bingham Award for Excellence in Occupational Health and Safety Education and Training.

APHA is the nation’s leading organization for public health professionals, practitioners and scholars.  The OHS section brings together academic and professional experts who focus on improving workplace health and safety conditions.  The awards will be presented today at an online meeting of the OHS section during APHA’s Annual Meeting and Expo.

“I’m just thrilled for Peter and I can’t imagine a better person to receive this award honoring Alice Hamilton, one of the COSH pioneers of the health and safety movement,” said Jessica E. Martinez, co-executive director of National COSH. “We’ve been colleagues for many years, and he truly is the heart and soul of our movement.  Peter combines the highest level of technical expertise with a deep passion for uplifting worker leaders and helping them win power in their workplaces.”

Dooley’s long career in workplace safety includes over 20 years at the United Auto Workers, where he worked on training, bargaining and organizing to improve health and safety conditions.  He has since worked on the National COSH team, building the organization’s leadership role in worker training and advocacy, and he also provides service to unions and worker organizations as president of LaborSafe, an independent consulting organization. 

“I’m so excited for Milagros! She is a tireless organizer and a very fitting recipient of the award named for Tony Mazzochi, a legendary union organizer and advocate for safer workplaces,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, also a co-executive director of National COSH.  Goldstein-Gelb previously served as executive director of MassCOSH, where she worked closely with Barreto.  “Milagros has a deep understanding of the power of multicultural organizing, and she’s done an amazing job of building the MassCOSH Worker Center into a powerful force that really makes a difference in the lives of workers.”

Barreto, who is bilingual, has led MassCOSH Worker Center campaigns to recover thousands of dollars in wages stolen from workers, and also helped workers build health and safety committees to identify and correct workplace health hazards.  She has served as a board member of National COSH, and the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development.  She is a member of United Steel Workers (USW Local 9358).

“We’re delighted to see Deb get the recognition she so richly deserves,” said Martinez. “She is brilliant at the delicate work of coalition building, bringing together labor and environmental groups to work on common issues. With her leadership, NJWEC has developed excellent training programs for workers in New Jersey, and their rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered life-saving information, training and resources to educators and other frontline workers.” 

The Eula Bingham award is named for Dr. Bingham, a widely beloved scientist, teacher and mentor, who served as the influential head of U.S. OSHA during the Carter Administration. 

Coyle McFadden has more than twenty years of experience in the health and safety movement, working on state and federal public policy, worker training, labor/ environment coalitions, and initiatives to protect workers and communities from toxic chemicals and other hazards. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has led NJWEC’s weekly training webinars for workers and educators -- presented for 59 weeks so far -- with up-to-date information about how to reduce the risk of deadly infection. A recognized leader in community-based health and safety programs, Coyle McFadden has served on the board of directors of the National COSH and  the Philadelphia Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

MassCOSH and NJWE are both affiliates of National COSH, which links the efforts of 24 affiliate local worker health and safety committees across the U.S., advocating for the elimination of preventable hazards in the workplace. 

 

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