Upon my arrival at Reagan International Airport in the Nation’s Capital on March 18, 2025, I was greeted by National Council of Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) Executive Director Jessica Martinez, who I was meeting in person for the first time since completing National COSH “We Rise!” Workers Leadership Training and being elected to the Board of NCOSH.
Robert Jarvis wants answers. “Why’d you make us work that day?” he asks. “Why?”
With five workers dead and one still missing since Hurricane Helene struck on Sept. 27, many of us in Tennessee and around the country also want to know what went wrong that day – and if we can prevent it from happening again.
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) strongly supports OSHA’s proposed rule to address heat-related hazards for both indoor and outdoor workers. The rule, which was announced today, is a critical step in protecting millions of workers from heat-related illnesses and injuries.
Jessica Martinez, executive director of National COSH, emphasizes the severity of the situation: “Every year, we tragically lose around 2,000 workers to preventable fatalities and witness over 170,000 injuries and illnesses linked to extreme heat. These staggering figures, while alarming, are likely just the tip of the iceberg.”
There are also long-term health concerns associated with heat and environmental stressors, such as chronic kidney disease and worsening of conditions like asthma and diabetes, Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a worker-led advocacy group, said in an email.
In the last episode of the season, host Shaka Tafari speaks with three women who work at the intersection of labor and immigration. They discuss the most pressing threats to immigrant workers, as well as the ways immigrants can resist these threats and support one another.
Our guests include: Mary from Mujeres Inspiradas en Sueños, Metas, y Acciones (MISMA); Saba Waheed, director of the UCLA Labor Center, and Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH).
In fact, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health named Uber and Lyft among the most unsafe employers last year, alongside certain meatpacking, industrial farm and lumber mill companies.
