It should come as no surprise that construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States, and workers who are new to this country often come without knowledge of the various rules that govern workplace safety. To make matters worse, employers often fail to provide adequate training, putting workers’ wellbeing at risk in order to cut costs.
At Worker Justice Wisconsin, we are working to meet this urgent need by educating community members about workplace safety rules. Last year, our Construction Organizer, David Ortiz-Whittingham, surveyed over 50 local construction workers on their experiences on the job and developed a 2-hour training based on these results.
Our training focuses on the three most common hazards reported by workers—falls, struck-by’s, and extreme heat—and covers the rules that OSHA has put in place for these hazards where they exist (believe it or not, OSHA has no rules that protect workers against extreme heat!). In addition, we cover the basic rights that workers have under the OSH Act, such as the right to file a complaint with OSHA and the right to refuse to perform unsafe work. We emphasize to workers that these rights are best exercised in numbers. For example, while there are no federal rules protecting workers against heat, federal law does protect workers collectively demanding protective measures of the boss.
While we also offer this training in our offices, we are also working hard to meet workers where they’re at by partnering with other organizations in our community. For example, we have begun an exciting partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in Milwaukee where we share our training with community members as they wait for their consular appointment. We hope to bring our training to a variety of other community spaces in southern Wisconsin in the coming months, so be on the lookout!
If you or a friend, family member, or coworkers work in construction, please reach out to David Ortiz-Whittingham at 608-590-8582 or david@workerjustice.org to schedule a workshop. Community organizations such as schools and churches interested in hosting a training for their members should also reach out.