Organizing Around Health and Safety

As workplaces make changes in their health and safety practices due to COVID-19, it is important for workers to understand their rights for a safe and healthy workplace, and what they can do to advocate for themselves and their coworkers. These videos break down your rights at work, concerted activity, what types of things your employer should be doing, as well as examples of workers who are pushing for better conditions during the pandemic from around the country. We have also put together a toolkit and resource guide to help you get started.

How to Change Your Workplace

In this segment we will provide an overview of the three main ways that you can take action in your workplace:

  • Organize a union
  • Invoke the OSHA Right to Refuse Unsafe Work
  • Use protected concerted activity

We will also recommend which of these methods is the most likely to be effective during COVID-19.

Workplace Protections During COVID-19

This video segment covers recommended protections that should be made at your workplace, from the universal wearing of masks to the need for paid sick time and reconfigured worksites.

Using Protected Concerted Activity

This section talks about how you can use your right of protected concerted activity to take action and make your workplace safer during COVID-19.

Worker Campaigns

The videos below talk about 3 worker campaigns to improve working conditions and health and safety during COVID-19. These workers are in different industries and states, but all share common goals and practices that they used to push for protections.

Voyant Beauty, Chicago

McDonald’s, Connecticut 

Amazon, Minnesota

Resources

We have created a toolkit to answer questions, give examples and provide a starting point when thinking about health and safety and organizing. Some of the resources in the toolkit are also listed below. If you have questions about any of the videos, your rights at work or your workplace, please contact us at (716)-206-3550 or send an email to inquiry@wnycosh.org.

How to Change Your Workplace

Get in touch with WNYCOSH to get started

Workplace Protections During COVID-19

Look at these workplace-specific guidelines and brainstorm ideas for your campaign

Take this quiz from the AFL-CIO to see if you are safe at work

Using Protected Concerted Activity

Worker Campaigns

Full Organizing Training Video

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