Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis Convenes First Ever National Action Summit on Health and Safety of

Each year, thousands of workers in the U.S. are injured or killed on the job as a result of preventable incidents, and Latino workers are killed and suffer work-related injuries at higher rates than all other workers.

Source: Gonzales Group

Each year, thousands of workers in the U.S. are injured or killed on the job as a result of preventable incidents, and Latino workers are killed and suffer work-related injuries at higher rates than all other workers. It is with these tragic statistics in mind that U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis convened an historic National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety in April.

The two-day event, which was held in Houston, was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in partnership with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). It brought together workers and representatives from employer associations, labor unions, the faith community, community organizations, the medical community, safety and health professionals, educators, government officials, consulates, the entertainment community and other non-traditional partners.

"Our focus at this summit is ensuring that all workers understand they have a right to a safe workplace, that they know what hazards they might face on the job, and that they have a clear sense of how a safe workplace is supposed to look," said Secretary Solis during her keynote address at the summit. "Workers have a right to talk to their employers about unsafe conditions and, if necessary, to call OSHA. They have a right to get safety equipment that is required by law and paid for by the employer. They have a right to be trained in a language and in a way they understand. Workers need to know how to use these rights without fear of retaliation. And finally, every worker needs to know that he or she has the right to come home alive at the end of the day."

The summit included panelists and participants from a variety of groups including Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of National Association of Home Builders, which recently developed an ESL Energy Efficiency Training program. The intention of this Energy Efficiency (i.e. green weatherization, etc.) and ESL training is to create an integrated workforce programs that provide the opportunity for Spanish-Speaking Latinos to learn English and to receive education targeted directly to employment.

 

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