ICWUC Center for Worker Health & Safety Education

April 2021

For the past year COVID-19 has consumed our lives, and rightly so. ICWUC has fought side-by-side with other unions, the AFL-CIO, COSH groups and other community-based groups to get the CDC to recognize that the coronavirus is spread via aerosol droplets. Why was this so important? The Center for Disease Control is the US governmental agency we rely on to guide us on how to protect ourselves from disease and pandemics such as COVID-19. Finally, when the CDC admitted COVID-19 can be spread via aerosol droplets it validated for the American public that face coverings were a viable and effective means to stop the spread. Now that effective vaccines are becoming widely available, we can see light at the end of this long tunnel. It is more important than ever to keep doing the right things; wear our mask when in public venues, maintain appropriate social distancing, refrain from shaking hands or hugging, wash our hands frequently and use hand sanitizers when hand washing isn’t feasible, disinfectant wiping of commonly shared surfaces, continue contact tracing, daily temperature checks, avoid traveling to pandemic hot spots, self-quarantine if not feeling well or have suspected contact with someone that is ill or COVID-19 positive, get tested yourself, get vaccinated and make sure your employer has a written pandemic plan specific to COVID-19 and is following it. Thanks to the new leadership at OSHA under the Biden Administration OSHA will investigate and issue citations for not protecting workers from COVID-19.

But let us not ignore the many other hazards in our workplaces. Keep vigilant in protecting ourselves from slip, trips and falls, musculoskeletal injuries, chemical exposures, electrical hazards, excessive heat or cold environments, noise, radiation, confined spaces and many, many others. The ICWUC Health and Safety Department is continuing the fight for safer and healthier workplaces for all workers…

Darrell Hornback, Director ICWUC Health and Safety Department.

Renew the Promise; Safe Jobs for All. Workers Memorial Day April 28, 2021