New Law to Educate Young Workers About Labor Rights

A new law in California mandates teaching high school students about their rights at work and what to do if those rights are violated – this is a huge win for young workers around the state! AB 800, signed by Governor Newsom, requires all public high schools to educate students during an annual Workplace Readiness Week, which builds on the 20+ years of LOHP’s Young Worker program.

Each year, LOHP hosts a public awareness campaign, Safe Jobs for Youth Month, providing free teaching activities for high school students during the month of May, before many students begin working over the summer. Workplace Readiness Week follows this model and will begin on April 28th, Workers’ Memorial Day – a day that commemorates workers killed on the job – and will continue into the first week of May. “We are excited to expand on our work and collaborate with partners, including the UC Berkeley Labor Center, to reach more teachers and others in public schools who will engage in this week of action. Our resources can be found on the youngworkers.org website, including the Are You A Working Teen Factsheet, which is designed for teens and describes their rights on the job,” says Yasin Khan, Young Worker Program Coordinator.

This new law is especially critical as violations of child labor are up 69% and there is a national trend of states attempting to roll back child labor protections. Learn more about the Child Labor Crisis in our 2023 Safe Jobs for Youth Month Resource Kit. Through Workplace Readiness Week, 11th and 12th graders will learn about: child labor laws, worker safety, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, paid leave, the right to organize a union, and protections from retaliation. For more information: ykhan@berkeley.edu

LOHP Welcomes New Staff

Two new staff have joined us and we are happy to introduce them to you.

About Alice

Having worked with families in crisis for many years, Alice saw the devastating effect that unsafe and unjust workplaces can have on our communities. She sees joining LOHP as an exciting step to support worker safety in her new role. Previously, she worked in higher education administration as well as non-profit management. She grew up in Calistoga and recently moved back to the Bay Area to be closer to family.

Outside of work, Alice enjoys hikes with her family and knitting.

About Bryceida

The opportunity to learn about the worker health and safety side of public health drove Bryceida to LOHP. She is also interested in the integration of the educational work that we do and being able to bring it to the community. Before LOHP, she graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in May 2023 with a B.A. in Health Studies and Peace and Conflict concentration. Her roles during college included working in the County Public Health office, working in women’s health consulting, and working in community health organizations.

Outside of work, Bryceida enjoys going on hikes with friends and family. She says, “It is nice to enjoy the great outdoors throughout the various seasons.”

Building capacity of domestic workers to advocate for their health and safety

Domestic workers – including nannies, house cleaners, and homecare providers – are central to the fabric of our families, communities, and economy. And yet, many domestic workers face long hours, low wages, and job hazards that put their health and safety at risk. Most do not have paid time off or benefits such as health insurance.

LOHP partnered with the California Domestic Worker Coalition (CDWC) on a training program to build leadership in addressing health and safety conditions. We trained 43 staff and worker leaders from domestic worker organizations in Northern and Southern California, and they then carried out two-hour workshops focused on common hazards domestic workers face – including chemicals, heavy lifting and repetitive or awkward motions that can cause ergonomic injuries, excessive heat, wildfire smoke, slips and trips, sexual harassment, and stress. The training also covered employers’ responsibilities, and helped build workers’ skills in negotiating for better working conditions. In just a few months, they conducted workshops in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Cantonese, and Mandarin with 493 domestic workers around the state!

Other project activities involved training domestic worker leaders to provide information and resources and help workers problem-solve, and training employers on how they can improve working conditions in their homes. The employer training focused on the best ways to reduce hazards, establishing clear two-way communication, and having clear agreements and written contracts.

“Even though domestic workers are still excluded from Cal/OSHA protections with the recent governor’s veto of SB 686, there are many steps workers and employers can take to make sure jobs have the healthy, safe, and dignified conditions they deserve,” says Alejandra Domenzain, Project Lead. “LOHP has been supporting the domestic worker movement in California and nationally for many years, and we will continue to do so until these workers have the same rights as those in other industries.”

Supporting Union Campaigns

Unions have been organizing around critical health and safety issues this year, including workplace violence, unsafe staffing, and climate-change related hazards like heat and wildfire smoke. Prominent in the news recently have been letter carriers organizing against workplace violence, Kaiser employees staging a three-day strike over safe staffing levels, and UPS workers negotiating language that requires all trucks to have air conditioning–essential after workers have temperatures in their vans up to 120º F.

LOHP has continued to support unions in their important work to create safer working conditions and to build the capacity of their members through organizing and contract campaigns. Some highlights from our recent trainings:

Held two trainings for UFCW Local 5 stewards: one on how to use health and safety as an organizing tool, and one on how to prevent heat illness.

Held an all-day training for the Berkeley REI bargaining team (also part of UFCW) to help them integrate health and safety protections into their campaign for a first contract.

Held a training with 40 construction trades pre-apprentices at the Rising Sun Center Center for Opportunity, an organization in Oakland that helps women and people of color get the support they need to be accepted into union trades apprenticeship programs.

COMING SOON

We are also excited to publish our updated Collective Bargaining Resource Guide in December! This resource, which will be available online, provides guidance on bargaining over health and safety as well as examples of contract language that can support strong demands on issues ranging from union rights to specific hazards like heat.

LOHP in the Field

Child labor conference in Arkansas

Training with day laborers

A glimpse into our recent work:

Presented on "Strategies to Keep Young Workers Safe" at the Arkansas Law Review's Children at Work Symposium. The day-long symposium explored a range of topics on child labor law, as well as links to immigration policy and public health approaches.

Trained day laborers at the Centro Laboral de Graton: Workers shared and developed their knowledge about heat illness, and improvised role plays to practice talking to employers about needed heat illness protection.

Met with our Labor Advisory Committee, which brought together leaders in unions, worker centers, labor councils, and advocacy organizations to share information on the issues of importance to their members and talk about current campaigns and LOHP’s initiatives.

Held the second annual meeting of the Community Engagement Board (CEB) for the California Labor Lab. The CEB includes stakeholders from a range of unions, worker centers, and community organizations whose input we rely on to ensure Labor Lab activities and research priorities are responsive to the needs of impacted communities.

Partnered with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to offer remote workshops in English and Spanish by occupation: house cleaners and chemicals, homecare providers and ergonomics, child care providers and job hazards

Held WOSH Specialist Training: This year LOHP has facilitated WOSH Specialist training for 88 workers. Among the 25 newest WOSH Specialists were workers in the business of winemaking, manufacturing, library sciences, county administration, construction, human resources and administration, labor unions and other worker advocacy organizations.