5213.0 APHA Closing General Session: The Case for Workplace Health and Safety: 100 Years after the Triangle Fire

Wednesday, November 2, 2011: 2:30 PM
Oral
One hundred years ago, 146 workers, mostly immigrant women, were killed in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. This tragedy led to many important labor law protections in New York State and the rest of the country. In 1970, the Federal OSH Act was established. These events helped establish the right to a safe workplace as a legally protected human right in the United States and serve as foundations of the contemporary occupational health and safety field. This Act also represents key public health victories in the face of constant and persistent opposition to using laws and government regulations to protect environmental and community health. It is especially timely to reflect on these historic victories given the current efforts to weaken regulatory protections —despite a number of highly public workplace tragedies over the past two years The closing session will explore these events in their historical context, how they inform the current landscape, and the connection that worker health protection has with all efforts to promote and protect public health for all.
Session Objectives: · Describe the impact of OSHA regulations on U.S. workers and communities. · Evaluate historical and contemporary evidence against political claims about the “job killing” nature of regulations. · Review the lessons from the past for provide insight into how to approach current debates.
Organizer:
Peter Dooley, MS, CIH, CSP

See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.

Organized by: APHA

See more of: APHA
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