PROMOTING Workplace PREVENTION & Wellness THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Nail salon workers are exposed daily to a variety of toxic chemicals and experience negative health impacts ranging from musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory symptoms to skin problems and headaches. Concerns related to cancer and reproductive impacts have burgeoned given the chronic, long-term exposure of these workers to toxic chemicals present in the solvents and products they handle on a daily basis. With a significant number of the industry's workforce comprised mainly of low-income immigrant Asian women who are of reproductive age and lack access to health care, there has been a clear need to empower this community in order to address the systematic and institutional inequalities (i.e. lack of government oversight on chemical safety, translated materials/trainings, etc), faced by these workers. To promote occupational health and safety practices within the nail salon workplace, the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative established an innovative leadership development program focused on empowering nail salon workers and owners to: 1) Implement best practice strategies in the workplace, 2) Increase awareness among their peers about health and safety strategies, 3) Advocate for solutions that positively impact their health via policy solutions, and 4) Conduct activities within their own community to increase public awareness about the health and safety issues faced by the nail salon community. This session will describe how this leadership program has not only promoted workplace behavior changes while empowering workers to address the root causes of the health impacts they experience, but also how this program can be a model for immigrant workers.