Strategies for Nail Salon Worker Leadership Development to Improve Their Health, Safety and Rights

Background/Significance:
Up to 80% of California nail salon workers are Vietnamese low-income immigrant women that are of reproductive age, lack access to health care, and limited English proficient. Workers are exposed to toxic chemicals through exposure to nail products, and have reported health issues including respiratory illness, allergies, cancers, and reproductive harm. Despite the increasing documentation of occupational health issues impacting salon workers, federal and state regulatory oversight of product manufacturers remains weak and largely ineffective. State agencies also severely lack culturally appropriate outreach and education to reduce worker exposure. Therefore, the burden of toxic environmental exposure and poor health outcomes falls upon those with the most exposure – low-income immigrant salon workers.

Objective/Purpose:
1) To describe how supporting behavior change while empowering workers to advocate for their communities is a powerful tool to address occupational health disparities.
2) To identify components of a successful culturally appropriate leadership development program for immigrant workers.

Methods:

We developed a culturally appropriate leadership program focused on empowering nail salon workers to: Implement health and safety best practice strategies in the workplace, Develop their organizing and leadership skills, and Advocate for policy solutions that positively improve their environment.

Results:

Through our leadership development program and grassroots policy efforts, we have:

1)     Established a Northern CA Regional Advisory Committee with 30 salon workers

2)     Established a Core Leader training program

3)     Successfully advocated for language access improvements with state regulatory agencies

4)     Launched the Healthy Nail Salon Program in partnership with four CA cities and counties