Building Partnerships for Health and Safety: United Auto Workers and the United Hispanic Workers of Detroit

Education is recognized as a key component in ensuring the health and safety of the workforce. With the assistance of grant funding provided by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the United Auto Workers International Health and Safety Department (UAW) has provided health and safety training to UAW members and members of communities disadvantaged by environmental injustice, limited English proficiency and/or lack of educational opportunity. Workers in these communities are employed in high hazard jobs and have historically been victims of wage theft. This training has helped them improve working conditions and protect themselves and their communities from hazardous materials.

Over the years the UAW has used worker trainers to deliver health and safety training to their peers. In recent years they have also assisted in health and safety evaluation activities conducted by the University of Michigan. Using peers increases the likelihood that trainers/evaluators have shared values and specific knowledge of hazardous conditions faced by workers. The UAW is currently building on this model with community partner organizations where they are not only delivering health and safety training to community members recruited by partner organizations, but are also transferring health and safety training skills to the staffs of the partner organizations through train-the-trainer programs. 

One of the partners is the United Hispanic Workers of Detroit (UHWD), an immigrant and member-led worker organization working to address workplace abuses faced by low-wage workers in temporary staffing agencies across the Metro Detroit area. Members of the UHWD formed a partnership with the UAW Health and Safety Department to provide basic OSHA training in Spanish. In these trainings, students reported safety hazards, temperature extremes, asbestos, skin irritation believed to be related to exposures to chemicals, frequent changes in employers, and lack of health and safety training from their employers. The UAW trained students in hazard detection, ergonomics, blood-borne pathogens, biohazards, MI-OSHA standards and other basic health and safety topics. A survey of occupational hazards, safety and health training gaps and health issues faced by workers in these communities has been initiated.  Future training is planned in Community Industrial Emergency Response and flood response and clean-up procedures. We will report on the findings of the needs assessment that has been launched and the impact this training has had in addressing disparities and promoting safe work practices.