Who Cares For Injured and Sick Workers?

With the spectacle of Trump’s military parade and the massive nationwide NO KINGS protests behind us, it’s a good time to spotlight our attention on the health and safety of our nation’s workers and the organizations that support and advocate for them.

It’s no secret that the needs of working people are not high (or visible at all)  on our President’s priority list, which you can read about here.  So, we look elsewhere for support.

Where?

To unions, of course!  And especially to the AFL-CIO, which produces the annual Death on the Job report. And to COSH groups that train workers, support whistleblowers and injured workers, conduct community outreach, host events like Workers’ Memorial Day, and publish the annual The Dirty Dozen report.

And to non-profit organizations, like the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR), Public Citizen, and the International Labor Organization.

And to networks and alliances, like the Protecting Workers Alliance, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and the Food Chain Workers Alliance.

And to volunteer newsletters like Confined Space, that keeps us updated on important OSH news and provides the weekly toll of work-related fatalities.

And to professional organizations with occupational health and safety experts, like the American Public Health Association, the American Industrial Hygiene Organization (AIHA), the National Safety Council, the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and the Association of Occupational and Environment Clinics (AOEC – more on that one below).  And wistfully, to our government agencies (OSHA, NIOSH, MSHA, EPA), currently hamstrung by the Administration’s anti-regulatory and anti-science mindset.

The Importance of Organizations

As individuals, there’s only so much we can only do to influence government policy.  We can vote.  We can call, write, and/or visit policy makers. We can write opinion pieces and LTEs in our local newspaper. We can march or post signs.  We can urge our family members, friends and neighbors to get involved. And we can keep at it – discouragement be damned!

But organizations add fire power.  Aside from providing a sense of community to its members and supporters, organizations – like those mentioned above — often have the people, power, experience, and resources to have a significant impact on an issue.  And with fire in their bellies for public health and worker health and safety, some of the smaller ones fight well above their weight.

Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC)

I  want to tell you about one that is rather unique. Full disclosure: I was one of the original founders and am currently a member of its Board of Directors.

Perhaps readers of Confined Space are aware of and are even members of AOEC. It was founded in 1987 by a small group of OSH providers and advocates to support communication among clinics and clinicians dedicated to providing high-quality, worker and patient-centered care to people with work-related injuries and illnesses or with exposures to environmental hazards.

This small group wanted to create an alternative to employer-based clinical services, basically an avenue available to workers beyond the company doctor. (This is not meant to attack the reputation or integrity of the many dedicated company-employed doctors who put the worker’s health before the company’s interests.)  AOEC member clinics meet rigorous criteria to ensure that patients receive the best care in a respectful, collaborative environment and adhere to AOEC’s Patient Bill of Rights.

AOEC shares its goals on its website.  They include:

• Aiding in the identification, reporting, and prevention of occupational and environmental health hazards and their effects.
• Encouraging the provision of high-quality clinical services for people with work or environmentally related health problems.
• Increasing communication among occupational and environmental health clinics by sharing information that will better enable them to diagnose and treat occupational and environmental diseases.
• Facilitating liaison between clinics and agencies responsible for workplace and environmental monitoring.
• Providing a source of data for research projects related to occupational and environmental health.

You can learn more about its programs and services here and see some of its accomplishments and milestones here.  Here are some that seem particularly noteworthy:

• Provided occupational health support to the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
• Joined with Mt. Sinai Selikoff Centers for Occupational Health’s World Trade Center (WTC) surveillance program for WTC response.
• Coordinated treatment for WTC responders through grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the American Red Cross.
• Provided expertise to review medical records for the Department of Justice and NIOSH WTC Victims Compensation Fund.
• Established the Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP)to increase the pipeline for OEHS professionals. This is a terrific program; read more about it   Adding a bit of history: OHIP is modeled after the successful union-based internship program established in the 1970s by Tony Mazzocchi, a former leader of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW).
• Provides technical support and training on OEHS topics to the International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC).

Bottom Line

So why do I tell you all this?  First, because I wanted to share my pride in what this very small organization with a small staff of 3 has been able to do.   Second, and I’ll be up front about it:  Like other small organizations that rely in part on federal funding that has been mindlessly slashed by DOGE and the Trump administration, it is in danger of having to close its doors. This would be a real loss, especially at a time when federal funding for public health research and training – and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are being cut and agency experts are being RIF’d or encouraged to resign. Not to mention the very real danger of regulatory rollbacks.

I know we all support many public interest organizations, including Confined Space. Keep doing that.  This newsletter is important.  If you can possibly add one more, your support for AOEC would be most appreciated. Individual membership is open to any person who shares the goals of AOEC, though a contribution in any amount would be helpful.

AOEC is a 501(c)(3) organization, so donations are tax deductible. And if you’re of a certain age and have an  Individual Retirement Account (IRA), which requires taking a minimum distribution (“RMD”), you can ask your IRA to directly contribute your RMD to a qualified charitable organization – and you WILL NOT GET TAXED on that RMD! [See: Seniors can reduce their tax burden by donating to charity through their IRA | Internal Revenue Service ].

In any event, thanks for considering – and for all you do in the interest of worker health and safety.