We are pleased to announce that the 2023 CWA/USW Health, Safety and Environment Conference (HSE) will be held April 17, 2023 through April 21, 2023, at the Westin Convention Center and Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The conference is designed for participation by local union health, safety, and environmental activists, and local union leadership. We strongly encourage you to consider sending both ‘seasoned’ health and safety activists/reps, as well as members with less experience who have a strong interest in being involved in the fight for health and safety.
The national conference will emphasize:
· Increasing participant knowledge and skills about a wide range of
health, safety, and environmental topics;
· Developing strategies to fight for and improve day-to-day member
working conditions; and
· Sharing knowledge and experience among members.
The first day of the HSE Conference on Monday, April 17th is an all-day, union-only event with both plenary and workshop sessions. On Monday, after the scheduled union-only workshops, there will be a special CWA meeting for all CWA attendees facilitated by CWA’s National Deputy Director of Occupational Safety and Health. From Tuesday through Friday all plenary sessions and workshops may also be attended by management health and safety representatives from USW-represented employers per collective bargaining agreements between the USW and represented employers. The conference will adjourn Friday by noon.
Workshop sessions on the union-only day will focus on topics such as Work Stress and Long Hours, Stopping Behavior-based Blame-the-Worker Programs, Investigating Health and Safety Issues, Collective Action and Organizing Around H&S, and many more. The Tuesday-Friday sessions will target a wide range of topics such as Occupational Diseases, Effective Health and Safety Committees, Industrial Hygiene, Prevention of Heat-related Illnesses, Prevention of Workplace Lead Exposures, Disaster Preparedness, Process Safety Management, Prevention of Workplace Violence, Health and Safety Rights, and more. The full agenda is currently under development.
There will be a special Health Care track on Wednesday, April 19th with workshop topics and panel presentations geared specifically for health care members and issues such as workplace violence and safe patient handling.
The registration instructions and hotel information are attached. Please note, all CWA participants should use the dedicated CWA link for registration
Occupational and environmental health and safety remains a key concern for our members and the HSE Conference will expand our opportunities to improve the Union’s health and safety programs and ability to fight for safe workplaces.
In Unity,
Christopher M. Shelton
President
