Arkansas Committee For Safety and Health (ARCOSH)
ARCOSH first met in April 2000, at our Worker Memorial Day event in Little Rock, when a group of Union Safety Representatives met to discuss issues they were facing at work. Supported by the Labor Education Program at UALR, the Committee has continued to meet since then covering issues of:
Workplace Safety and Health Hazards
Worker Rights to Employer Information about Safety and Health
Noise Hazards in the Workplace
The OSHA Ergonomics Standard
Evaluating Your Employer's Safety and Health Program
There are many COSH groups in different areas of the country--city and statewide groups. COSH groups support local union safety committees with information and resources and promote safe workplaces in the community through union activity.
Our COSH group is supported by AR ALF-CIO, the Central Arkansas Labor Council, and other labor councils and organizations around the state. We now have members from the UFCW, UNITE, UAW, USWA, IAM, BLE, AFT, SEIU, the Arkansas Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice and other organizations around the state.
ARCOSH has also been awarded a start-up grant from the National Network of Committees on Safety and Health to train vulnerable workers, including high school students, low-wage workers, and non-English speaking workers, in basic rights under Federal OSHA. ARCOSH is working with the Ft. Smith/Van Buren Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice to provide this training and support for poultry workers in the area.
Officers of ARCOSH include:
Tom Karson, Labor Education Program, UALR, Chair
Michael Keen, President, UFCW L. 2008, Vice Chair
Candice Collins, Arkansas District Manager, UNITE, Secretary-Treasurer
Arkansas Committee For Safety and Health (ARCOSH)
c/o Tom Karson
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
2801 S. University Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72204-1099
501-569-8483
501-569-8583 (Fax)