Award-Winning filmmaker, mother of deceased

temp worker to address deaths on the job



SAN DIEGO, CA – The American Staffing Association, trade group for the fast-growing temporary and contract worker industry, is ignoring critical safety issues at “Staffing World 2016,” a national conference taking place this week in San Diego.



“One out of every six workers who dies on the job in the United States is a temporary or contract worker,” said Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), which advocates nationwide for workplace safety.



“Saving lives and reducing injuries should be at the top of the industry’s agenda,” said Martinez. “But with thousands of attendees and dozens of conference sessions this week in San Diego, the American Staffing Association is paying scant attention to safety, training, employer responsibility and other issues that can make workplaces safer.”



Who:  

·      Jessica Martinez, Co-Executive Director, National COSH

·      Lina Hernandez, mother of Hugo Tapia, who died on a temp assignment in Windsor, CA in 2013

·      Lou Kimmel, Executive Director, New Labor, a New Jersey-based workers’ center

·      Dave DeSario, producer of award-winning film “A Day’s Work,” relating the story of Day Davis, a temp worker who died on his first day on the job

What: Media briefing on hazards of temporary work, including workplace fatalities, and how this week’s “Staffing World 2016” conference fails to address the problem.



When:  Wednesday, October 26, 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT



Where: Email roger@nationalcosh.org for call info



According to the American Staffing Association, more than three million workers are on assignment for U.S. staffing companies during a typical work week. In many manufacturing, warehouse and service locations, a temporary assignment is now the only route available to an entry-level position. A multi-state investigation of the hazards of temporary workby ProPublica found workplace injury rates 36 to 72 percent higher for temporary and contract workers than for full-time employers.  



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National COSH links the efforts of local worker health and safety coalitions in communities across the United States, advocating for elimination of preventable hazards in the workplace. For more information, please visit coshnetwork.org.  Follow us at National Council for Occupational Safety and Health on Facebook, and @NationalCOSH on Twitter.