Organized labor, public health, and tobacco control policy: a dialogue toward action.

An action-oriented conference, Organized Labor, Public Health, and Tobacco Control Policy, was held in September 2000 in Boston, Massachusetts. Labor union leaders, tobacco control and public health activists, researchers, and practitioners met for two days to: 1) learn about existing labor-based tobacco control initiatives; 2) educate one another about resources, barriers, and opportunities for labor-public health joint action on tobacco policy; 3) and identify where agendas overlap and form the basis for specific next steps in collaborative efforts in tobacco-related research, training, and advocacy. This report summarizes presentations and participant discussions to inform readers of the information exchanged and of the enthusiasm shared by conference participants translated into a set of joint recommendations for increased labor-based and joint labor-public health action to reduce the burden of tobacco on working people.

Worksite tobacco control policies and labor-management cooperation and conflict in New York State.

This article summarizes the origins and implementation of labor-management negotiated tobacco control policies in public workplaces in New York State during the 1980s and 1990s. It is an in-depth case study that illustrates the confrontation and cooperation among three main social actors involved in the design and implementation of workplace smoking policies: public-sector labor unions, public health professionals, and state managers. The policy debates, legal, and political issues that emerge from this history suggest hopeful avenues for improving the dialogue and cooperation on the design and implementation of workplace smoking policies between and among public health professionals, managers, and labor union leaders in the United States.

Improving the prevention and control of hazardous substance exposures: a randomized controlled trial in manufacturing worksites.

Background: New measures of exposure prevention (EP) activity were used to evaluate the effectiveness of a 16-month management-focused intervention addressing hazardous substance exposures in manufacturing work settings.

Methods: EP efforts were assessed using a rating scheme developed for this study. The rating scheme yields a set of measures of exposure potential and protection, which are combined into an overall EP summary rating.

Assessing and intervening on OSH programmes: effectiveness evaluation of the Wellworks-2 intervention in 15 manufacturing worksites.

Aims: (1) To develop a transparent and broadly applicable method for assessing occupational safety and health (OSH) programmes or management systems; (2) to assess OSH programmes in a sample of manufacturing worksites; and (3) to determine whether a management focused occupational health intervention results in greater improvement in OSH programmes compared to minimal intervention controls.

Methods: OSH programmes were assessed using an adaptation of the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration's 1995 Program Evaluation Profile. Scores were generated from 91 binary indicator variables grouped under four "Essential Elements".

Assessment of occupational safety and health programs in small businesses.

Background: Occupational safety and health (OSH) programs are a strategy for protecting workers' health, yet there are few peer-reviewed reports on methods for assessing them, or on the prevalent characteristics of OSH programs, especially in small businesses.

Methods: We adapted an occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) survey instrument to assess: management commitment and employee participation, workplace analysis, hazard prevention and control, and education and training. This was supplemented by a series of open-ended questions.