UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH)

Three images, from left to right: A man in a yellow hazmat suit; a group of men in green hardhats; a group of smiling women

The UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH) promotes safe and healthy workplaces through worker training and education, research, technical assistance, and policy analysis. LOSH initiatives focus on workers in high-hazard industries, those in low-wage jobs, and workers who are vulnerable by virtue of immigration status, language, and/or employment status. LOSH strives to reduce occupational health disparities and environmental injustice through direct worker engagement, leadership development, and capacity building.

Projects & Programs

LOSH programs involve strategic partnerships with unions and worker advocates, government agencies, employers, academic researchers, and community-based organizations to address occupational and environmental hazards. LOSH worker training activities range from short awareness-level sessions to multi-day courses designed to equip workers to play leadership roles in their workplaces and communities. Courses are offered in English and Spanish, and are adapted to the particular needs of each training audience. Targeted training initiatives include support for labor-management programs, efforts to build a worker-led disaster response hub in Southern California, and training to prepare individuals from underserved communities for careers in the environmental field. LOSH research efforts promote prevention strategies and inform policies to improve workplace conditions; findings have contributed to campaigns to improve health and safety conditions and informed policy at the state and local levels. Many LOSH projects engage students through hands-on fieldwork placements and research opportunities.

Current projects include:

  • Worker Occupational Safety & Health Training & Education Program (WOSHTEP)
  • Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program
  • Hazard Disaster Preparedness Training Program
  • Environmental Career Worker Training Program
  • School Action for Safety and Health (SASH)
  • Refinery and Community Safety Initiative
  • Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Essential and Returning Industries in California
  • Occupational Health Internship Program
Kevin Riley

Kevin Riley

Kevin Riley is director of the UCLA Labor Occupational Safety & Health Program

Learn more about Kevin Riley