Approximately 100 participants crowded the conference halls at the Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center for the 2008 Occupational Safety and Health Education Conference on February 21, 2008. Participants attended workshop sessions on a variety of topics including Substance Abuse in the Workplace, Workplace Violence, Petroleum Refinery Inspections in New Jersey, Global Warming, Health Effects of the World Trade Center Exposure, Workplace Violence, High Voltage Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

 

Assistant Commissioner Lenny Katz, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Lisa Levy, Area Director for OSHA - Hasbrouck Heights Area Office addressed the participants during the morning opening session. Both keynote speakers highlighted key developments in the field of occupational safety and health on a federal and state level and emphasized the importance of worker education and empowerment for reducing injuries and illnesses in workplaces across New Jersey. The speakers encouraged attendees to bring the information they learned back to their respective memberships. Presenters hailed from OSHA, New Jersey Task Force One, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, PSEG, as well as other key organizations.

 

President Charles Wowkanech, New Jersey State AFL-CIO spoke about the continuing need for vigilance on the part of working men and women of New Jersey to ensure that the rights and responsibilities accorded by federal and state laws to employees are exercised by each and every person who may be faced with a hazardous condition on the job. “The end of 2007 saw an alarming number of workplace deaths in New Jersey and 2008 dawned with more news of hard working men and women dying on the job. Let us not lose sight of the challenges that face us everyday. We have to step up our fight not just to make our workplaces safer, but also to make our workforce smarter so that each employee is an active participant in ensuring safety on the job.”