From urgent crises to daily needs: UCLA LOSH promotes worker health and safety for all
Learn more about the transformative impact of the UCLA Labor Occupational Health and Safety program (LOSH) on worker wellbeing in California and beyond
UCLA IRLE | July 7, 2026
Founded in 1978, the UCLA Labor Occupational Health and Safety program (LOSH) develops and facilitates education and research programs to address urgent issues impacting workers’ wellbeing. Today, LOSH promotes safe jobs, healthy lives and dignity for all workers, especially those in high-risk and underserved industries in Southern California.
As the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) prepares for its 80th anniversary in Fall 2026, we’re highlighting the impact of our units, including UCLA LOSH, which is nationally recognized for its promotion of worker health and safety. The IRLE’s 80th feature series spotlights the contributions of our dedicated staff, affiliated students and community partners, who work together to execute innovative research agendas, education initiatives and outreach programs that meaningfully improve conditions for all working people.
LOSH conducts vital research and training
For nearly 50 years, LOSH has trained thousands of workers in Southern California to address safety issues and ensure their rights are being honored at work. LOSH’s groundbreaking participatory research has informed policies and spread public awareness to strengthen workplace safety across the country.
LOSH has led initiatives on a wide range of topics including worker exposures to lead, toxic chemicals, extreme heat, fatigue, musculoskeletal risks, COVID and hazards associated with disaster response. LOSH continues to address emerging risks to meet the evolving needs of workers across industries, in union and non-union settings.
“Whether it’s the silicosis crisis among countertop workers, toxic hazards facing those cleaning up after wildfires, or relentless heat threatening farmworkers and warehouse workers, LOSH’s work remains as urgent now as it ever has,” said LOSH director Kevin Riley. “Our training and research puts knowledge and power directly in the hands of workers, their unions and their communities—because that’s where lasting change begins.”
LOSH was initially established as a project of the UCLA Labor Center with funding from OSHA’s “New Directions in Worker Training” grant program. LOSH’s early leaders developed pioneering initiatives that drew on traditions of popular education and participatory action research. Their founding vision was to build worker expertise and leadership skills to support workers’ direct involvement in efforts to improve working conditions.
LOSH was one of the first grantees under the NIEHS Hazmat Worker Training Program (HAZWOPER) when it was formed in 1987, creating some of the earlier curricula for workers involved in hazardous waste cleanup and disaster response efforts. In 2003, LOSH’s worker education initiatives expanded under the California Worker Occupational Safety & Health Training and Education Program (WOSHTEP). Designated as the “Southern California Resource Center,” LOSH leads a variety of bilingual training courses and leadership programs serving workers in the region.
By combining worker-centered training, targeted outreach, research and policy analysis, LOSH collaborates with workers to build capacity and take action to confront preventable harm, ensuring that those most affected by hazardous conditions help shape questions, findings and solutions. In 2026, LOSH maintains its ongoing portfolio of worker training and leadership development, participatory research, student mentorship and outreach initiatives.
LOSH develops the next generation of health and safety leaders
In February 2026, LOSH hosted the Young Worker Leadership Academy (YWLA), a three-day program that equips California teens with critical knowledge about young worker health and safety and their rights on the job. The program is organized in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program. This year marked the first time in over 16 years that YWLA was held in Southern California.
The program is aligned with the goals of California’s AB 800 to advance youth education and awareness around workplace safety and rights. The Academy culminated in a high-impact experience serving 30 students and their adult mentors, representing diverse schools, organizations and communities across California. Students participated in movement-building activities, heard from expert panels and engaged in interactive workshops on rights for young workers while building their leadership skills and preparing to educate their peers and communities. LOSH staff maintain ongoing mentorship relationships with the YWLA teams to develop service-learning projects that promote positive, safe employment for youth and create avenues for getting involved with worker organizations.
LOSH is also collaborating closely with the SEIU Education and Support Fund and other partners to develop the first ever citywide Know-Your-Rights (KYR) pilot training program for fast food workers across Los Angeles. The program emerged from an expansion of the Fair Work Week Ordinance to extend to fast food workers approved by Los Angeles City Council in April 2025.
This curriculum covers key topics ranging from wage theft, immigrant workers’ rights and workplace health and safety. The program is designed to build the capacity of fast food workers to take active roles in improving health and safety and labor conditions in their workplaces. As part of the program, LOSH educators will develop training modules on health and safety rights and lead Train-the-Trainer sessions. The pilot aims to reach approximately 150 fast food workers, ensuring participants are informed of their rights and equipped with the tools to exercise them.
LOSH responds to environmental crises
In the wake of the devastating 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, LOSH has dedicated significant resources to support workers involved in rebuilding. LOSH’s initiatives have focused on the risks confronting workers at each stage of the recovery efforts–from the health hazards posed by toxic ash and dust in the early phases of cleanup to the myriad dangers in construction as the rebuilding proceeds.
To support worker safety during recovery from the fires, LOSH expanded its 40-hour HAZWOPER course offerings to extend training and certification for workers engaged in cleanup and remediation. These courses are crucial for workers assigned to remove hazardous materials and contaminants from impacted properties, allowing owners to begin the next steps of rebuilding. LOSH and partners have also conducted outreach, led trainings and provided technical assistance to nearly 900 workers on high-risk worksites in both Altadena and Pacific Palisades on topics including the risks of wildfire smoke exposure, employer responsibilities to protect workers, the proper use of personal protective equipment and heat illness prevention.
LOSH’s research team spent much of 2025 collaborating with Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA) and National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) to document the experiences of day laborers and domestic workers involved in the recovery efforts. They surveyed over 182 workers hired for wildfire-related jobs in the affected areas, and plan to disseminate the results of these various research activities in 2026.
The forthcoming study aims to underscore the critical role that informal day laborers and domestic workers play in post-disaster settings and offer recommendations for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of these workers following future disaster events.
In addition to responding to severe natural disasters, LOSH continues its work to address other health challenges presented by climate change. In 2025, LOSH collaborated with WINTER, a trades-focused pre-apprenticeship readiness program for women and Esperanza Community Housing to share critical information on preventing heat-related illness through a series of trainings and community events.
LOSH also produced a toolkit called “Heat Illness Prevention Resources for Workers” to provide a quick guide on key safety information, worker rights and employer responsibilities around heat-illness prevention.
This spring and in 2025, LOSH staff facilitated bilingual heat-illness prevention workshops in partnership with National COSH as part of their “Fired Up! Workers for Heat Justice” campaign, drawing participants from across the country, including states without OSHA heat protections.
A sustained commitment to worker empowerment and wellbeing
As the IRLE reflects on 80 years of advancing labor research and education for economic justice, we look forward to our future decades of impact. UCLA LOSH remains committed to its empowering, worker-centered educational and research approach. As workers face new and persistent health hazards in an uncertain regulatory environment, LOSH will continue to provide vital training, education, research and policy analysis to advance dignity, justice and safer workplaces for all.
The UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) advances labor research and education for workplace justice. Through the work of its units – the UCLA Labor Center, the Labor Occupational Safety and Health program (LOSH), the Human Resources Roundtable, and its academic program, UCLA Labor Studies – the Institute forms wide-ranging research agendas that carry UCLA into the Los Angeles community and beyond.
