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Session: Research by the Rank and File
4227.0: Tuesday, November 9, 2004: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
Oral
Research by the Rank and File
Four recent alumni of the George Meany Center for Labor Studies-National Labor College, with majors in occupational safety and health, present their senior thesis research. These students have unique access to the attitudes and activities of rank-and-file trade unionists, as they are members of trade unions themselves: American Flint Glass Workers, Public Services International, International Association of Machinists, and Sheet Metal Workers International Association. Each of these papers is both activist-oriented and scholarly – a unique blend of advocacy and original research meant to improve safety and health for themselves and their union brothers and sisters. Proposed for the 2004 meetings of the American Public Health Association is a panel of four student papers, moderated by a member of the college faculty. Motivated by her own injuries, Jane Wolski developed a comprehensive guide of reservations computer work station solutions to prevent upper extremity injuries. Irwin Gill, from Trinidad and Tobago, developed and tested a system to do safety and health audits at waste water treatment plants. In order to reduce the risks of respiratory disease among welders, apprentice instructor Ed Kasper developed a teaching module for sheet metal apprentices. Don Dudley documented the advantage in safety and health training when workers trained other workers at a glass factory in Louisiana. Ruth Ruttenberg, the panel moderator, faculty, National Labor College, is responsible for advising students during the research and writing of their theses. She has worked and written in the field of occupational safety and health for 30 years.
Learning Objectives: Articulate the dedication by National Labor College students to academic and activist research. Identify the ergonomic challenges associated with airline reservation computer work stations. Create a safety audit for waste water treatment plants. Discuss the contribution of peer trainers in effective occupational safety and health education. Construct teaching modules on respiratory risks faced by welders.
Moderator(s):Ruth Ruttenberg, PhD
2:30 PMResearch By the Rank and File
Ruth Ruttenberg, PhD, Don Dudley, BA, Irwin Gill, BA, Ed Kasper, BA, Jane Wolski, BA
See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.
Organized by:Occupational Health and Safety
CE Credits:CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA