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J Wooding

Publications and source records attributed to J Wooding.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

The Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union: refining strategies for labor.

In a period of declining union membership and severe economic and environmental crisis it is important that labor unions rethink their traditional roles and organizational goals. Responding to some of these problems and reflecting a history of innovative and progressive unionism, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) has sought to address occupational and environmental health problems within the context of a political struggle. This study suggests that by joining with the environmental movement and community activists, by pursuing a strategy of coalition building, and by developing an initiative to build and advocate for a new political party, OCAW provides a model for reinvigorating trade unionism in the United States.

Chemical Industry↗

Teaching health and safety: problems and possibilities for learner-centered training.

The University of Massachusetts at Lowell Work Environment Department, working jointly with four New England coalitions on occupational safety and health (COSH) groups, has developed and is delivering participatory and learner-centered health and safety training for hazardous waste site workers and emergency responders throughout New England. This consortium has created a technical curriculum for hazardous waste workers accessible to the nonspecialist and which, more importantly, draws upon workers' own experience and knowledge as a source of information, education, and experiential resources. In this article, we examine the goals of the consortium, the applicability of the training method, its successes and failures, and the wider implications such pedagogical techniques have for effective and empowering health and safety training. We conclude that such a teaching technique is a successful means of providing technical knowledge and skills in a positive and rewarding atmosphere. We also conclude, however, that the extent to which this form of education is empowering, as is claimed by many of its proponents, is less clear-cut.

Curriculum↗