Uploaded February 2018 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
Ernest DeMaio, was a union organizer and union leader with the Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). After several years organizing workers in electrical manufacturing in New England, he helped found the UE in 1936. In 1942, he became general vice president of the union, a post he held until he retired in 1974. The men and women who organized the UE were inspired by the need to build an industrial organization (meaning all workers could be part of the union), controlled by the members, with complete equality for all who worked in that industry.
This 1973 speech is from the first conference organized by the Occupational Health Project of the Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) for workers and unions. This conference was held in Chicago at the University of Illinois School of Medicine, co-sponsored by the Medicine School and many union locals. The first COSH Group, the Chicago Area Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (CACOSH) grew out of this conference. COSH groups are private, non-profit coalitions of labor unions, health and technical professionals, and others interested in promoting and advocating for worker health and safety. Today’s National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is a federation of local and statewide "COSH" groups – Committees / Coalitions on Occupational Safety and Health. For more about COSH Groups, link to coshnetwork.org/. The Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) was an organization of doctors, nurses, and other health care providers devoted to promoting civil rights, reaching out to minority groups, and improving the delivery of health services in the United States from 1964 to 1980. MCHR established its Occupational Health Project after OSHA began in 1971with the goal of forming permanent local organizations dedicated to grassroots health education and organization – now known as COSH Groups. For more on the MCHR, link to journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2014/09/mhst1-1409.html. Thanks to Peter Orris for providing this video from this 1973 conference.
Ernest DeMaio, was a union organizer and union leader with the Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). After several years organizing workers in electrical manufacturing in New England, he helped found the UE in 1936. In 1942, he became general vice president of the union, a post he held until he retired in 1974. The men and women who organized the UE were inspired by the need to build an industrial organization (meaning all workers could be part of the union), controlled by the members, with complete equality for all who worked in that industry.
This 1973 speech is from the first conference organized by the Occupational Health Project of the Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) for workers and unions. This conference was held in Chicago at the University of Illinois School of Medicine, co-sponsored by the Medicine School and many union locals. The first COSH Group, the Chicago Area Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (CACOSH) grew out of this conference. COSH groups are private, non-profit coalitions of labor unions, health and technical professionals, and others interested in promoting and advocating for worker health and safety. Today’s National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is a federation of local and statewide "COSH" groups – Committees / Coalitions on Occupational Safety and Health. For more about COSH Groups, link to coshnetwork.org/. The Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) was an organization of doctors, nurses, and other health care providers devoted to promoting civil rights, reaching out to minority groups, and improving the delivery of health services in the United States from 1964 to 1980. MCHR established its Occupational Health Project after OSHA began in 1971with the goal of forming permanent local organizations dedicated to grassroots health education and organization – now known as COSH Groups. For more on the MCHR, link to journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2014/09/mhst1-1409.html. Thanks to Peter Orris for providing this video from this 1973 conference.
