National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

What National Council for Occupational Safety and Health does

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970, shortly after passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, to advance worker safety, health, and justice. The organization operates through a community-led model that coordinates a national network of 26 affiliated local COSH (Committee on Occupational Safety and Health) groups and serves workers, labor unions, worker centers, and occupational health professionals across the United States. Core programs include the FiredUp! Heat Organizing Toolkit and Campaign Store (selling printed materials and multilingual resources in 16 languages), the We Rise! Leadership Academy for BIPOC worker leaders, the Safety Without Borders immigrant worker protection initiative, the Dirty Dozen employer accountability campaign, the WorkedUp campaign platform, the Killed at Work fatality database, and the annual COSHCON conference described as the only national bilingual gathering of its kind.

National COSH's underlying "technology" consists of educational resources, organizing toolkits, advocacy campaigns, and conference infrastructure rather than software products. Revenue is generated through three primary streams: individual donations and planned giving (the largest stream by structure), COSHCON conference ticket sales priced at $150–$449 per attendee across tiered pricing for affiliate staff, students, grassroots organizations, and standard attendees, and FiredUp! Campaign Store e-commerce sales of physical posters, magnets, training guides, and rally signs. The organization reports 1–10 employees at its Washington, D.C. headquarters and operates with co-leadership between Executive Director Jessica E. Martinez and Co-Executive Director Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, alongside Director of Development and Strategic Programs Katelyn Parady.

Go-to-market is community-led rather than commercial: National COSH distributes free digital downloads directly through its website, sells physical materials via its own storefront, and extends reach through union sponsorships (AFSCME, USW, NNU, UFCW, UAW, NEA, Teamsters), academic partnerships (UIC School of Public Health, UC Berkeley LOHP), and a WorkedUp platform amplifying worker-led campaigns such as those by Amazon Labor Union, Strippers United, and Refresco workers. Customer outcomes the organization cites include a 33% reduction in heat-related workplace deaths following enforcement of California's heat standard and a documented 22% injury rate increase on high-heat-index days in states without heat protections versus 9% in states with standards.

Name

National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

Legal name

National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

Website

https://nationalcosh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National COSH is a nonprofit advocacy organization that coordinates a network of 26 local groups to advance occupational safety and health, serving workers, unions, and immigrant worker communities across the United States through training, campaigns, conferences, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Occupational Safety Advocacy

NAICS

Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations (813930)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Labor, Social Protection & Occupational Safety Standards Cooperation (BPADANAM)

Keywords

• Occupational safety advocacy
• Worker health protection
• Workplace safety training
• Worker organizing campaigns
• Heat justice advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Somerville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The organization raises funds through individual donations, sustaining donor programs, and planned giving tools to support its advocacy work and programs.
2. Conference and Event Revenue: COSHCON annual conference generates revenue through ticket sales at various price tiers for workers, students, affiliates, and organizations.
3. Store Sales: The FiredUp! Campaign Store sells printed materials, toolkits, and resources related to heat safety and worker organizing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

National COSH is a nonprofit advocacy organization that protects, improves, and advocates for employees' workplaces through education, training, and policy campaigns on occupational safety and health. It operates the FiredUp! Heat Organizing Toolkit, the FiredUp! Campaign Store selling printed safety materials, the COSHCON national conference on worker safety and health, the Killed at Work Database for tracking workplace fatalities, and campaigns such as We Rise! (BIPOC worker leadership), Safety Without Borders (immigrant worker protections), Dirty Dozen (employer accountability), and WorkedUp (workplace justice platform).

Product overview

National COSH is a non-profit advocacy organization rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings consist of advocacy campaigns, educational resources, training programs, and annual conferences focused on occupational safety and health. The main products include the FiredUp! Heat Organizing Toolkit and Campaign Store for heat justice resources, the annual COSHCON conference for worker safety professionals, the Killed at Work Database for fatality tracking, the We Rise! leadership program for BIPOC worker advocates, the Safety Without Borders initiative for immigrant worker protections, the Dirty Dozen employer accountability campaign, and the WorkedUp campaign platform. Resources span multilingual heat safety materials, worker memorial tools, and immigrant worker protection resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COSHCON: The National Conference on Worker Safety and Health - the only national gathering of its kind bringing together workers, occupational health experts, unions, activists and academics
• We Rise!
• Fired Up!
• Safety Without Borders
• Dirty Dozen
• WorkedUp
• Workers Memorial Week (WMW)

Products and services

• COSHCON - National Conference on Worker Safety and Health The only national gathering of its kind, bringing together a diverse, inclusive, and bilingual group of workers, occupational health and safety experts, unions, activists, and academics united around common goals for worker safety and health.
• FiredUp! Heat Organizing Toolkit A comprehensive set of tools for educating workers about heat hazards and taking action for heat justice. Includes prevention materials, training guides, talking points, and multilingual resources available as free digital downloads or printed materials.
• FiredUp! Campaign Store Online store for ordering physical heat safety toolkit materials and campaign resources. Items include posters, magnets, training guides, and rally signs with free digital downloads also available.
• Killed at Work Database A searchable database tracking worker fatalities, providing data and resources for Workers Memorial Week commemorations and advocacy for workplace safety.

Quantifiable outcome

• 33% reduction in workplace heat-related deaths in California after heat standard enforcement
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• University of Illinois Chicago School of Public HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational COSH partnered with the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health for COSHCON2025, hosted at UIC Student Center East in Chicago. The partnership provides academic credibility and support for the annual conference.
• United Steelworkers (USW)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor labor union sponsor of COSHCON conferences, supporting worker safety initiatives and advocacy campaigns.
• National Nurses United (NNU)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor healthcare union sponsor supporting COSH conferences and worker safety advocacy.
• WorkSafecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkSafe is a National COSH affiliate based in California, with its former executive director Doug Parker becoming Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA.
• Amazon Labor Union (ALU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorker-led independent union at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse, featured on National COSH's Worked Up platform for workplace justice campaigns.
• AFSCMEcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - major union sponsor of COSHCON conferences.
• International Brotherhood of TeamsterscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor labor union sponsor supporting COSH conferences and worker safety advocacy with Training & Grants Department involvement.
• United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor labor union sponsor of COSH conferences representing food and commercial workers.
• UAWcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerInternational Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers sponsor of COSH conferences.
• National Education Association (NEA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor teachers union sponsor supporting COSH conferences and worker safety education.
• Strippers UnitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorker organization featured on COSH's Worked Up platform, working with SoCalCOSH on campaign for safer conditions at Star Garden club.
• Western New York COSHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational COSH affiliate that has translated heat safety resources into 16 languages including Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, Karen, Karenni, Kinyarwanda, Nepali, Somali, Swahili, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese.
• Safe Jobs OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational COSH affiliate that coordinated a broad coalition leading to Oregon's comprehensive occupational heat standard, the most complete in the country.
• We CountcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational COSH affiliate based in South Florida, led Miami-Dade campaign for municipal heat ordinance protecting 80,000 construction and agricultural workers.
• Arizona Heat Standards CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition that National COSH joined to advocate for enforceable statewide heat standard in Arizona, bringing national perspective to local issue.
• UC Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing to COSH conferences and worker safety education.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Jobs With Justice: National worker rights coalition that organizes across labor, community, faith, and student groups to improve working conditions — a near-analogous advocacy model to National COSH, with overlapping constituencies and policy priorities.
• Partnership for Working Families: National network of local coalitions advocating for working family issues including workplace safety, wage standards, and immigrant worker protections — comparable advocacy model with overlapping constituencies.
• Interfaith Worker Justice: Faith-labor coalition advocating for worker rights, including immigrant workers and low-wage workers — directly overlapping with National COSH's Safety Without Borders and worker empowerment missions.
• Worksafe: California-based worker health and safety advocacy organization that is itself a National COSH affiliate. Worksafe shares National COSH's focus on worker safety advocacy, immigrant worker protections, and contributed Doug Parker (now OSHA Assistant Secretary) to the federal regulatory apparatus.
• Good Jobs First: Policy resource center promoting corporate accountability and quality job creation, with overlapping focus on employer accountability and worker protection — analogous to National COSH's Dirty Dozen campaign.
• Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR): Construction-sector focused safety and health research center with an advocacy and training mission that overlaps heavily with National COSH's worker safety focus, particularly for high-fatality trades where immigrant and BIPOC workers are overrepresented.
• Strategic Organizing Center (SOC): Labor federation focused on strategic organizing campaigns, including workplace safety and worker empowerment; targets many of the same worker populations as National COSH and partners with several of the same unions.
• UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH): Academic-community partnership focused on training and advocacy for low-wage, immigrant workers in California — directly comparable to National COSH's We Rise! and Safety Without Borders programs, and an active partner.

Broad incumbents

• AFL-CIO: The largest U.S. labor federation, which runs its own safety and health programs, funds affiliates like National COSH, and is the principal convener of the broader U.S. labor movement that National COSH operates within.
• Public Citizen: National nonprofit consumer and worker advocacy organization that engages in policy advocacy on related issues including worker safety, regulatory enforcement, and corporate accountability — comparable in operating model and constituency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nationalcosh
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalCOSH
• Instagraminstagram.com/NationalCOSH

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Council for Occupational Safety and Health