Charlene Obernauer is the executive director at NYCOSH, where she oversees and develops the NYCOSH’s campaigns and advocacy work. She is also the co-founder of the New York Healthy Nail Salons Coalition, which successfully advocated for the passage of statewide legislation to combat wage theft and mitigate safety and health hazards in nail salons. Charlene heralded the release of the annual report, “Deadly Skyline” on construction fatalities and is an advocate for safe construction.
What led you down your current career path?
When I was a student in college, I became interested in the policies on our campus. Our clothing was bought from sweatshops, our food came from non-union vendors who sought better working conditions, and our university charged international tuition rates for undocumented students. I wanted to create labor-friendly policies on campus, which led me to the local labor movement on Long Island, the Long Island Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), and Jobs with Justice.
What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
Our focus on 2024 is twofold. First, we want to win concrete policy victories that will improve the lives of New York’s workers. This includes the Nail Salon Minimum Standards Council Act to further improve conditions in salons and the TEMP Act, to create an extreme temperature standard for workers. Second, we want to ensure that we educate and train 10,000 workers on safety and health, wage theft, and organizing.
What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides?
Workers have the right to a safe and healthy job. They have a right to come home safely at the end of the day, and to be paid a family-sustaining wage for the work that they do. Unions are made up of their members who organize for a voice on the job, and who organize to be in charge of their own lives and destinies. They are essential to our democracy and building worker power.