LOSH Founded in 1978

Marianne Brown

LOSH Founding Director Marianne Brown

LOSH has been educating workers, conducting research, and spearheading community outreach to promote safe working conditions since 1978. LOSH is a nationally recognized center promoting safe workplaces through teaching and education, research, and policy advocacy.

LOSH collaborates with workers, unions, community organizations, employers, academics, students, governmental representatives, and health professionals. We provide bilingual (English-Spanish) occupational health and safety education programs in the community; teach UCLA courses; research the conditions of immigrant, low-wage and youth workers who are disproportionately impacted by job hazards; and contribute to the development of  public policies to improve worker health and safety in California.

Over 1,000 workers receive training annually in a region incorporating two-thirds of California’s workforce. LOSH staff includes a multi-ethnic, bilingual group of professionals with backgrounds in public health, participatory adult education, curriculum development, social work, public policy, and quantitative and qualitative research methods.

LOSH is part of UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) within the College of Letters and Science and the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) within the School of Public Health.  Since its founding in 1978, LOSH has established a strong presence in Southern California, with ties to local and international labor unions, community groups and health providers, schools, and local and state government agencies.