The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health issued the following press statement on the nomination of Congresswoman Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor:

"The National COSH is extremely pleased with President-elect Obama's nomination of Representative Hilda Solis as the next United States Secretary of Labor. Representative Solis has been a leader in fighting for healthier communities, a cleaner environment, and economic justice for the most vulnerable in society. We believe that she will have the vision and political will to oversee a much needed overhaul of the nation's system for ensuring worker safety, which has failed to provide adequate protections to America's workers over the past eight years.

“We are looking forward to working with Representative Solis to ensure workers' rights to a safe and healthy workplace.”

The National COSH submitted to the Obama transition team a summary of recommendations for fundamental changes to the Department of Labor's oversight of worker safety. The organization will release its full set of recommendations the first week of January.

The National COSH is a federation of 21 local and statewide "COSH" groups-Committees/Coalitions on Occupational Safety and Health. 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. The first COSH group was founded in 1972.