Tennessee Committee on Occupational Safety & Health

Organization

Staff Only

Administrative History

The Tennessee Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (TNCOSH) was started by Jamie Cohen, the program’s first director, out of Vanderbilt University’s Center for Health Services in the early 1980s. TNCOSH was an organization that primarily dealt with workers’ safety with a focus on chemical hazards and the Right-to-Know legislation that gave workers the right to know what chemicals were being used in factories and plants. As a grassroots organization, TNCOSH utilized funding from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well as other grant fundraising sources such as the Kaiser Family Foundation and Commission on Religion in Appalachia. The organization utilized workshops and publications in order to inform and gain support from communities and employees. In addition to Jamie Cohen, organizational leaders included Norma “Corky” Jennings, Doug Gamble, Marion Groover, and Jim Tramel. The organization closed its doors in February 1994.

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

June M. Rostan Papers

Collection — Other Boxes 1-4

Identifier: AppMs-0436

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series. Series 1, Personal Papers, 1975-1982; Series 2, Professional Papers, 1976-1994; Series 3, Audio Cassettes, undated.

Dates: 1975-1994

Found in: Archives of Appalachia / June M. Rostan Papers

Tennesseans Against Chemical Hazards (TEACH) Records

Collection

Identifier: AppMs-0407

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of materials which document the operation of the TEACH office, as well as the activities of the organization. Included are minutes of board meetings, grant proposals, TEACH's charter and bylaws, clippings and published reports on environmental hazards in Tennessee and other states, and articles and reports on activities of environmental groups in Tennessee and other geographical regions. The records date from 1973 through 1983.

Dates: 1974-1983

Found in: Archives of Appalachia / Tennesseans Against Chemical Hazards (TEACH) Records