UIC Center for Healthy Work

‼️🔔Graduate workers are essential to teaching and research. We stand in solidarity with UIC graduate workers. For more information about the strike and their demands, visit their website at https://www.uicgeo.org/

📣Shout-out to Center for Healthy Work’s graduate workers, past and present, who are an integral part of our work. 🔐‼️

On May 1st, we commemorate May Day in memory of the Haymarket Martyrs, the fight for the eight-hour workday in the U.S., and Chicago’s ongoing mark in labor history.

In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions called for an 8-hour workday for all workers by May 1, 1886, beginning a national movement. On May 4, 1886, in Chicago, IL, a peaceful protest turned deadly when a bomb was thrown into the crowd, killing attendees, escalating police violence, and causing mass chaos.

Martial law was declared throughout the nation, and government officials hunted down anarchist labor leaders with baseless charges. On a global scale, politicians used this tragedy to go after workers’ rights movements and political opponents in their own countries.

This event, now known as the Haymarket Affair or Haymarket Bombing, and marks one of the most notorious legal trials in U.S. history involving biased jury selection and allegations of bribery. The jury found eight anarchist labor leaders guilty of conspiracy in a notorious trial. In June of 1893, three surviving martyrs were pardoned.

120 years later, May 1st continues to be a powerful day of action for workers’ rights in Chicago and across the country. Check out our last post to see some of the many events happening TOMORROW for May Day.

Art by: https://www.instagram.com/opinorg/

TOMORROW is the day! Here is a list of events happening all throughout May Day.

📣 UIC SPH – There will be groups walking from the SPH building to both 1pm rallies. Meet in the lobby at:

• 11:30am to walk WEST to Union Park for the interfaith gathering and Workers Over Billionaires rally

• 12:30pm to walk EAST to UIC University Hall for the Chicago Higher Ed Coalition – Central Hub rally.

Both rallies will lead to a march to Daley Plaza.

Workers Memorial Day (April 28th) and May Day (May 1st) mark two of the biggest days to show our solidarity with the labor movement and continue the fight for healthy, safe, and just working conditions.

Here is a list of events to attend, including support for our graduate workers on strike with UIC GEO!

April 28th marks Workers Memorial Day, a day to remember the countless lives lost due to unsafe working conditions and preventable injuries.

April 28th is also the same day that the Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) Act went into effect in 1971. Federal statistics on workplace fatalities show that on average worker deaths have greatly decreased since the passing of the OSH Act, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to about 15 worker deaths a day in 2023. Worker injuries and illnesses also saw a huge decrease from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to 2.4 incidents per 100 workers in 2023 (Source: OSHA).

We still have a LONG way to go, as there is no reason a worker should not return home safely at the end of their shift. As we commemorate another Workers Memorial Day and May Day this week, we continue engage in collective actions and research to prevent fatal and non-fatal injuries and illnesses on the job, raise awareness for occupational health and safety issues, and strengthen policies to protect workers’ lives. At the Center for Healthy Work, we recommit to our role in informing strong health and safety standards and legal rights for all workers.

WMD Art: AFL-CIO

⚙️ The Greater Lawndale Healthy Work Certification Program Principles: Process Guide is now live!

This process guide outlines the six steps that were taken to develop a set of values and practices that will inform the foundation of the Greater Lawndale Healthy Work Business Certification Program.

From the close community partnership with Working Family Solidarity to the interactive and scholarly community engagement activity inspired by the World Cafe Method, each step ensured that the initiative was grounded in evidence and informed by workers.

⚙️ Read here: https://doi.org/10.25417/uic.31061866

“As we enter the last year of the current grant cycle, our focus is on sustainability… and embedding lessons learned into long-term strategies for systems change.

“Our commitment to open access resources, community dissemination, and integration into graduate education ensures that the Center’s work will inform and inspire future generations of researchers, practitioners, and advocates.”
– Kirsten Almberg, PhD, MS, Director of the Center for Healthy Work

Read on to learn how each of our Center's cores is sustaining momentum for worker health and safety research into 2026 and beyond!

As we wrap up our calendar year, we want to honor the accomplishments that reflect our progress, partnerships, and growing influence.

“These accomplishments reflect the collective effort of our dedicated team, community partners, and collaborators. Together, we are shaping a future where every worker has a fair and just opportunity to achieve their highest level of health.”
– Kirsten Almberg, PhD, MS, Director of the Center for Healthy Work

These are the pride points and milestones our center is celebrating in 2025!

“In our nine-year history, we have demonstrated that meaningful change happens when worker voices, community and employer leadership, and evidence-based strategies converge.”
– Kirsten Almberg, PhD, MS, Director of the Center for Healthy Work

Explore the various ways our projects transformed evidence into practice this year with creative, community-driven approaches to healthy work!