Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (SoCalCOSH)

Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (SoCalCOSH)

Stronger Together for Safer Workplaces

Inside SoCalCOSH’s mission to unite workers, advocates, and communities in the fight for safe and just working conditions.

 When Cipriano Belser speaks about worker safety, it’s never abstract. As Co-Director of the Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (SoCalCOSH), Belser has spent the last four years on the frontlines of worker protection. The organization’s mission is rooted in a simple but urgent belief: all work-related deaths, illnesses, and injuries are preventable. By empowering workers, influencing policy, and honoring the dignity of labor, SoCalCOSH works to ensure that workplace safety is a fundamental right.

“Workers’ voices must stay at the center. With strong coalitions, dedicated teams, and partners like Community Partners, we’ll continue to push for a future where every worker is safe, respected, and heard. Worker safety is not a privilege—it’s a right.”

— Cipriano Belser, Co-Director, SoCalCOSH

SoCalCOSH’s work reaches some of the most marginalized communities—incarcerated workers, disabled workers, and low-wage employees in high risk industries across Los Angeles County, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. The organization trains workers on their rights, builds awareness of health and safety standards, and pushes for stronger laws and enforcement.

Behind the scenes, SoCalCOSH can focus on this mission thanks to its 20-year partnership with Community Partners, which serves as its fiscal sponsor. By handling grant management, compliance, and financial administration, Community Partners enables Belser and his team to direct their energy toward programs and advocacy.

“Running a nonprofit can be overwhelming, especially for people who don’t come from nonprofit management backgrounds,” Belser explains. “Community Partners has not only provided financial oversight but also offered leadership training, skill building, and professional development opportunities. Their support and resources make a huge difference.”

Coalition building is central to SoCalCOSH’s approach. Partnering with groups like the LA Alliance for a New Economy, Warehouse Workers Resource Center, Clean Carwash Campaign, and the LA Black Worker Center, the organization brings together workers, unions, academics, and advocates to address systemic issues and amplify worker voices.

Through these powerful coalitions, SoCalCOSH has strengthened protections, advanced new policies, and welcomed the voices of frontline workers in shaping the conditions that affect their lives. By combining worker empowerment, policy advocacy, and coalition building, the organization has not only improved workplace standards but also sparked a broader culture shift in how worker safety is understood.

The COVID-19 pandemic made the urgency of this work impossible to ignore. Health and safety in the workplace went from being overlooked to a public priority—yet funding and political will have not always kept pace. A recent example: SoCalCOSH helped lead a CDC/NIOSH-funded program supporting LA County Public Health Councils, designed to hold employers accountable for compliance. Just one year into the three-year research program, the current administration cut critical federal funding by $200,000.

“Programs like this save lives. We’ve made huge strides, but without resources, it’s hard to sustain culture change and enforcement.”

— Cipriano Belser, Co-Director, SoCalCOSH

Belser’s path into advocacy began in 2012 while working in the hospitality industry. After witnessing workplace abuses firsthand, he joined the LA Federation of Labor’s Organizing Academy, launching his career as a full-time labor advocate. Two years later, he moved into health and safety work, eventually stepping into leadership as SoCalCOSH’s Co-Director alongside Eddie Sanchez.

Though small—just seven employees—Belser describes his team as “small but mighty,” powered by both professional expertise and personal experience. Many staff members have family backgrounds in frontline labor, which fuels their drive to create safer workplaces.

As funding landscapes shift and workplace safety remains a pressing concern, Belser sees the fight for worker dignity as more critical than ever. For him, this work is not only about addressing today’s challenges but also about laying the foundation for a culture where safe jobs and respect for workers are non-negotiable standards.

 Learn more about the Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (SoCal COSH).