Diane Bush

dbush@berkeley.edu

What would you put in a 30-second video to get teens thinking about job safety and job rights?  That's what student contestants in California's Safe Jobs for Youth Month Video PSA contest had to think about this year.  The contest, now in its third year, is coordinated by U.C. Berkeley's Labor Occupational Health Program on behalf of the California Partnership for Young Worker Health and Safety.  This statewide coalition of government agencies and educator, parent, labor, and employer organizations works together to find ways to keep California's working teens safe on the job.

Students throughout California were invited to develop a 30-second video that promotes young worker health and safety, through a mailing to California's 1,000 high schools.  Participants were given ideas for key messages:  "Make sure you know your rights on the job."  "Learn to recognize hazards, and speak up when you see something wrong."  "If you don't know how to do the job, ask for help."  "Employers are responsible for providing a safety workplace, and safety training."  Thirty-two students or teams of students submitted entries to the contest; the top 12 entries were shown in several high school classrooms, and based on student input from these classes, three winners were selected.  Students liked the PSAs that felt very professional, were funny, but still had a sense of teen voice -- all of which the winning PSA achieved, through a combination of animation and teen spokespeople.  The winning PSA will be shown in movie theaters in several media markets, funded by the California Department of Industrial Relations. All of the winners also received cash prizes.  The contest itself was funded by the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation.  To view the winning videos, go to: www.youngworkers.org.