Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation
Information Bulletin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
August 27, 2001 Christine Baker
(415) 703-4220

Tom Rankin and Kristen Schwenkmeyer Reappointed to the
California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation

SAN FRANCISCO --  The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) is pleased to announce that Tom Rankin and Kristen Schwenkmeyer were reappointed to CHSWC for terms ending December 31, 2004. The appointments were made by the Senate Rules Committee chaired by John L. Burton.

Tom Rankin, President of the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO will represent organized labor and Kristen Schwenkmeyer of Gordon and Schwenkmeyer will represent employers. Commissioners Rankin and Schwenkmeyer have served on CHSWC since its inception in 1994.

Tom Rankin is the President of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. For many years, Mr. Rankin also served as the labor member on the Governing Committee of the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, which recommends policy premium rates to the state insurance commissioner. Mr. Rankin's previous employment was as a union representative and organizer. Mr. Rankin received his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kristen Schwenkmeyer is Secretary-Treasurer of Gordon and Schwenkmeyer, a telemarketing firm. Prior to her current position, she was Political Director of the California Democratic Party from 1983-1985. Previously, she has served as staff aide to Supervisory Ralph Clark of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and Senator John Glenn in Washington DC. Kristen Schwenkmeyer received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The Commission, created by the workers' compensation reform legislation of 1993, is charged with overseeing the health and safety and workers' compensation systems in California and recommending administrative or legislative modifications to improve their operation. The Commission was established to conduct a continuing examination of the workers' compensation system and of the state's activities to prevent industrial injuries and occupational diseases and to examine those programs in other states.

Information about the Commission is available by writing to Christine Baker, Executive Officer, Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Tenth Floor, San Francisco, California 94102 or by calling (415) 703-4220. Information is also available through the Department of Industrial Relations' web site at www.dir.ca.gov.

###