New Alliance Aims to Improve Mass. Workplace Safety

Providing the Bay State’s vocational education students and their teachers with training to recognize and prevent workplace hazards is the goal of a newly-signed alliance among the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety (MDOS), the Massachusetts Department of Education (MDOE), the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA), the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers (MFT) and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA).

OSHA health and safety alliances are part of U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao’s ongoing efforts to improve the health and safety of workers through cooperative partnerships.

Alliance members will work together to develop training and education programs for Massachusetts vocational-technical education students and educators regarding workplace safety and health hazards. This will include delivery of OSHA’s “train the trainer” courses on construction and general industry safety.

Each school with a certified trainer will conduct at least one 10-hour course for students each year for which staff from OSHA’s three Massachusetts area offices will provide assistance. Successful completion of the course will reportedly allow students to enter the work world with practical knowledge and skills to help ensure a safe and healthful work experience.

Members of the alliance will also share best practices and effective approaches among themselves and with industry safety and health professionals and they will publicize the results through outreach activities. Participants will also be encouraged to take part in OSHA’s cooperative programs, including compliance assistance, the safety consultation program, the Voluntary Protection Programs and the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has created more than 325 alliances with organizations committed to fostering safety and health in the workplace.