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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8151
Result of FY 97 Congressional Appropriation
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced
$2 million in grants to four nonprofit organizations to conduct training
programs on safety and health issues in residential construction.
More than 17,500 union and non-union residential contractors,
subcontractors, supervisors and workers, as well as 700 OSHA compliance
officers, will be trained under the programs.
Congress made the money available in the FY 1997 Department of Labor
appropriation. The grantees were selected through a national competition open
to all nonprofit organizations, except state and local governments.
"These programs will go a long way toward reducing injuries and
illnesses in this very important sector of the construction industry," said
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Gregory
R. Watchman. He added that the training will supplement a soon-to-be published
book on selected OSHA construction standards for the home building industry.
Many of the firms involved in residential construction are relatively
small and lack the resources to develop and conduct effective safety and health
programs, Watchman also said. The training programs will provide them with
necessary assistance. The programs also will help OSHA compliance officers
better understand the unique hazards of the residential construction industry
and how to control and eliminate those hazards.
The recipients and the amounts they will receive are:
National Association of Home Builders Research Center, Inc.,
$900,000. The Center, in conjunction with the National Association of Home
Builders, plans to conduct a comprehensive, national training and education
program on residential construction safety for non-union residential
contractors, subcontractors, their supervisors and their workers. A total of
10,000 nationwide will be trained.
Occupational Health Foundation, $700,000. The organization will
train union residential contractors and subcontractors, their supervisors and
their workers. The goal is to provide safety and health resources to the
international union affiliates of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades
Department in order to reduce the risks of occupational injuries and illnesses
to members working in the residential construction sector. Objectives include:
(1) training materials development and revision, reproduction and distribution;
(2) outreach and recruitment; (3) training through union programs and jointly
administered union-management apprenticeship and journey person training
systems; and (4) performance evaluation. Eleven international unions are
targeted for "train the trainer" programs. About 7,550 will be trained
nationwide.
National Safety Council-Safety Institute and United Brotherhood of
Carpenters Health & Safety Fund of North America, a total of $400,000.
The two organizations will cooperate in developing and conducting a course
specifically designed for OSHA compliance officers. The training course will
focus on providing the officers with an understanding and awareness of job-site
hazards, the procedures to control or eliminate the hazards and the specific
OSHA standards that pertain to the home building industry. The text of this
news release is on the Internet World Wide Web at http://www.osha.gov.
Information on this news release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-219-8151.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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