OSHA awarded approximately $8 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 53 nonprofit organizations to administer safety and health training programs.
"Education and training are the cornerstone of reducing workplace injuries and illnesses," said Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman. "These grants provide valuable tools to protect America''s workers and promote a greater understanding of ways to avoid occupational risks."
The Harwood grants go to organizations that propose to educate workers and employers in small businesses; train workers and employers about new OSHA standards; or teach workers and employees about high risk activities or hazards either identified in OSHA''s strategic plan or as part of an OSHA special emphasis program.
"OSHA will assist nonprofit organizations that serve immigrant, contingent and other vulnerable workers, small business employers and employees, and workers in jobs with high-risk activities or hazards, such as the construction industry, to develop their safety and health capacity over a three-to-five year period," said OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress. "These Institutional Competency Building Grants are intended to develop ongoing safety and health training and service programs that will continue after the grant period ends."
A second category of grants, Strategic Plan Grants, assist non-profit organizations targeting specific hazards in construction, food processing and nursing homes.
In addition, a grant for $75,000 was awarded to a Small Business Development Center, as part of a pilot program OSHA is conducting for outreach in the small business community.
Thirty-three new grantees were selected through a national competition announced last March. The remaining 20 awards are extensions of existing grants for another year.
For a complete list of the new Harwood grantees, see OSHA''s Web site at www.osha.gov.
by Virginia Sutcliffe