Some of the nation''s most vulnerable workers stand to benefit the most from the latest round of training grants awarded by OSHA.
In all, 19 nonprofit organizations will share more than $4.8 million to develop and deliver safety and health training programs for immigrant and contingent workers, small business employers and employees, and workers in high-risk jobs such as construction.
"The most at risk of injury, illness or death on the job must be given the tools they need to protect themselves," said Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman. "These grants are an excellent investment, providing training in the first year to more than 22,000 workers and small business owners across the country."
The 19 new grantees include four universities or colleges, six employers associations and non-profit organizations representing forest, nursing, construction and solid waste industries, seven unions and two labor-management councils.
"One of my top priorities has been the expansion of OSHA''s outreach and education capabilities," said OSHA Administrator Charles Jeffress. "These grants enable us to work with many partners to greatly increase the number of workers the agency can reach, especially those workers most in need of training and education to protect themselves against safety and health hazards on the job."
The new grantees were selected through a national competition announced last August.
OSHA asked applicants to submit grant proposals to establish or expand their safety and health training and education capacity over a three-to-five year period.
Grant recipients are expected to serve clients nationally or in multiple states.
The grants may be funded for up to five years with an average first-year federal award of $250,000.
The training grants are named in honor of the late Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA''s health standards directorate, who died in 1996.
During her 17-year tenure with the agency, Harwood helped develop OSHA standards to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.
A complete listing of grantees with details on their training proposals is available on the agency''s Web site at www.osha.gov.
by Virginia Sutcliffe