OSHA forms alliance with the Louisiana Forestry Association and the Louisiana Logging Council in Baton Rouge

From left to right: Charles A. Vandersteen, executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association; Dorinda Folse, OSHA's area director in Baton Rouge; and Johnny Jenkins II, president of the Louisiana Logging Council.

Participants: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration signed a two-year alliance on Jan. 23, 2015, with the Louisiana Forestry Association and its logging contractors, the Louisiana Logging Council.

Description: The alliance, which includes some 200 logging employers, will provide safety and health programs to protect Louisiana logging workers from industry hazards such as amputation, sprains and cuts through training and outreach programs.

Through the Alliance Program, OSHA works with businesses, trade associations, unions, consulates, professional organizations, faith-and community-based organizations, and educational institutions to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/index.html.

For more information about this alliance or partnering with OSHA's Baton Rouge Area Office, call 225-298-5458.

Quotes: "When we first started working with the logging industry in the late 1990s, we were seeing more logging fatalities — Louisiana was averaging one every two months. Compare that to last year, when we saw one for the entire year," said Dorinda Folse, OSHA's area director in Baton Rouge. "Transitioning to a formal alliance will let us build on the work already being done to reduce deaths, and to work as a group to provide training that helps to keep these loggers safe."