News Brief
US Department of Labor, Safety Council of Greater St. Louis sign alliance to train employers, workers on common hazards
Who: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Safety Council of Greater St. Louis
What: Workplace safety and health alliance
Background: OSHA Area Director Bill McDonald in St. Louis and Executive Director of the Safety Council of Greater St. Louis Mary Beth Proost signed an alliance to promote workplace safety and health topics among council members focused on general industry, construction and agriculture.
This alliance will provide safety council members access to training resources that will aid in the protection of workers by reducing or preventing exposure to workplace hazards and establishing an illness and injury prevention program.
The alliance will encourage employee participation in workplace safety and health by developing a sample policy for employers focused on encouraging worker engagement in hazard identification and developing a best practices document for training and engaging workers on hazard identification and control. The alliance will also encourage Safety Council of Greater St. Louis stakeholders to build relationships with OSHA’s regional and area offices to address health and safety issues, including fall prevention, workplace mental health awareness and heat illness prevention.
During the two-year alliance members will also share information on OSHA campaigns to encourage workplace safety facilitating an understanding of workers’ rights and employees’ responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
The OSHA Alliance Program enables organizations to enter voluntarily into a cooperative relationship to raise awareness of OSHA’s initiatives, outreach, communications, training and education.
Quote: “This alliance will promote the development of comprehensive safety and health programs for members of the Safety Council of Greater St. Louis and increase access to training resources while focusing on hazards such as falls and heat illness prevention as well as increasing awareness of workplace mental health,” explained OSHA Area Director Bill McDonald in St. Louis. “Alliance agreements provide a collaborative framework for using industry and professional resources to ensure workplaces are safe for everyone involved.”
