News Release
Department of Labor, Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center align to support safer, healthier workplaces
WILKES-BARRE, PA - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an alliance between its Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center that will promote workplace safety and health and educate Northeast Pennsylvania’s industrial employers and workers.
The alliance will focus on reducing and preventing exposure to industrial and manufacturing hazards, such as amputations, struck-by injuries, falls, electrocution and being caught in or between machinery and forklifts. It will also address existing and new trends in industrial safety and health and support the protection of workers’ rights and educate employers about their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
“This alliance will address hazards that have contributed to thousands of worker injuries and fatalities,” said OSHA’s Area Director Mary Reynolds in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. “Our partnership with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Resource Center will help ensure that people employed by Northeast Pennsylvania’s industrial manufacturers have safe and healthy working conditions.”
NEPIRC is a not-for-profit technical assistance firm that provides assessment, performance evaluation, training and consultative services to small and mid-sized manufacturers in northeast and central Pennsylvania.
OSHA’s Alliance Program works with groups committed to worker safety and health to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. These groups include unions, consulates, trade or professional organizations, businesses, faith and community-based organizations, and educational institutions. OSHA and the groups work together to develop compliance assistance tools and resources, share information with workers and employers, and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities.
First row (l-r) : Jeffrey Ritter, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist, Wilkes-Barre Area Office; Mary Reynolds, Area Director, OSHA Wilkes-Barre Area Office; Eric Joseph Esoda, President & CEO, NEPIRC; Anna Rinaldi, Human Resources Manager, SIMONA AMERICA Industries
Second row: Brian Matyjevich, Lean Enterprise Consultant & Authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer, NEPIRC; Dustin Levy, Vice President, Gentex Corp.; K. Alan Holbrook, North American Engineering Manager, Mitsubishi Chemical Group; Rikki Riegner, Executive Director, PA MEP; Garry Hartman, President, Cheetah Chassis Corp.; and Drew Mackie, EVP & CFO, NEPIRC.
