U.S. Department of Labor | ||||||
Occupational Safety & Health Administration |
OSHA News Release
2004 - 03/24/2004 - OSHA and Latin American Workers Project Form NYC Alliance to Promote Workplace Safety and Health for Hispanic Day Laborers |
OSHA News Release - Table of Contents |
Region 3 News Release: 04-423-NEW/BOS 2004-063 Wednesday, March 24, 2004 Contact: John M. Chavez Office: (617) 565-2075 OSHA and Latin American Workers Project Form NYC Alliance to Promote Workplace Safety and Health for Hispanic Day Laborers NEW YORK -- Improving workplace safety and health for Hispanic day laborers in New York City is the goal of a new alliance between the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Latin American Workers Project, Inc., (LAWP) based in Brooklyn. OSHA health and safety alliances are part of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao's ongoing efforts to improve the health and safety of workers through cooperative partnerships. "This alliance is aimed at fostering a culture of workplace safety and health for Hispanic day laborers, especially those working in the construction industry," said Patricia K. Clark, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "Outreach efforts like this one are a major reason that workplace fatalities for Hispanic workers dropped six percent in 2002 after rising every year since 1995." The alliance will formalize an ongoing relationship between OSHA's Manhattan area office and the LAWP, and will provide training in Spanish on workplace hazards in the construction industry, such as falls and electrical and excavation hazards. The training will be provided at LAWP's shape-up tent in Bayridge, Brooklyn, where the workers organize. There, OSHA staff will also provide the workers with OSHA publications in Spanish. "This is a great opportunity for OSHA staff to meet one-on-one with these workers and give them information, in their own language, about specific questions on workplace safety they may have," said Richard Mendelson, OSHA's Manhattan area director. "We are providing publications in Spanish so that the workers who attend can share this information with others who might not be able to come to these voluntary sessions." The mission of the Latin American Workers Project is to secure better living and working conditions and respect for the labor and civil rights of immigrants. The organization offers assistance to immigrants in a variety of ways. Day laborer centers have been organized to remove the workers from the street corners into job centers. The job centers assist the workers in procuring better wages and also provide classes in English, occupational health, leadership workshops, vocational training and more. Signatories to the alliance for OSHA included Clark and Mendelson. Oscar Paredes, Director for the LAWP, signed on behalf of the organization. Since 2001, the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has created more than 160 alliances with organizations committed to fostering safety and health in the workplace. OSHA is dedicated to saving lives, preventing injuries and illnesses and protecting the health and safety of American workers. For more information, visit www.osha.gov. # # #
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OSHA News Release - Table of Contents |
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