Region 7 News Release: 09-386-KAN
April 14, 2009
Contact: Jeremy Eggers
Phone: 303-844-1299

U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA announces alliance with St. Patrick Center's BEGIN Center in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) St. Louis Area Office and the St. Patrick Center's BEGIN Center, St. Louis, have formed an alliance to provide information, guidance and access to training resources for the center's clients and start-up businesses.

Under this alliance, OSHA will provide expertise to develop training and education programs, deliver or arrange for the delivery of basic hazard recognition and/or OSHA 10-hour courses, and provide expertise to develop workplace safety and health curricula.

"This cooperative alliance clearly illustrates OSHA's and the St. Patrick Center's commitment to prevention education for emerging workers and budding entrepreneurs," said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "Cooperation between OSHA and the BEGIN Center will promote new ideas and opportunities to assist workers and employers in understanding their workplace safety and health rights and responsibilities."

BEGIN stands for: "Businesses. Employment. Growth. Incomes. Neighborhoods." The acronym ties into the center's mission to provide opportunities for self-sufficiency and dignity to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Individuals achieve permanent, positive changes in their lives through affordable housing, sound mental health, employment and financial stability.

For more information about this alliance, call OSHA's St. Louis Area Office at 314-425-4249.

OSHA alliances are part of the agency's ongoing efforts to improve the safety and health of workers through cooperative partnerships with trade associations, labor organizations, employers and government agencies. OSHA has more than 470 alliances throughout the nation with organizations committed to fostering safety and health in the workplace.

OSHA's alliances provide organizations an opportunity to participate in a voluntary, cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as training and education, outreach and communication, and promoting a national dialogue on workplace safety and health. These alliances are valuable tools for both OSHA and its alliance participants.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

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