Region 1 News Release: 09-157-BOS/BOS 2009-061
Mon., March 16, 2009
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
Phone: 617-565-2074

Tewksbury, Mass., post office once again deemed workplace safety and health star by U.S. Labor Department's OSHA
Site renewed for 5 years of additional participation in Voluntary Protection Programs

TEWKSBURY, Mass. - The U.S. Postal Service's Tewksbury post office has been recertified for an additional five years of participation in the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the star level, the program's highest.

"Employees and management at the Tewksbury post office are to be congratulated for their effective and ongoing investment in safety and health at their workplace," said Marthe Kent, OSHA's regional administrator in Boston. "Since the facility's approval as a VPP site in 2006, they have enhanced and sustained excellence in their safety and health management system, and maintained injury and illness rates well below the industry average."

The Tewksbury post office employs 52 workers with union representation by the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Rural Letter Carriers Association and the American Postal Workers Union. The site's VPP recertification came after an OSHA team's onsite visits that included a thorough review of its safety and health systems, interviews with employees and a complete tour of the site.

Among the site's areas of excellence are proactive efforts to identify and correct hazards to carriers encompassing community involvement, analysis of route hazards and implementation of a motor vehicle logbook system for vehicle safety.

The Tewksbury post office is one of more than 2,160 worksites in more than 270 industries nationwide, including 17 other U.S. Postal Service worksites in New England, that have earned entry into OSHA's VPP. Requirements include a high degree of management commitment and employee involvement; a high-quality worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control program; and comprehensive safety and health training for all employees. Each of these elements must be effective, in place and in operation for at least one year before a worksite can apply to join the VPP.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy 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.

###

U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.