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American Apparel and Footwear Association > Alliance Annual Report	Printing Instructions
ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) August 10, 2004
I. Alliance Background Date Signed February 14, 2003 Overview The OSHA/AAFA Alliance focuses on promoting safe and healthful working conditions for the apparel and footwear industry by providing AAFA members with information and guidance that will help them protect employees' health and safety, particularly in reducing exposure to ergonomic hazards: This agreement also addresses a number of goals including: Training and Education Develop and deliver training and education programs on ergonomics issues and cross-training OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals. Outreach and Communication Share information and disseminate guidance, especially on the AAFA and OSHA Web sites, and include disseminating information in applicable foreign languages. Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Share best practices, as agreed upon by OSHA and AAFA, and encourage AAFA members to act as industry liaisons and resources for OSHA's cooperative programs and Compliance Assistance Specialists. Implementation Team Members   AAFA:   Michael Della Mea Steve Jesseph Carey McCombie Rachel Subler Manager, Risk Management, Security and Workers’ Compensation, Sara Lee Corporation Executive Director, Global Workplace Values and Safety, Sara Lee Corporation Government Relations Assistant Manager Government Relations and Communications (Until January 2004)     OSHA:   Lisa Ramber Beth Sherfy Brett Besser Cathy Cronin Brently Donaldson Adrienne Huey Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC) Office of Training and Education (OTE) OTE Region IX     Contributors       Travis Hannan Program Support Division, SLTC Evaluation Period February 14, 2003 – February 13, 2004 II. Implementation Team Meetings   April 17, 2003 May 5, 2003 January 9, 2004 February 11, 2004 Kick-off meeting Team Meeting Team Meeting Team Meeting III. Activities and Products Training and Education The implementation team agreed to develop a training program to promote the new ergonomics manual to the apparel industry when it is finalized and conduct the program during the second year of the Alliance. Outreach and Communication Events: AAFA Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 11, 2003 Steven Jesseph, Executive Director, Global Workplace Values and Safety, Sara Lee Corporation, provided an update to the AAFA Government Contracting Committee on the OSHA-AAFA Alliance. AAFA Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA , June 12, 2003 Frank Strasheim, Regional Administrator, and Adrienne Huey, of OSHA Region IX delivered a presentation entitled "OSHA Alliances and Partnerships with the Apparel Industry" to the AAFA Social Responsibility Committee. OSHA Second Annual Compliance Assistance Conference, Tysons Corner Marriott, Vienna, VA AAFA exhibited during the conference, June 9-13, 2003. Products: OSHA and AAFA Alliance Web Page The OSHA and AAFA Alliance Web page on OSHA’s Web site contains information on the Alliance, products and resources, activities and events, and milestones and successes. The page is updated regularly. February 14, 2003 – OSHA distributed a news release announcing the Alliance. February 14, 2003 – AAFA distributed a press release announcing the Alliance. February 20, 2003 – Occupational Safety and Health Reporter publishes article on OSHA-AAFA Alliance entitled, "OSHA, Apparel Association Sign Alliance To Reduce Ergonomic Injuries in Industry." April 1, 2003 – Industrial Safety and Hygiene News published an article on the OSHA-AAFA Alliance entitled, "OSHA racks up another alliance." AAFA added a page to its Web site to that features information on the OSHA-AAFA Alliance. Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Products: The OSHA-AAFA Alliance Implementation Team is developing an ergonomics manual for the apparel industry. Sara Lee provided several documents, including an ergonomics program used by Sara Lee Sportswear, the Sara Lee Knit Products (SLKP) Ergonomics Program: Management Guidelines, the SLKP Distribution Supervisor’s Guide to Basic Ergonomics and the SLKP Apparel Supervisor’s Guide to Basic Ergonomics. After reviewing the Sara Lee information, the team decided to develop generic apparel and footwear industry supervisors’ guide and then modify it for different audiences within the industry by customizing it with photographs. IV. Results Through the Alliance, OSHA and AAFA increased communication between the organizations and awareness of the compliance assistance resources and programs that are offered by both organizations. The association demonstrated that the organization is committed to providing ongoing support to OSHA offices and personnel by supplying information and resources as requested by the Agency; including sample ergonomics manuals from Sara Lee Corporation, one of its members, that is forming the basis for an ergonomics manual for the apparel industry. Speaking and exhibiting opportunities are invaluable to both organizations as was proven in 2003. Alliance Implementation Team members from both OSHA and AAFA participated in AAFA’s Annual Conference in June 2003 in San Francisco, CA. Frank Strasheim, Regional Administrator, and Adrienne Huey, Occupational Safety & Health Manager, OSHA Region IX, spoke to the AAFA Social Responsibility Committee about OSHA’s cooperative programs, highlighting National and Regional Alliances and Strategic Partnerships with the apparel industry. Steve Jesseph, Executive Director, Global Workplace Values and Safety, Sara Lee Corporation, provided information on the OSHA-AAFA Alliance to the AAFA Government Contracting Committee. In addition, AAFA’s participation at the Second Annual OSHA Compliance Assistance Conference in June 2003 showed that the association is willing to meet OSHA representatives and be available to talk frankly about safety and health issues in the apparel and footwear industry.   Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained AAFA Annual Conference, AAFA Government Contracting Committee, San Francisco, CA, June 11, 2004. AAFA Speaker: Steve Jesseph, Executive Director, Global Workplace Values and Safety, Sara Lee Corporation 175 AAFA Annual Conference, AAFA Social Responsibility Committee, San Francisco, CA, June 12, 2004 OSHA Speakers: Frank Strasheim, Regional Administrator, and Adrienne Huey, Occupational Safety and Health Manager, Region IX 22 Second Annual OSHA Compliance Assistance Conference, Tysons Corner Marriott, Vienna, VA, June 9-13, 2003 AAFA Exhibited 200 February 14, 2003 – launched OSHA-AAFA Alliance Web site 4,000 February 14, 2003 – OHA press release announcing Alliance 25 News Services February 20, 2003 – Occupational Safety and Health Report publishes article on the OSHA-AAFA Alliance, entitled "OSHA, Apparel Association Sign Alliance to Reduce Ergonomic Injuries in Industry."   April 1, 2003 – Industrial Safety and Hygiene news published an article on the OSHA-AAFA Alliance entitled, "OSHA racks up another alliance."   February 14, 2003 – AAFA press release announcing Alliance More than 200 News Services AAFA Web site – Links to OSHA’s Alliance and Ergonomics Web pages   TOTAL   IV. Upcoming Milestones Both organizations are committed to continuing to leverage resources and provide information to improve the safety and health of the workplace. Upcoming milestones for the OSHA and AAFA Alliance include finalizing an ergonomics manual for the apparel and footwear industry in the fall of 2004. The implementation team agreed that the manual will be targeted to supervisors. However, it can be modified for different audiences within the industry by customizing it with photographs. After AAFA’s ergonomics manual is completed the implementation team will develop an outreach strategy for promoting the guide. The team has discussed a training program involving a series of joint OSHA/AAFA meetings around the country in such areas as New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; Texas and North Carolina where there are concentrations of apparel companies. The training program would be available to both AAFA members and OSHA representatives. In the upcoming year, AAFA agreed to identify members to serve on the editorial boards of OSHA’s eTools and Safety and Health Topics pages. OSHA’s ergonomics eTool for the Sewing Industry and the Textiles Safety and Health Topics pages are examples of resources that would benefit from AAFA’s expertise. Report prepared by: Elizabeth Sherfy, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, August 10, 2004

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