Alliance -- An OSHA Cooperative Program<< Back to Concluded Regional Alliances - Region V

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed.

    July 18, 2006 and re-signed August 21, 2008

    Alliance Overview.

    OSHA and BCTC formed an Alliance to provide Building and Construction Trade Council members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect employees’ health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing hazards, such as but not limited to falls and electrical, in the construction industry.

    Implementation Team Members.

    Scott Vaughn, Executive Director of the Building and Construction Trades of South Central Wisconsin
    Leslie Ptak, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Madison OSHA Office

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    Mr. Vaughn and the Madison CAS met on November 20, 2009 to discuss the alliance and potential projects between OSHA and the South Central Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council.

    A Construction Workforce Diversity Meeting was attended on December 4, 2009.

  3. Activities and Products

    Evaluation Period.

    January 9, 2009 through April 29, 2010.

    Alliance Activity.

    The compliance assistance specialist and the Appleton Area Director attended and presented on union workers’ rights at the AFL-CIO Biennial Apprenticeship conference in Green Bay (January 26, 2009).

    As a result of this alliance, the Madison OSHA office networks with two organizations that are supported by the Building and Construction Trades Council. These are the YWCA and START (Skilled Trades Apprenticeship Readiness Training) programs. Both aim to get young people and non-traditional students into apprenticeships in the building and construction trades. In the reporting period, the OSHA CAS gave two three-hour presentations to YWCA classes (January 28, 2009 and April 20, 2010) and three three-hour classes to START classes (May 11, 2009, June 22, 2009 and October 19, 2009). Each session consisted of information about workers’ rights and construction focus four hazards.

    The Madison OSHA office construction inspection team attended the weekly meeting of the Building and Construction Trades Council to better acquaint the union representatives with the OSHA staffers that serve the industry (January 13, 2010).

    The Madison OSHA CAS assembled a steering committee to make arrangements for a series of construction breakfasts in Madison. The steering committee consisted safety professionals from a variety of contractors headquartered in the Madison area and Scott Vaughn, Executive Director of the South Central Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council. The result of this initiative was four presentations (topics selected by the steering committee) given on February 23, March 18, April 20 and May 25 in 2010. We expect this effort to continue in September 2010. Meetings to discuss and prepare the breakfasts were held on December 1, 2009 and January 27, 2010.

    The CAS manned an informational booth at the Building and Construction Trades Council sponsored Careers in Construction event on March 10, 2010.

    The CAS presented on union members’ OSHA rights to the Operating Engineers, Local 139 in Madison on January 19, 2010.

    The CAS presented on union members’ OSHA rights at the United Way building in Onalaska, WI on April 8, 2010.

    The CAS presented on union members’ OSHA rights at Madison College to electrical apprentices in Madison, WI on April 22, 2010.

    The CAS presented on union members’ OSHA rights at the Wood County Central Labor Council meeting in Wisconsin Rapids, WI on April 23, 2010.

    Alliance Products.
     
    • No products have been produced as a result of this alliance.
  4. Results
     
    Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals
    Reached or Trained
    AFL-CIO Biennial Apprenticeship conference 100
    YWCA and START 120
    Construction breakfasts 170
    Careers in Construction event 1000
    Union workers’ rights sessions 70
    TOTAL 1460

    Report Prepared by: Leslie Ptak, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Madison OSHA Office

    For more information, contact the Office of Outreach Services and Alliances at 202-693-2340 or go to OSHA's website.