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ALLIANCE CLOSE-OUT REPORT

Kansas City Area Office, Wage and Hour Division, Kansas City District
Office, and the Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, Missouri

October 14, 2009
  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed:

    June 29, 2007

    Allaince Overview

    The Parties intend to establish a collaborative relationship to provide information, guidance, and access to training resources that is expected to help protect employees’ health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing exposure to falls, noise and other safety hazards. The intention of this relationship is also to provide education on labor issues, such as minimum wages and proper overtime compensation.

    Implementation Team Members

    Jean Williams, Assistant Area Director, OSHA-KCAO
    Elizabeth Morales, Regional Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Manager, OSHA-KCRO
    Tricia Preston, Assistant District Director, Kansas City District Office, Wage and Hour Division
    Adam Huggins, Supervisor, Kansas City District Office, Wage and Hour Division
    Daniel Aguado Omelas, Consul of Protection Department, Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, MO

    Contributors - Ann Fox and Mel McCray, OSHA- KCAO

    Evaluation Period

    June 30, 2008 – June 29, 2009
     
  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    Although there have been no formal meetings, several informal telephone conversations with some of the parties have been held throughout the evaluation period to discuss innovative ways to broaden the Hispanic community awareness of safety and health.
     
  3. Activities and Products

    Alliance Activity

    Outreach and Communication
     
    • On August 21, 2008, the Kansas City Area Office participated in the Westside Community Action Network’s 7th Annual Back to School Pep Rally 2008. The Area Office provided safety and health publications and information in English and Spanish on construction hazards and injury/illness prevention, as well as toy hard hats and safety and health stickers for the children. Approximately 1000 Hispanic community families participated in the event.
    • On October 6, 2008, the Consulate presented information regarding their policies and responsibilities to the Hispanic community and included the modeling of their costumes used for festivals in Mexico.
    • On October 6, 2008, the Consulate and OSHA personnel from the Regional and Kansas City Area Offices participated in a Hispanic Television program (Univision Channel 48) to provide information about OSHA to the Hispanic Community. The taped program was aired three times shortly after the taping. The program has been rebroadcasted in January and April 2009. It is reported that the television station reaches an estimate of 200,000 individuals.
    • On October 9, 2008, the Kansas City Regional Office participated in the BiNational Health Week providing bilingual information on safety and health related to construction, landscaping and hotel and restaurant industries. This event held at the Consulate facility had approximately 200 participants during that day with approximately 14,000 participants during the complete week of activities.
    • On October 11, 2008, the OSHA Wichita Area Office and Kansas City District Office, Wage and Hour Division personnel participated in the Café Con Leche – 2008 Hispanic Health and Safety Fair and Bike Rodeo in Wichita, KS. Over 700 attended the event.
    • On March 1, 2009, OSHA Regional Office and a Wage and Hour Investigator from the Kansas City District Office participated in a Super X Radio Station 1250 AM “Spanish” talk and call-in program in Kansas City, KS. It is estimated that there are over 15,000 listeners to the program.
    • On April 26, 2009, the Kansas City District Office, Wage and Hour Division personnel attended the Mexican Consulate Child Safety and Bike Rodeo. Over 500 attendees where at the event.
    • A Regional VPP Manager has began and continues to work with the Protection Department at the Mexican Consulate to provide OSHA and other safety and health brochures and information for their Hispanic customers while they are waiting to receive services and legal advice. The Consulate will be sending OSHA their brochures with information in English/Spanish related to the Mexican Consulate services for OSHA to have available for distribution.
    • A Regional VPP Manager obtained a DVD, entitled "Safety Resources for the Construction Industry" produced in the OSHA Atlanta West Area Office. The DVD contains safety and health information in English and Spanish. The Regional Office converted the DVD so it can be used with TV/DVDs and provided it to the Consulate.
       
    Alliance Products

    • No new products were developed, however, many OSHA and Wage and Hour bilingual publications have been provided to the Mexican Consulate to be placed in their waiting area during this evaluation period and for their mobile consulates.
    • In addition, the Kansas City Regional and Area Offices have provided bilingual publications and Spanish training videos to the Westside Community Network (WCAN Center), The WCAN Center is a day facility in Kansas City, MO where Hispanic workers meet to seek employment.
       
  4. Results

    During this evaluation period, the alliance has brought together the signatory groups as well as other community organizations that interact with the Hispanic population in the greater Kansas City area. In January 2008, the OSHA Region VII office employed a Compliance Assistance Specialist (CAS) who speaks Spanish and has been a valuable member of the Implementation Team. Please reference the "Upcoming Milestones" section below.
     
    Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
    7th Annual Back to School Pep Rally 2008-exhibit booth ~1000 families
    Hispanic Television Broadcast-program aired several times from a 10/6/08 taping Potential impact to 200,000
    KC Consulate BiNational Health Week event-exhibit ~200
    Hispanic Health and Safety Fair in Wichita, KS Over 700
    Super X Radio Station 1250 AM talk and call-in program in KC, KS Potential impact to 15,000
    Participation in the Consulate Child Safety and Bike Rodeo Over 500
       
    TOTAL ~216,900 potentially impacted

  5. Upcoming Milestones

    The Alliance ended on June 29, 2009. Prior to that date, a renewal was discussed. Since the Kansas City Mexican Consulate serves both the states of Missouri and Kansas, a decision was made to end the current Alliance with the Consulate, the OSHA Kansas City Area Office and Kansas City District Office for Wage and Hour and form a new alliance with the Kansas City Mexican Consulate. This alliance will include the OSHA Kansas City, St. Louis, and Wichita Area Offices and the Kansas City and St. Louis District Wage and Hour Offices. The draft alliance document has been submitted to OSHA National Office and is in the review process. Under the new alliance the area offices will be able to support the mobile Consulate locations throughout Missouri and Kansas. In addition to this support for the mobile Consulate, the area offices plan to support the 8th Annual Westside Community Action Network's Back to School Pep Rally for 2009 and the BiNational Health Week events scheduled in October 2009 in Kansas City and Wichita.
     
Report Prepared by: Jacalyn Wheeler, Region VII Program Analyst

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