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ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
Kansas City Area Office, Wage and Hour Division,
Kansas City District Office,
and the Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, Missouri
October 15, 2008
  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed

    June 29, 2007

    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 CAS OSHA
    Chely Scarbrough, Acting District Director, Wage and Hour, Kansas City District Office
    Deann Alvarado, Assistant District Director, Wage and Hour, Kansas City District Office
    Daniel Aguado Omelas, Consul of Protection Department, Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, MO
    Alma Haydee Alcántara, Coordinador, Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, MO

    Contributors

    Ann Fox, OSHA
    Mel McCrary, OSHA
    Jacalyn Wheeler, OSHA
    Noemi Hernandez, Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, MO

    Evaluation Period

    June 29, 2007 – June 29, 2008

     
  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    On June 29, 2007, during the signing of the partnership, the signatories discussed ways that the alliance could be implemented. This included the upcoming Back to School Event and the BiNational Health Week activities. Also during the signing of the alliance the employees at the Consulate shared some of the costumes used for festivals in Mexico. In addition, a local Hispanic television program (Univision Channel 48) interviewed the signatories regarding the alliance.
    Several informal telephone conversations have been held throughout the evaluation period as needed, as well as meetings to discuss innovative ways to broaden the Hispanic community awareness of safety and health.

     
  3. Events and Products

    Outreach and Communication
     
    • Events

      On August 16, 2007 the Kansas City Area Office participated in the Westside Community Action Network’s 6th Annual Back to School Pep Rally 2007. 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 500 Hispanic community families participated in the event.

      On October 19, 2007 the Kansas City Area Office participated in the BiNational Health Week providing bilingual information on safety and health (related to construction, fall protection, personal protective equipment) and injury prevention. This event held at the Consulate facility had approximately 100 participants during that day with approximately 14,000 participants during the complete week of activities.
      The Consulate provided assistance to the OSHA Kansas City Area Office in attaining information regarding the next of kin notification related to a fatality investigation.
       
    • 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.
      In addition, the Kansas City Area Office has provided bilingual publications and Spanish training videos to the Westside Community Network (WCAN Center), a day facility for Hispanics to come for employment opportunities.
    Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health
     
    • Products

      The Regional Office has been working with the Mexican Consulate to get a link to the OSHA web page on their web page.
       
  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
    6th Annual Back to School Pep Rally 2007 ~ 500 families
    BiNational Health Week ~ 100 participants
    Various printed publications and information unknown
    TOTAL ~ 600


  5. Upcoming Milestones

    On August 21, 2008 the Kansas City Area Office will participate in the Westside Community Action Network’s 7th Annual Back to School Pep Rally 2008.

    On October 6, 2008 the Consulate will present information regarding their policies and responsibilities to the Hispanic community and will put on a program which will include modeling many 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 will participate in a Hispanic Television program (Univision Channel 48) to provide information about OSHA to the Hispanic Community.

    On October 9, 2008 the Regional CAS plans to participate in the BiNational Health Week day event at the Consulate facility. Spanish publications will be available for the construction, landscaping, hotel and restaurant industries.

    The Regional CAS has begun and will continue 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.

    The Regional CAS has obtained a DVD, entitled "Safety Resources for the Construction Industry” which was produced in the OSHA Atlanta West Area Office and contains safety and health information in English and Spanish for computer access only. The Regional Office is working to convert the DVD so it can be used with TV/DVDs and plans to make it available to the Consulate.