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News Release USDL 97-341
Monday, September 29, 1997
Contact: Frank Kane (202) 219-8151

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced $2 million in grants to four nonprofit organizations to conduct training programs on safety and health issues in residential construction.

More than 17,500 union and non-union residential contractors, subcontractors, supervisors and workers, as well as 700 OSHA compliance officers, will be trained under the programs.

Congress made the money available in the FY 1997 Department of Labor appropriation. The grantees were selected through a national competition open to all nonprofit organizations, except state and local governments.

"These programs will go a long way toward reducing injuries and illnesses in this very important sector of the construction industry," said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Gregory R. Watchman. He added that the training will supplement a soon-to-be published book on selected OSHA construction standards for the home building industry.

Many of the firms involved in residential construction are relatively small and lack the resources to develop and conduct effective safety and health programs, Watchman also said. The training programs will provide them with necessary assistance. The programs also will help OSHA compliance officers better understand the unique hazards of the residential construction industry and how to control and eliminate those hazards.

The recipients and the amounts they will receive are:

National Association of Home Builders Research Center, Inc, $900,000
The Center, in conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders, plans to conduct a comprehensive, national training and education program on residential construction safety for non-union residential contractors, subcontractors, their supervisors and their workers. A total of 10,000 nationwide will be trained.

Occupational Health Foundation, $700,000
The organization will train union residential contractors and subcontractors, their supervisors and their workers. The goal is to provide safety and health resources to the international union affiliates of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department in order to reduce the risks of occupational injuries and illnesses to members working in the residential construction sector. Objectives include: (1) training materials development and revision, reproduction and distribution; (2) outreach and recruitment; (3) training through union programs and jointly administered union-management apprenticeship and journey person training systems; and (4) performance evaluation. Eleven international unions are targeted for "train the trainer" programs. About 7,550 will be trained nationwide.

National Safety Council-Safety Institute and United Brotherhood of Carpenters Health & Safety Fund of North America, a total of $400,000
The two organizations will cooperate in developing and conducting a course specifically designed for OSHA compliance officers. The training course will focus on providing the officers with an understanding and awareness of job-site hazards, the procedures to control or eliminate the hazards and the specific OSHA standards that pertain to the home building industry.