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UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

AGREEMENT
ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
THE NORTH AMERICAN MEAT INSTITUTE

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) (together the organizations) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA and NAMI hereby form an Alliance to provide NAMI’s members, workplace safety and health professionals, the meatpacking and processing workforce, and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers by reducing and preventing exposure to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), and understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance’s activities. Alliance participants also agree to meet the requirements for program participation laid out in the “Fundamental Requirements for OSHA Alliance Program Participants” and the “Guidelines for OSHA’s Alliance Program Participants: Alliance Products and Other Alliance Projects.”

Through the Alliance, the organizations will use available injury, illness, and hazard exposure data, when appropriate, to help identify areas of emphasis for Alliance awareness, outreach, and communication activities. The Alliance will also explore and implement selected options, including but not limited to member surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health. In developing this Alliance, OSHA and NAMI recognize that OSHA’s State Plan and On-Site Consultation Program partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort, and that information about the products and activities of the Alliance may be shared with these partners for the advancement of common goals.

Raising Awareness: Outreach and Communication

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals (e.g., via regular teleconferences and online communication tools) regarding potential exposure to COVID-19 and the challenges for exposure control in meat packing and processing facilities.
• Develop information on the recognition of COVID-19 transmission risks and best practices on preventing such transmission, and disseminate these resources (e.g., via print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, and OSHA and the NAMI websites) to employers and workers in the industry.
• Conduct outreach through joint forums, roundtable discussions, stakeholder meetings, webinars, or other formats on OSHA guidance and NAMI’s good practices or effective approaches for preventing COVID-19 transmission in meat packing and processing facilities.
• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and NAMI conferences, local meetings, and other events regarding good practices and available resources for preventing COVID-19 transmission.
• Encourage NAMI members and other industry stakeholders to build relationships with OSHA's Regional and Area Offices and State Plans, and to utilize OSHA's On-Site Consultation Program to improve health and safety and prevent COVID-19 transmission in meat packing and processing facilities.

OSHA’s Alliances provide organizations an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as raising awareness of OSHA’s initiatives, outreach, communication, training, and education. These Alliances have proven to be valuable tools for both OSHA and Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with an organization, OSHA is not endorsing or promoting, nor does it intend to endorse or promote, any of that organization’s products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet one to two times per year to discuss the responsibilities of the participants, to share information on activities, and to track results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, the Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, and the Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs, as well as labor liaisons, compliance assistance specialists, and other representatives from the Regions, including 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. OSHA will also encourage State Plan and OSHA On-Site Consultation programs’ participation in the Alliance.

This agreement will remain in effect for two years. Either signatory may terminate it at any time, provided they give 30 days’ written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the written concurrence of both signatories.

Signed this 29th day of July, 2020.