AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
U.S. POULTRY & EGG ASSOCIATION
AND
NATIONAL CHICKEN COUNCIL
AND
NATIONAL TURKEY FEDERATION

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council, and the National Turkey Federation (“Poultry Industry Alliance Participants”) 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 the Poultry Industry Alliance Participants hereby form an Alliance to provide Poultry Industry Alliance Participants’ members and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers by reducing and preventing exposures related to peracetic acid, repetitive trauma injuries, and other prevalent chemical and physical hazards in the poultry industry. Alliance participants will also work to ensure that Poultry Industry Alliance Participants’ members and others understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance’s activities. Alliance participants will summarize specific activities and timeframes for completion in a written work plan.

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 workplace surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health. In developing this Alliance, OSHA and the Poultry Industry Alliance Participants recognize that OSHA’s State Plan and On-Site Consultation Program partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort to ensure that employers provide safe and healthy workplaces, 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 on OSHA's National/Regional/Local Initiatives (Emphasis Programs, Regulatory Agenda, Outreach), and opportunities to participate in initiatives and the rulemaking process.
• Develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, root cause analysis procedures for amputations, and medical management. Develop ways of communicating such information (e.g., print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, and the OSHA and the Poultry Industry Alliance Participants’ websites) to employers and workers in the poultry industry.
• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and the Poultry Industry Alliance Participants’ conferences, local meetings, or other co-sponsored events.
• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, stakeholder meetings, or other activities that highlight injury, illness, and fatality data. The goal of this effort is to reduce hazards in the poultry industry and to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace.
• Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding the Poultry Industry Alliance Participants’ best practices and effective approaches through outreach materials, training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).

Training and Education

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

• Develop effective training and education programs for the poultry industry regarding peracetic acid, repetitive trauma injuries, and other chemical and physical hazards in the poultry industry, and communicate such information to constituent employers and workers.
• Deliver or arrange for the delivery of poultry industry safety and health training courses

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, share information on activities, and track results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, Directorate of Enforcement Programs, Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, Region 4, Region 6, and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage State Plans’ and OSHA On-Site Consultation programs’ participation on the team.

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

Signed this 4th day of September, 2019.