Region 6 News Release: 13-1533-DAL
Aug. 7, 2013
Contact: Diana Petterson Juan Rodriguez
Phone: 972-850-4710 972-850-4709
Email: petterson.diana@dol.gov rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

US Labor Department's OSHA forms alliance with temporary employment
agency in San Antonio to train construction industry temporary workers

SAN ANTONIO – In an effort to protect temporary workers hired in the construction industry, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Marek Employment Management Co. in San Antonio signed an alliance today to provide workers with workplace safety training.

"Workplace hazards, such as falls, struck by, caught in between and electrical are commonplace in the construction industry and pose a risk to all workers, whether they've been on the job for one day or throughout the course of a project," said Kelly Knighton, OSHA's area director in San Antonio. "Workers must be safe, and this voluntary alliance provides temporary construction workers with much needed training, in English and Spanish, on recognizing construction hazards."

MEMCO is a customer-oriented staffing and payroll firm that provides services ranging from temporary workers to meet specific job needs to temporary-to-permanent employee management and payroll-related duties.

Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with businesses, trade associations, unions, consulates, professional organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, and educational institutions to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/index.html.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's San Antonio office at 210-472-5040.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille or CD from the COAST office upon request by calling 292-693-7828 or TTY 292-693-7755.