AGREEMENT RENEWING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE WILKES-BARRE AREA OFFICE OF
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA INDUSTRIAL RESOURCE CENTER (NEPIRC)

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Wilkes-Barre Area Office and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) continue to recognize the value of maintaining a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA and NEPIRC hereby renew the Alliance signed July 1, 2023, with a continued emphasis on reducing and preventing exposure to emerging general industry hazards and addressing hazard recognition and control programs, injury and illness prevention programs, effective safety training issues. Specifically, both organizations are committed to providing NEPIRC stakeholders and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers and understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). Through the Alliance, the organizations will continue to address the wide range of Industrial and Manufacturing hazards such as machine guarding, lockout/tagout, electrical, hazard communication, forklifts, ladders, and walking/working surfaces hazards (slips, trips and falls).

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 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 surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health. In renewing this Alliance, OSHA and NEPIRC 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 on OSHA's National/Regional/Local Initiatives (Emphasis Programs, Regulatory Agenda, Outreach), and opportunities to participate in initiatives and the rulemaking process.
• Share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and NEPIRC conferences, local meetings, and safety day events, and share information on OSHA special initiative outreach campaigns such as Safe + Sound.
• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on general industry hazards, work and life wellness programs, and emergency preparedness to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.
• Develop pathways to communicate information regarding the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards to employers and workers in the industry.
• Encourage worker participation in workplace safety and health by training employers on how to involve employees in JHAs and hazard identification initiatives in the workplace to include the effectiveness of employee-based workplace safety committees.

Training and Education

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

• Develop effective training and education programs for NEPIRC stakeholders and others regarding hazards such as machine guarding, lockout/tagout, electrical, hazard communication, forklifts, ladders, and walking/working surfaces hazards (slips, trips and falls), and communicate such information to constituent employers and workers. Ensure training materials/programs are made available in appropriate languages and formats to meet the needs of their target audiences.
• Deliver or arrange for the delivery of courses as: Forklift Safety, Hazard Identification/Job Hazard Analysis, Conducting Safety Audits, Personal Protective Equipment, and Safety Committee operations.
• Deliver effective training and education programs for NEPIRC stakeholders to promote understanding of workers' rights, including the use of the OSHA complaint process, and the responsibilities of employers and to communicate such information to workers and employers. Ensure training materials/programs are made available in appropriate languages and formats to meet the needs of their target audiences.

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. In entering this Alliance, OSHA and Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center acknowledge that this agreement is not legally binding. This agreement does not obligate or authorize the expenditure or reimbursement of appropriations or other funds, nor does it require the parties to enter into any contract or other obligations. It does not confer any rights or responsibilities under U.S. law, nor does it limit or restrict the parties from participating in similar activities or arrangements with other entities. This agreement does not limit, supersede, or otherwise affect OSHA's normal operations or decisions in carrying out its statutory and regulatory duties and functions. OSHA's entering an Alliance with an organization does not imply the agency's endorsement or promotion 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 track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the Wilkes-Barre Area Office and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage State Plans' and OSHA On-Site Consultation programs' participation on the team.

This agreement will be executed in full compliance with all applicable federal laws. It takes effect on the date of signing and will remain in effect for two years. Either signatory may terminate their organization's participation in the agreement 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 both signatories.

Signed this 1st day of August 2025.

ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE PROGRAM
AMBASSADOR RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINSTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ERIE AREA OFFICE,
PENNSYLVANIA OSHA CONSULTATION,
AND
GANNON UNIVERSITY SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Since entering into an Alliance on June 23, 2021, with subsequent renewal(s) on June 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Erie Area Office, Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation) and Gannon University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) have worked together to improve workplace health and safety by sharing information, guidance, and access to training resources that address occupational hazards, and promoting understanding of the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

OSHA, Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation and Gannon University SBDC continue to recognize the value of maintaining a collaborative relationship to improve safety and health practices and programs in American workplaces, and commit to continue their work together through an Alliance Program Ambassador relationship.

In recognition of this ongoing commitment, OSHA will continue to foster an active relationship with Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation Service and Gannon University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) by:

• Providing routine communications on enforcement, regulatory, and outreach initiatives.
• Sharing invitations to and offering opportunities to speak at OSHA Alliance Program and other agency stakeholder meetings or events, such as outreach and training activities through the National, Regional, or Area Office, and the National Alliance Program Construction Roundtable and Forum.
• Engaging in information sharing and technical discussions, as appropriate, including completing special projects of mutual interest that align with agency priorities and as resources allow.
• Maintaining the organization’s status as Alliance Program Ambassadors on the agency’s public webpage.

Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation Program and Gannon University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will continue to foster an active relationship with OSHA by:

• Sharing information with members and stakeholders on OSHA’s National Initiatives (Enforcement, Regulatory, and Outreach), and encouraging their participation in OSHA’s outreach initiatives and rulemaking processes.
• Sharing information with members and stakeholders on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
• Encouraging Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation and Gannon University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to build relationships with OSHA’s National, Regional and Area Offices to address health and safety issues.
• Sharing information with OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation and Gannon University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) good practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).
• Offering OSHA opportunities to speak, exhibit, or appear at one another’s conferences, local meetings, or other events.
• Adhering to requirements laid out in the Alliance Program Directive regarding the prohibition on promoting or implying the agency’s endorsement of their policies, products, or services, including acknowledging that they will not receive any preferential treatment related to any statutory function of the agency.
• Abiding by all terms and conditions for the use of the Alliance Program logo as specified in OSHA’s Guidelines for Use of the Alliance Logo.

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

This Ambassador relationship will remain in effect for the duration of an ongoing cooperative association and a good faith effort by all parties to meet the intent of this document and its underlying policies. Any signatory may terminate it for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days’ written notice. Termination by one signatory will not nullify the Ambassador relationship with all signatories, with the exception of OSHA; OSHA may terminate the Ambassador relationship as a whole, or its relationship with one or more individual signatories.

Signed this June 23, 2025.

AGREEMENT RENEWING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
ALLENTOWN AREA OFFICE
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
THE PENNSYLVANIA OSHA CONSULTATION PROGRAM
AND
UPPER BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL SCHOOL

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Allentown Area Office (ALAO), the Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Upper Bucks County Technical School (UBCTS) continue to recognize the value of maintaining a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA and UBCTS hereby renew the Alliance signed September 17, 2015, and renewed September 14, 2017, and again on September 17, 2020, with a continued emphasis on safety and health education for youth/student workers. Specifically, each organization(s) are committed to providing UBCTS students, faculty, administration members, Occupational Advisory Council members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect youth and young workers and understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). Through the Alliance, the organizations will continue to address workplace hazard awareness, safety and health program management and implementation and the hierarchy of controls to reduce or prevent workplace hazards.

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 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 renewing this Alliance, OSHA and UBCTS 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 on OSHA’s National/Regional/Local Initiatives (Emphasis Programs, Regulatory Agenda, Outreach).
• Share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
• Develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards and communicate such information to UBCTS.
• Speak, exhibit, or appear at UBCTS and PA Dept. of Education conferences, local meetings, or other Career Technical Center Educational events.
• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on youth (young worker) safety to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.

Training and Education

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

• Review and provide input on effective training and education curricula for youth entering the workforce to promote understanding of workers’ rights, including the use of the OSHA complaint process, and the responsibilities of employers and to communicate such information to workers and employers.
• Deliver various safety and health related training and education on topics including but not limited to: understanding worker rights; hazards associated within the construction trades, specifically: falls, struck-by conditions, caught-in/between hazards, and electrical hazards; hazards associated within the healthcare industry, material handling hazards, use of personal protective equipment and hazards associated with chemicals.

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 track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the Allentown Area Office. OSHA will encourage State Plans’ and OSHA On-Site Consultation programs’ participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for a period not to exceed five years. Either signatory may terminate their organization’s participation in the agreement 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 both signatories.

Signed this 28 day of July, 2025.