U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Atlanta Regional Office
61 Forsyth Street, S.W., Room 6T50
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(678) 237-0400; Fax (678) 237-0447

OSHA, Consul General of Mexico in Atlanta
Region IV Alliance Annual Report
February 12, 2024

1. Alliance Background

   1. Date Signed

      December 7, 2004

      Renewal date

      • August 30, 2013
      • August 31, 2015
      • September 1, 2017
      • August 26, 2019

   2. Evaluation Period:

      December 2, 2022, through December 1, 2023

   3. Overview:

      The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Consul General of Mexico in Atlanta, Georgia, formed an Alliance to provide Mexican workers throughout the southeast with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect employees' health and safety and allow them to exercise their rights fully.

   4. Implementation Team Membership and Contributors

      The implementation team included representatives from the OSHA and the Consulate General of Mexico in Atlanta, Georgia.

2. Implementation Team Meetings

   During this period, the Alliance members met and/or communicated virtually or in-person.

   In addition to these formal meetings, the Alliance coordinators from both groups maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to monitor the Alliance's progress and results.

3. Results

   The following table summarizes the Alliance's activities in support of the goals in the Alliance agreement.

III. Results of Alliance Activities in Support of Agreement Goals

Dissemination: Alliance Program participant shared information on OSHA-developed or OSHA Alliance Program-developed tools and resources, OSHA standards/rulemakings, enforcement, or outreach campaigns.

Outreach Events and Training for non-OSHA Staff: Alliance Program participant or OSHA participation in events, which includes speeches/presentations, exhibits, roundtables, conferences, informational webinars or other meetings or training in support of the Alliance or an OSHA initiative.

Report Prepared by: Tom Bosley, Region IV Alliance Coordinator

¹ The Georgia Farmworker Task Force is an advocacy group lead by the Farmworker Rights Division of the Georgia Legal Services. They advocate and represent farmworkers who are working and living unsafely because their employer is violating regulations in place to protect them. This group visits farms to inform workers of their rights; they also provide legal representation and inform the members of potential violations of existing laws. The Federal Agencies belonging to this group are there to provide resources and clarification of their regulations/jurisdictions/limitations and the non-profit organizations and Consulates are usually receiving employees' complaints because the workers feel more comfortable speaking to them than a government agency.

² Members of the Farmworker Taskforce consisted of the following: Georgia Legal Services Program; Tapestry / Anti-Human Trafficking Program; Southern Poverty Law Center; Justice for Migrant Women; Emory University Nursing School; Medical College of Augusta; Farmworker Association of Florida; United Farm Workers (UFW) Foundation; Mexican Consulate of Atlanta; El Salvador Consulate of Atlanta; Honduras Consulate of Atlanta; Guatemala Consulate of Atlanta; USDOL OSHA; USDOL Wage & Hour Division; and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE FORT LAUDERDALE AREA OFFICE
OF THE
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
INTERACTIVE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE, INC.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Fort Lauderdale Area Office and the Interactive Community Alliance, Inc. (ICA) 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 ICA hereby form an Alliance to provide ICA members and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect vulnerable¹ workers by reducing and preventing exposure to hazards in the agricultural² and construction³ industries and understand the rights or 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 also agree to meet 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 explore and implement selected options, including but not limited to member surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the Alliance's impact on improving workplace safety and health. In developing this Alliance, OSHA and ICA 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 information⁴ 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 (e.g., print, and electronic media, electronic assistance tools and OSHA and the ICA websites) to employers and workers in the agricultural and construction industries. Ensure information developed encourages and reflects the diversity of the workforce and is accessible in multiple languages and formats.

• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and ICA conferences, local meetings, or other ICA events.

• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on agricultural and construction industry hazards to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.

• Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding ICA good practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum⁵).

• Encourage worker participation in workplace safety and health by soliciting direct feedback on OSHA's print and online materials from agriculture and construction workers in an effort to enhance outreach and communication materials. As needed, ICA will survey members and host one-to-ones and listening sessions with members to gather helpful feedback and recommendations.

• Encourage other community and labor partners in South Florida to build relationships with OSHA's Regional and Area Offices to address health and safety issues, including agricultural and construction industry hazards.

Training and Education

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

• Develop effective training and education programs for the agricultural and construction industries regarding prevailing industry hazards and communicate such information to constituent employers and workers. Ensure training materials/program are made available in appropriate languages and formats to equitably meet the needs of their target audiences.

• Deliver or arrange for the delivery of ICA courses.

• Develop effective training and education programs for ICA 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/program are made available in appropriate languages and formats to equitably 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, communications, 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 Fort Lauderdale Area Office and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage State Plans' and OSHA On-Site Consultation program's participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for two years. Either 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 both signatories.

Signed at West Palm Beach, Florida, this 23^rd day of February 2024.

¹ Vulnerable Workers include low-wage and immigrant workers.
² Agricultural Hazards include falls, amputations, suffocations, burns, toxic exposure, struck-by, and heat illness.
³ Construction Hazards include falls, struck-by, electrical, caught-in, and heat illness.
⁴ OSHA and ICA will share information regarding OSHA's Heat Illness Prevention Campaign in South Florida, OSHA's National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Outdoor and Indoor Heat Hazards, as well as OSHA's General Duty Clause and Section 11(c) of the OSH Act.
⁵ Other applicable forum such as OSHA's annual campaigns and initiatives, e.g., Workers Memorial Day, Stand-Downs, Labor Rights Week, and Safe + Sound.