OSHA: $12.7M in grants awarded to promote workplace safety, health training, education

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has awarded approximately $12.7 million in grants to 100 non-profit organizations across the nation to support education and training to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, employ injury prevention and understand workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities under federal law.

Funded through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, the grants are being awarded in three categories, namely Targeted Topic Training, Training and Educational Materials Development and Capacity Building grants.

“The award of Susan Harwood Training Grants remind us of Dr. Harwood’s important contributions to making our nation’s workplaces safer and healthier for countless U.S. workers,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Dr. Harwood’s dedication to educating workers and employers continues to inspire those of us at the Department of Labor and those whose organizations will use these grants to help save lives.”

The program’s name and purpose reflect the legacy of the former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. In 17 years with OSHA, the late Dr. Harwood was instrumental in developing federal standards that today protect people from workplace hazards, including asbestos, benzene, bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, formaldehyde and lead.

“These grants are one of our most effective resources for providing training and education to hard-to-reach workers in high-hazard industries. More than a third of the awardees will be conducting training in the south, improving our training footprint in an area with a large, underserved workforce,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Training should be a key part of ensuring vulnerable workers are in safe and healthy environments and that they feel safe at work.”

OSHA awards grants to non-profit organizations, including community and faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor-management associations, Native American tribes and local and state-sponsored colleges and universities. Target trainees include small-business employers and underserved vulnerable workers in high-hazard industries.

Many of the recipients of fiscal year 2023 Susan Harwood Training Grants will provide training and education in their regions and across the nation. They are listed by category as follows:

Targeted Topic Training recipients	City	State	Award
South Arkansas College	El Dorado	AR	$102,018
University of California San Diego	La Jolla	CA	$159,946
Port of San Diego Ship Repair Association	National City	CA	$81,016
Asian Immigrant Women Advocates	Oakland	CA	$55,000
National Day Laborer Organizing Network	Pasadena	CA	$160,000
Community Services & Employment Training Inc.	Visalia	CA	$160,000
Construction Education Foundation of Colorado	Denver	CO	$99,947
LIUNA Training and Education Fund	Pomfret Center	CT	$156,927
American Road & Transportation Builders Association	Washington	DC	$160,000
Associated Farmworkers Opportunity Program	Washington	DC	$160,000
Farmworker Justice	Washington	DC	$160,000
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries	Washington	DC	$160,000
Florida International University Board of Trustees	Miami	FL	$160,000
Georgia Tech Research Corp.	Atlanta	GA	$160,000
OSAP Foundation Inc.	Atlanta	GA	$111,664
Iowa State University of Science and Technology	Ames	IA	$158,482
University of Iowa	Coralville	IA	$159,990
Northern Illinois University	DeKalb	IL	$158,531
Chicagoland Construction Safety Council	Hillside	IL	$120,165
Latino Worker Safety Center	Hillside	IL	$160,000
William Rainey Harper College	Palatine	IL	$159,805
Construction Advancement Foundation of Northwest Indiana Inc.	Portage	IN	$135,565
LeadingAge Kansas Foundation	Topeka	KS	$140,509
University of Southern Maine	Portland	ME	$160,000
AQUITY4ALL CO	Bethesda	MD	$160,000
CASA Inc.	Hyattsville	MD	$160,000
Brazilian Worker Center Inc.	Allston	MA	$159,787
Atlantic Impact	Detroit	MI	$150,000
Great Lakes Safety Training Center	Midland	MI	$78,383
Catholic Charities Southeast Michigan	Southfield	MI	$75,000
Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals Inc.	Saint Paul	MN	$160,000
Minnesota Hospital Association	Saint Paul	MN	$136,470
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest	Lincoln	NE	$112,000
Tree Care Industry Association Inc.	Manchester	NH	$148,557
Applied Labor Employment Studies Institute	Morristown	NJ	$160,000
Education & Training Institute Inc.	New Brunswick	NJ	$160,000
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences	Piscataway	NJ	$160,000
Work Environment Council of NJ Inc.	Trenton	NJ	$99,000
Alliance for Manufacturing & Technology	Binghamton	NY	$67,500
Restaurant Opportunities Center United Inc.	New York	NY	$160,000
World Care Center	New York	NY	$157,723
Mohawk Valley Community College	Utica	NY	$55,383
Western North Carolina Workers’ Center	Hendersonville	NC	$106,565
University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati	OH	$160,000
Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health	Philadelphia	PA	$160,000
Manufacturers’ Association	York	PA	$157,833
University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez	Mayaguez	PR	$155,810
National Association of Tower Erectors	Watertown	SD	$160,000
University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington	TX	$160,000
Compacion Foundation Inc.	Balch Springs	TX	$159,952
National Center for Farmworker Health Inc.	Buda	TX	$100,000
Organization of Hispanic Contractors	Dallas	TX	$160,000
El Paso Community College District	El Paso	TX	$160,000
University of Texas at El Paso	El Paso	TX	$160,000
South Texas College	McAllen	TX	$159,785
University of Texas at San Antonio	San Antonio	TX	$120,169
Texas State University	San Marcos	TX	$150,000
Associated General Contractors of America	Arlington	VA	$160,000
American Traffic Safety Services Association	Fredericksburg	VA	$159,998
Casa Latina	Seattle	WA	$160,000
Legal Aid Justice Center	Charlottesville	VA	$160,000
Timber Products Manufacturers Inc.	Spokane	WA	$135,000
Marshall University Research Corp.	Huntington	WV	$160,000
West Virginia University Research Corp.	Morgantown	WV	$160,000

Training and Educational Materials Development recipients	City	State	Award
BPSOS Center for Community Advancement Inc.	Westminster	CA	$75,000
Prolepsis: Partners in Prevention Inc.	Orlando	FL	$75,000
Southern Illinois University, Board of Trustees	Carbondale	IL	$75,000
Purdue University	West Lafayette	IN	$75,000
Kansas State University	Manhattan	KS	$48,880
University of Kentucky Research Foundation	Lexington	KY	$75,000
IUPAT Finishing Trades Institute	Hanover	MD	$75,000
Boat People SOS	Biloxi	MS	$75,000
University of Central Missouri	Warrensburg	MO	$75,000
TWIN-Training to Work an Industry Niche	Charlotte	NC	$75,000
Ohio State University	Columbus	OH	$74,620
Kent State University	Kent	OH	$75,000
Texas A&M University	College Station	TX	$74,904

Capacity Building Developmental and Pilots recipients	City	State	Award
AgSafe	Modesto	CA	$79,935
Connecticut Worker Center	Bridgeport	CT	$79,000
Minority Construction Council Inc.	Hartford	CT	$80,000
Sur Legal Collaborative Inc.	Decatur	GA	$79,843
Lucky Shoals Community Association Inc.	Tucker	GA	$22,535
Honeybee Strategies	Marrero	LA	$80,000
Corning Council for Assistance and Information to the Disabled	Corning	NY	$80,000
Western New York Council on Occupational Safety & Health Inc.	Buffalo	NY	$179,912
State University of New York, The Research Foundation	Syracuse	NY	$180,000
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers’ Center	Cincinnati	OH	$99,711
Oklahoma State University	Stillwater	OK	$180,000

Capacity Building Follow-on recipients	City	State	Award
University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa	AL	$144,226
Shasta Builders Exchange	Redding	CA	$115,434
Sustainable Workplace Alliance	Fort Meade	FL	$150,300
AgriSafe Network Inc.	Peosta	IA	$162,000
Western Iowa Tech Community College	Sioux City	IA	$162,000
Melwood Horticultural Training Center Inc.	Upper Marlboro	MD	$125,552
Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health	Dorchester	MA	$72,337
National Council for Occupational Safety and Health	Somerville	MA	$161,997
Arriba Las Vegas Worker Center	Las Vegas	NV	$135,000
Millersville University of Pennsylvania	Millersville	PA	$165,970
Texas A&M University-Kingsville	Kingsville	TX	$80,012
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Blacksburg	VA	$131,220