Source: MEATINGPLACE, 9/7/15

he U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded $10.5 million in one-year federal safety and health training grants to 80 nonprofit organizations for education and training programs to help high-risk workers and their employers recognize serious workplace hazards, implement injury prevention measures and understand their rights and responsibilities, the agency said in a news release.

The department's Susan Harwood Training Grant Program provides grants to nonprofits, including community/faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, colleges and universities. Target trainees include small-business employers and underserved vulnerable workers in high-hazard industries.

The meat processing industry is among the industries that will benefit from the grants. Three organizations that will specifically address meat processing worker safety with their grants are:
• Sunflower Community Action Inc., Wichita, Kans. $164,800 to provide two-hour training on safety and health topics to workers in the construction, food services, janitorial and meat processing industries. Target audience includes small businesses, limited English proficiency, non-literate and low literacy, young, temporary, and other vulnerable workers. Training topics will include heat stress, falls, personal protective equipment and ergonomics in food services, janitorial and meat processing. Training will be offered in Spanish.
• Interfaith Worker Justice, Chicago. $145,800 to offer 7.5-hour train-the-trainer classes for worker leaders, who will then provide 1.5-hour awareness training to workers in general, construction, cleaning services, poultry/meat packing, restaurants, landscaping, home care, farm, warehouse and car wash industries. Target audience includes limited English proficiency, low-literacy, minority, and other hard-to-reach workers. Training will include workers' rights, hazard identification and control, risk communication, ergonomics, accidents and injuries. Training will be available in English and Spanish.
• Western North Carolina Workers’ Center, Hendersonville, N.C. $79,972 to provide four-hour training to workers in the poultry industry. Target audience includes limited English proficiency, non-literate and low literacy workers, and other hard-to-reach workers. Training topics will include OSHA rights, personal protective equipment, ergonomics and body mapping. Training will be offered in Spanish and Hmong.

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