The Steelworkers Charitable and Educational Organization (SCEO), the non-profit (501c3) arm of the United Steelworkers (USW), is applying for funds to conduct HAZWOPER Training with workers and with Tribal and community partners at 12 sites within the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex. The training division of the SCEO, the Tony Mazzocchi Center (TMC), is a partnership of USW, Communications Workers of America, the Labor Institute and two worker centers: The National Day Labor Organizing Network and Make the Road New York. Over the next five years we will conduct 1,430 workshops reaching 28,900 DOE site workers, Tribal members and community residents with 355,200 hours of training. By developing and deploying a cadre of 47 worker trainers, TMC will conduct a full range of H&S courses required by DOE or otherwise needed by USW and CWA DOE site workers and by Tribal Partners and community collaborators. TMC is reapplying for support because: 1) We have access to 3,742 USW and CWA DOE site workers exposed to radiation, toxics and other serious hazards; 2) We have conducted analyses, in cooperation with DOE and contractors, to identify training needs as well as hazardous conditions facing DOE site workers; 3) We have an experienced program with the largest industrial training capacity in the U.S.; 4) We have an expert evaluation team, in partnership with the Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment, Queens College, to develop rigorous and continuous program assessment; and 5) We have the ability to reach underserved community members near DOE sites, including through educational partnerships with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Yakama and Nez Perce Tribal Councils. Training Track 1, for USW and CWA DOE site workers, will provide an array of HAZWOPER training, including refresher courses, as well as additional classes including: 1) Incident Investigation; 2) 10 CFR 851, covering required DOE Worker Safety and Health Programs; 3) OSHA 511, 501 train-the-trainer; 4) Hazard Mapping; 5) Radiation Worker I & II for workers potentially exposed to radiation; 6) Basic Mine Safety for workers at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site; 7) OSHA 521 Guide to Industrial Hygiene; 8) Effective H&S Committees; 9) Safety Rep, for full-time safety representatives; 10) Disaster Response and Resiliency, to prepare for climate change and other disasters; and 11) Opioids in the Workplace. Training Track 2, for Tribal and community collaborators (e.g. public schools, vocational education centers, fire departments) near DOE sites includes OSHA 10, HAZWOPER classes, and joint Disaster Response and Resiliency training. TMC training is needed because these partners: a) seek credentials for possible employment at DOE sites; b) need more information about how to protect themselves in emergencies; and c) need to learn more about environmental impacts of toxic releases from DOE sites.
The Tony Mazzocchi Center (TMC) will conduct 1,430 workshops that will reach 28,900 DOE site workers, Tribal members and community residents with 355,200 hours of training over the proposed five-year grant from 2020-2025. To meet our training goals, TMC has direct access to 3,742 USW and CWA members employed at DOE sites; to other employees located at 12 DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex sites; and to community stakeholders including Native American Tribe members, local vocational schools, fire departments, and community organizations. We will conduct required HAZWOPER courses as well as a range of other classes, including radiation worker safety, industrial hygiene training, OSHA outreach training, accident investigation training, effective health and safety committee training, and disaster response training, including response to disasters related to climate change.
