The AFSCME Training and Education Institute (ATEI) is applying for 4,676,999 dollars in EPA-HWWT funds in order to develop workers' ability to successfully and safely respond to unplanned releases of hazardous substances, and to participate in efforts to improve workplace safety. AFSCME-represented occupations likely to respond to emergencies include: road, bridge, water sewer, waste water treatment, sanitation, public safety and security, and hospitals, which comprise about 40 percent of AFSCME's 1.3 million members. ATEI plans to train over 5700 workers for the 5-year project in programs mandated by OSHA's HAZWOPER Standard other related activities including confined space entry and trenching safety, along with annual refreshers. The California-Arizona Consortium will provide training to Spanish-speaking workers. We will collaborate with the UAW to deliver training where both unions represent workers. We will expand our successful peer trainer program to reach more workers and target the train-the-trainer programs in locations with large groups of minority or underserved workers. We will collaborate with other grantees in 3 trainer and evaluator development workshops each year. We will form an Evaluation Team and a Curriculum Task Force composed of peer trainers, evaluation staff, ATEI staff, and others to fully integrate peer trainers into the program. The University of Massachusetts at Lowell will lead the evaluation team's activities and analyze the long-term impact. We will coordinate with our consortium member, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, (CBTU), to provide training on hazardous materials and community right to know at CBTU's annual convention and community meetings, and ATEI will provide technical assistance to community groups. ATEI will utilize advanced training technologies. We will design and deliver workshops on accessing health and safety resources on the Internet. The Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute/Community College Consortium will assist us in: expanding and evaluating the use of AFSCME's web page for health and safety, and in conducting several teleconferences on health and safety issues related to hazardous materials exposure.
| Flum, Marian R; Siqueira, Carlos Eduardo; DeCaro, Anthony et al. (2010) Photovoice in the workplace: A participatory method to give voice to workers to identify health and safety hazards and promote workplace change-a study of university custodians. Am J Ind Med 53:1150-8 |
