Brindisi: These funds will help keep workers and workplaces safe from hazards
Congressman Anthony Brindisi announced a nearly $80,000 grant for Mohawk Valley Community College. The federal funds come from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The OSHA grant, totaling $79,508, will provide education and training programs to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, including coronavirus, implement injury prevention measures and understand their rights and responsibilities.
“These federal dollars will help Mohawk Valley Community College continue to serve as an institution of higher learning and provide crucial training to keep workers and workplaces safe and hazard free,” said Brindisi. “I want to thank MVCC for offering these trainings and their important role in our local economy. The trades continue to offer good-paying jobs and routes to success for many in our community, and I will never stop working to strengthen manufacturing in our region.”
The grant funding comes as part of the Susan Harwood Grant program. This program funds grants to nonprofit organizations, including community and 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 training offered through the Susan Harwood Grant has had measurable impacts and made a difference to our local industry in the past,” said MVCC President Randall VanWagoner. “We are pleased to be able to continue this work with our partners and continue to make a meaningful difference in the region.”
The program honors the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment, who died in 1996. During her 17-year OSHA career, she helped develop federal standards to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.