AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
BOSTON NORTH, BOSTON SOUTH, AND SPRINGFIELD AREA OFFICES
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR STANDARDS/OSHA CONSULTATION
AND
THE MASS BREWERS GUILD

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Massachusetts Area Offices (Boston North, Boston South, and Springfield), the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards/OSHA Consultation (DLS), and the Mass Brewers Guild (MBG) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA, DLS and MBG hereby form an Alliance to provide the Massachusetts brewing industry and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers by reducing and preventing exposure to safety and health hazards in the craft brewing industry and to understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance’s activities. Alliance participants also agree to meet the “Fundamental Requirements for OSHA Alliance Program Participants” and the “Guidelines for OSHA’s Alliance Program Participants: Alliance Products and Other Alliance Projects.”

Through the Alliance, the organizations will use available injury, illness, and hazard exposure data, when appropriate, to help identify areas of emphasis for Alliance awareness, outreach, and communication activities. The Alliance will also explore and implement selected options, including but not limited to member surveys, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Alliance and measure the impact of its overall effort on improving workplace safety and health. In developing this Alliance, OSHA, DLS, and MBG recognize that OSHA’s State Plan and On-Site Consultation Project partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort, and that information about the products and activities of the Alliance may be shared with these partners for the advancement of common goals.

Raising Awareness: Outreach and Communication

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• To share information on OSHA’s National/Regional/Local Initiatives (Emphasis Programs, Regulatory Agenda, Outreach), and opportunities to participate in initiatives and the rulemaking process.
• To share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
• To develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and communicate such information (e.g., print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, and OSHA’s, DLS’s and MBG’s web sites) to employers and workers in the industry.
• To provide free safety and health consulting using DLS OSHA On-Site Consultation Program to assist in addressing site-specific hazards at individual brewery locations.
• To encourage constituent employers to create site-specific safety and health programs that include OSHA’s Safe & Sound Campaign elements.
• To speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA’s, DLS’s, or MBG’s conferences, local meetings, or other events.
• To convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on workplace hazards associated with the craft brewing industry including, but not limited to, lockout/tagout, hazard communication, powered industrial trucks, permit required confined spaces, electrical safe work practices, walking/working surfaces, personal protective equipment, and outside contractor safety.
• To share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding the MBG and craft brewing industry and good practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).
• To encourage worker participation in workplace safety and health by increasing hazard awareness training and near miss reporting/training.

Training and Education

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• To develop effective training and education programs for the craft brewing industry to promote understanding of workers’ rights, including the use of the OSHA complaint process, and the responsibilities of employers and to communicate such information to workers and employers.
• To deliver or arrange for the delivery of courses to OSHA compliance and consultation staff pertaining to brewery operations and equipment.

OSHA’s Alliances provide parties an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as raising awareness of OSHA’s initiatives, outreach, communications, training, and education. These Alliances have proven to be valuable tools for both OSHA and its Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with a party, OSHA is not endorsing or promoting, nor does it intend to endorse or promote, any of that party’s products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet one to two times per year to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the Massachusetts OSHA Area Offices and any other appropriate offices.

This agreement will remain in effect for two years. Any signatory may terminate it for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days’ written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the written concurrence of all signatories.

Signed this 5th day of August, 2019.