AN AGREEMENT RENEWING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
REGION IV
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
**INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS FIFTH AND TENTH DISTRICTS
SOUTHEASTERN LINE CONSTRUCTORS APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING
SOUTHEASTERN LINE CONSTRUCTORS CHAPTER, NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION, INC.¹

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Atlanta Regional Office, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Southeastern Line Constructors Apprenticeship and Training (SELCAT), and the Southeastern Line Constructors Chapter (SLCC)/ National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) continue to recognize the value of maintaining a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA and the IBEW, SELCAT and the SLCC/NECA hereby renew the Alliance signed September 26, 2003, and renewed on December 20, 2006, July 21, 2011, May 15, 2014, and December 13, 2016, with a continued emphasis on protecting worker’s health and safety. Specifically, OSHA and the IBEW, SELCAT and the SLCC/NECA are committed to providing workers in the electrical transmission and distribution industry guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers and understand the rights or workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). Through the Alliance IBEW, SELCAT and the SLCC/NECA will continue to address the electrical hazards in the electrical transmission and distribution equipment industries.

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance's activities. Alliance participants also agree to meet the requirements for program participation laid out in 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 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 Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health. In renewing this Alliance, OSHA and IBEW, SELCAT and the SLCC/NECA recognize that OSHA’s State Plan and On-Site Consultation Program 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:

• 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 and the IBEW’s, SELCAT’s and the SLCC/NECA’s Web sites) to employers and workers in the industry.

• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and IBEW, SELCAT conferences, local meetings, or others such as the SLCC/NECA the IBEW Fifth and Tenth Districts Annual Progress Meetings, Outside Apprenticeship Conference, IBEW Fifth District Construction Organizing Summit, SELCAT and SLCC/NECA Membership Meetings, local labor meetings, training sessions, or other events.

• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on electrical injury and illnesses and common safety hazards to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.

• Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding IBEW’s, SELCAT’s, and SLCC/NECA’s good practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).

Training and Education

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

• Develop effective training and education programs for workers in the electrical utility industry regarding hazard recognition, safety, and health management systems (SHMS) and health hazards, and to communicate such information to constituent employers and workers.

• Deliver or arrange for the delivery of courses regarding fatal accidents in the electrical utility industry, including improper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), failure to maintain a safe distance, and failure to utilize proper equipotential grounding techniques. The Alliance participants will ensure that experienced workers, as well as, inexperienced workers, including, but not limited to apprentice linemen will receive training.

OSHA’s Alliances provide organizations an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as raising awareness of OSHA’s initiatives, outreach, communication, training, and education. These Alliances have proven to be valuable tools for both OSHA and Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with an organization, OSHA is not endorsing or promoting, nor does it intend to endorse or promote, any of that organization’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 OSHA Atlanta Regional Office and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage State Plans’ and OSHA On-Site Consultation programs’ participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for five-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 3rd day of November 2022.

SIGNATURES:

** Members to Alliance

¹ Atkins Electric Co, Bison Electric, Inc., Broadway Electric Services Corporation d/b/a BESCO, C & C Powerline, Dacon Corporation, Garnet Electric Co., Haugland Energy Group, LLC, Haugland Virgin Islands, Inc., Heart Utilities of Jacksonville, Hooper Corporation, Letourneau Enterprises, LLC, Marable-Pirkle Services, LLC, Michels Power, New River Electric Corporation, Par Electric Construction Company, Riggs Distler & Co., Inc., Service Electric Company, Standard Electric Company, The L.E. Myers Company, and Xtreme Powerline Construction, Inc.