AGREEMENT RENEWING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
NAPERVILLE, CHICAGO NORTH, CHICAGO SOUTH, ILLINOIS AREA OFFICES
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
CHICAGOLAND ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Naperville, Chicago North, and Chicago South Area offices and the Chicagoland Associated General Contractors (Chicagoland AGC) 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 Chicagoland AGC hereby renew the Alliance signed October 24, 2018, with continued emphasis on protecting the health and safety of workers by reducing and preventing exposure to electrical, fall, struck-by, caught-in-between, silica and ergonomic hazards in construction, as well as other safety issues as they relate to the industry (e.g., heat stress, mental health). Specifically, OSHA and Chicagoland AGC organization(s) are committed to providing Chicagoland AGC members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers and understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). Through the Alliance, the organizations will continue to address best practices to reduce and prevent exposure to electrical, fall, struck-by, caught-in-between, silica and ergonomic hazards in construction, as well as other safety issues relevant to the industry.

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 Chicagoland AGC members 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:

• Share information on OSHA’s National/Regional/Local Initiatives (Emphasis Programs, Regulatory Agenda, Outreach), and opportunities to participate in initiatives and the rulemaking process.
• Share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on construction industry hazards such as, but not limited electrical, fall, struck-by, caught-in-between, silica, ergonomic, heat stress, and mental health 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 Chicagoland AGC good practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).
• Encourage worker participation in workplace safety and health by increasing awareness of requirements, hazards and how to minimize hazards.
• To develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and to develop ways of communicating such information (e.g., print, and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, and OSHA’s and the Chicagoland AGC website to employers and workers in the industry.
• As resources allow, to speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA’s or Chicagoland AGC conferences or local meetings.
• To share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding Chicagoland AGC good practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures developed by the participants.
• To promote awareness of OSHA’s Outreach Campaigns including, Fall Prevention Safety Stand Down, Trench Safety Stand Down, Heat, Safe and Sound Week and other initiatives.
• To assist in development and dissemination of case studies for notable agency inspections to address common and novel hazards within the construction industry.

Training and Education

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

• Develop effective training and education programs for contractors and their workforces regarding hazards in the construction industry, and to communicate such information to constituent employers and workers.
• Develop effective training and education programs for contractors and their workforces 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.
• As resources allow, to deliver or arrange for the delivery of various courses specific to the construction industry, such as, but not limited to electrical, fall, struck-by, caught-in-between, silica and ergonomic hazards, heat stress and mental health.

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 Naperville, Chicago North, and Chicago South Area offices 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 three years. Either 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 both signatories.

Signed this 1st day of August, 2022