June 29, 2023

US Department of Labor, Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores of New Bedford sign alliance to foster safety, health practices

Participants:  U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, New Bedford, Massachusetts

Description:  OSHA area offices in Braintree, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, and Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores today signed an agreement that establishes an alliance to address workplace safety and health hazards the center's immigrant and low-wage workers in southern New England face.

The alliance will develop and present culturally and linguistically appropriate training and education on workplace hazards and help workers, employers and the public understand these workers' rights and employers' responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Participants will also share information regarding employee rights under the whistleblower protection laws enforced by OSHA and the importance of filing complaints right away if someone believes they have been retaliated against for exercising those rights.

Background:  OSHA 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, communications, training and education. These alliances have proven to be valuable tools for both OSHA and alliance participants.

Quotes:  "OSHA's alliance with Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores will help enhance our efforts to reach southern New England's immigrant and low-wage workers to inform them of workplace hazards, as well as their rights to a safe and healthy workplace," explained OSHA Area Director James Mulligan in Braintree, Massachusetts. "Alliance agreements provide both parties with the ability to use industry and professional resources to make workplaces safe for all involved."

"Our efforts with Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores reflect our shared interest in doing all we can to help workers end each workday safely," said OSHA Area Director Robert Sestito in Providence, Rhode Island. "By working with community organizations, we can connect with some of our most vulnerable worker populations."

"As part of this alliance with Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, OSHA will inform workers that they have the right to speak up about hazards in their workplace without fear of retaliation, regardless of immigration status," said OSHA Assistant Regional Administrator for Whistleblower Programs Kristen Rubino in Boston.

"The Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores' alliance with OSHA will help us reduce the number of workers injured on the job in the New Bedford area, including the many employed in the seafood processing industry. The center looks forward to working with other area organizations to better inform our region's immigrant and low-wage workers and their employers about the importance of workplace safety and health," said Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores Executive Director Adrian Ventura.

Learn more about the OSHA Alliance Program.

Media Contacts:

Ted Fitzgerald, 617-565-2075, fitzgerald.edmund@dol.gov
James C. Lally, 617-565-2074, lally.james.c@dol.gov

Release Number: 23-1388-BOS