NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.
OSHA News Release -
Boston
Region
Please note: As of January 20, 2021, information in some news releases may be out of date or not reflect current policies.
Region 1 News Release: 08-1383-BOS / BOS 2008-289
Thurs., Oct. 9, 2008
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
Phone: 617-565-2074
WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. - The U.S. Postal Service's Bradley Airport Mail Facility in Windsor Locks has been approved for three years of participation in the prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the star level, the program's highest. It is the third U.S. Postal Service facility in Connecticut to achieve this milestone.
The VPP recognizes worksites that are committed to effective employee protection beyond the requirements of OSHA standards and encourages cooperative relationships among labor, management, unions and government. The Bradley facility receives and distributes mail to and from aircraft at Bradley International Airport. Its more than 100 employees are represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the American Postal Workers Union.
The star approval followed an OSHA team's week-long onsite review of the facility's safety and health management systems. Interviews with employees and a complete tour of the worksite found its safety and health programs consistent with the high quality expected of VPP participants, and its injury and illness rates well below the industry average.
"The VPP demands that employees and management work together continually and effectively to identify, reduce and eliminate on-the-job hazards," said Marthe Kent, OSHA's New England regional administrator. "That's exactly what they've done here at the Bradley mail facility, and that success is reflected in both its star designation and its low injury and illness rates."
The Bradley facility now joins more than 2,030 worksites in 270 industries nationwide, including postal service worksites in Danbury and Wallingford, Conn., that have earned entry into the VPP. For more information about the VPP in Connecticut and New England, contact OSHA's Boston Regional Office at 617-565-9890.
Through the VPP, employers and employees have experienced significant decreases in fatalities, injuries and illnesses; associated cost reductions including lowered workers' compensation expenses; positive changes in company culture and attitudes toward safety and health; and average injury rates 50 percent lower than other companies in their respective industries.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.
Thurs., Oct. 9, 2008
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
Phone: 617-565-2074
U.S. Postal Service's Bradley International Airport mail facility awarded workplace safety and health star by U.S. Labor Department's OSHA
Connecticut postal worksite is third to enter OSHA's elite Voluntary Protection Programs
Connecticut postal worksite is third to enter OSHA's elite Voluntary Protection Programs
WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. - The U.S. Postal Service's Bradley Airport Mail Facility in Windsor Locks has been approved for three years of participation in the prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the star level, the program's highest. It is the third U.S. Postal Service facility in Connecticut to achieve this milestone.
The VPP recognizes worksites that are committed to effective employee protection beyond the requirements of OSHA standards and encourages cooperative relationships among labor, management, unions and government. The Bradley facility receives and distributes mail to and from aircraft at Bradley International Airport. Its more than 100 employees are represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the American Postal Workers Union.
The star approval followed an OSHA team's week-long onsite review of the facility's safety and health management systems. Interviews with employees and a complete tour of the worksite found its safety and health programs consistent with the high quality expected of VPP participants, and its injury and illness rates well below the industry average.
"The VPP demands that employees and management work together continually and effectively to identify, reduce and eliminate on-the-job hazards," said Marthe Kent, OSHA's New England regional administrator. "That's exactly what they've done here at the Bradley mail facility, and that success is reflected in both its star designation and its low injury and illness rates."
The Bradley facility now joins more than 2,030 worksites in 270 industries nationwide, including postal service worksites in Danbury and Wallingford, Conn., that have earned entry into the VPP. For more information about the VPP in Connecticut and New England, contact OSHA's Boston Regional Office at 617-565-9890.
Through the VPP, employers and employees have experienced significant decreases in fatalities, injuries and illnesses; associated cost reductions including lowered workers' compensation expenses; positive changes in company culture and attitudes toward safety and health; and average injury rates 50 percent lower than other companies in their respective industries.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
###
U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.