Region 6 News Release: OSHA-09-856-DAL
Monday, Aug. 10, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth Todd
Phone: 972-850-4710

U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA teams with Odom's Tennessee Pride in Little Rock to promote workplace safety in the food processing industry

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Providing better workplace safety for employees working in the Little Rock metropolitan area is the goal of a partnership agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Odom's Tennessee Pride in Little Rock.

Odom's Tennessee Pride, which employs about 300 workers in Little Rock and about 750 corporate-wide, is a food processing facility. The goal of this partnership is to improve safety and health performance through implementation of OSHA's Safety and Health Management Systems (SHMS) and increase employee training.

"This agreement provides an opportunity for OSHA and Odom's Tennessee Pride to work together to create a comprehensive safety and health training program for employees working in the food processing industry," said Carlos Reynolds, OSHA's area director in Little Rock.

OSHA's Strategic Partnership Program is part of the agency's ongoing efforts to improve the safety and health of employees through cooperative relationships with trade associations, labor organizations, employers and employees. More than 1.4 million employees and more than 28,000 employers across the United States have participated with OSHA in more than 580 strategic partnerships since the program began in 1998.

Employers and employees with questions about this and other OSHA partnerships may call OSHA's Little Rock Area Office at 501-224-1841 or visit OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov/index.html (click on "Cooperative Programs").

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA's role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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