The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded $12.7 million to 102 nonprofits nationwide to fund education and training initiatives designed to create safer workplaces.
Administered by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, funds from the Susan Harwood Training Grants Program will support the delivery of training and education on hazard awareness, avoidance and controls, and inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This round of funding was awarded to programs in the categories of targeted topic training, training and educational materials development, and capacity building.
“The Susan Harwood Training Grants are a critical investment that the Department of Labor makes to help workers know their rights and power – in turn making their workplace safer and healthier,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “This grant honors Dr. Harwood’s remarkable legacy of safeguarding workers from workplace hazards throughout her years at the Department of Labor. I’m eager to witness the impact these organizations will achieve in her name.”
The grants are named in honor of the late Dr. Susan Harwood who served as the director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. In 17 years with the department, she was instrumental in developing federal standards that today protect people from workplace hazards, including asbestos, benzene, bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, formaldehyde and lead.
“These grants are our most effective tool for connecting organizations with needed resources to train and educate hard-to-reach workers in high-hazard industries,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker. “Training is a key part of ensuring vulnerable workers understand what protections should be in place in their workplace and to know their rights.”
OSHA awards grants to nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor-management associations, Native American tribes, and local and state-sponsored colleges and universities. Targeted training audiences include small-business employers, limited English proficiency workers, as well as workers identified as illiterate/low literacy, disadvantaged, underserved, low-income, minority and others hard to reach.
The 2024 Susan Harwood Training Grant awards will provide training and education to at-risk and marginalized workers across the nation. They are listed by category as follows:
| Targeted Topic Training recipients | City | State | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Arkansas College | El Dorado | AR | $104,054 |
| Arizona State University | Tempe | AZ | $160,000 |
| National Day Laborer Organizing Network | Pasadena | CA | $160,000 |
| Community Services & Employment Training, Inc. | Visalia | CA | $160,000 |
| Construction Education Foundation of Colorado | Denver | CO | $159,860 |
| Colorado State University | Fort Collins | CO | $145,893 |
| Connecticosh Health Technical Committee, Inc. | Newington | CT | $159,814 |
| Liuna Training & Education Fund | Pomfret Center | CT | $158,677 |
| American Road & Transportation Builders Association | Washington | DC | $160,000 |
| Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs | Washington | DC | $160,000 |
| Farmworker Justice Fund Inc | Washington | DC | $160,000 |
| Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc | Washington | DC | $160,000 |
| Florida International University | Miami | FL | $160,000 |
| United Safety Council, Inc. dba Florida Safety Council | Orlando | FL | $94,409 |
| OSAP Foundation Inc. (Org. for Safety, Asepsis & Prevention Foundation) | Atlanta | GA | $143,789 |
| Iowa State University of Science & Technology | Ames | IA | $160,000 |
| University of Iowa | Iowa City | IA | $159,736 |
| Latino Worker Safety Center | Joliet | IL | $160,000 |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | IL | $151,720 |
| LeadingAge Kansas Foundation | Topeka | KS | $138,346 |
| Brazilian Worker Center, Inc. | Allston | MA | $160,000 |
| Casa, Inc. | Hyattsville | MD | $160,000 |
| Aquity4all Co | Potomac | MD | $160,000 |
| University of Southern Univ. of Maine System | Portland | ME | $160,000 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit | MI | $159,710 |
| Great Lakes Safety Training Center | Midland | MI | $73,159 |
| Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan | Southfield | MI | $75,000 |
| Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association | Plymouth | MN | $158,424 |
| Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest | Lincoln | NE | $114,500 |
| Tree Care Industry Association, Inc. | Manchester | NH | $149,413 |
| Applied Labor Employment Studies Institute | Morristown | NJ | $160,000 |
| Education & Training Institute, Inc. | New Brunswick | NJ | $160,000 |
| Rutgers The State University of New Jersey | Newark | NJ | $155,080 |
| Work Environment Council Of New Jersey, Inc. | Trenton | NJ | $100,000 |
| Alliance For Manufacturing & Tech. of the Southern Tier | Binghamton | NY | $160,000 |
| New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health, Inc | New York | NY | $160,000 |
| Restaurant Opportunities Center Roc United, Inc. | New York | NY | $160,000 |
| World Cares Center, Inc. | New York | NY | $160,000 |
| Mohawk Valley Community College | Utica | NY | $57,709 |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati | OH | $160,000 |
| Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety & Health | Philadelphia | PA | $160,000 |
| University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez | Mayaguez | PR | $154,094 |
| University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus | San Juan | PR | $126,547 |
| South Dakota School of Mines & Technology | Rapid City | SD | $60,000 |
| Compacion Foundation, Inc. | Balch Springs | TX | $159,752 |
| Del Mar College District | Corpus Christi | TX | $50,000 |
| Organization of Hispanic Contractors | Dallas | TX | $160,000 |
| El Paso County Community College District | El Paso | TX | $160,000 |
| University of Houston System – Clear Lake | Houston | TX | $155,556 |
| South Texas College | McAllen | TX | $159,928 |
| University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio | TX | $160,000 |
| Texas State University – San Marco | San Marcos | TX | $160,000 |
| Associated General Contractors | Arlington | VA | $160,000 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University | Blacksburg | VA | $160,000 |
| Legal Aid Justice Center | Charlottesville | VA | $160,000 |
| Boat People S.O.S., Inc. | Falls Church | VA | $160,000 |
| Timber Products Manufacturers | Spokane | WA | $145,000 |
| Marshall University Research Corporation | Huntington | WV | $160,000 |
| West Virginia University Research Corporation | Morgantown | WV | $149,933 |
| Training and Educational Materials Development recipients | City | State | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| BPSOS Center for Community Advancement, Inc. | Westminster | CA | $75,000 |
| University Enterprises, Inc. Sacramento University | Sacramento | CA | $75,000 |
| Prolepsis Partners in Prevention Inc | Orlando | FL | $75,000 |
| University of Florida | Gainesville | FL | $75,000 |
| Georgia Tech Research Corp | Atlanta | GA | $74,494 |
| Southern Illinois University, Board of Trustees | Carbondale | IL | $75,000 |
| Kansas State University | Manhattan | KS | $74,949 |
| University of Kentucky Research Foundation | Lexington | KY | $74,959 |
| IUPAT Finishing Trades Institute | Hanover | MD | $75,000 |
| University of Central Missouri | Warrensburg | MO | $75,000 |
| University of Missouri, The Curators of | Columbia | MO | $75,000 |
| Mississippi State University | Starkville | MS | $74,328 |
| University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg | MS | $75,000 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville | NC | $74,998 |
| Kent State University | Kent | OH | $72,983 |
| Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station | College Station | TX | $75,000 |
| Texas A&M Transportation Institute | College Station | TX | $75,000 |
| University Of Texas at Arlington | Arlington | TX | $75,000 |
| Capacity Building Developmental and Pilots recipients | City | State | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska | Juneau | AK | $91,415 |
| Marin Builders Association | San Rafael | CA | $100,000 |
| Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, Inc. | Pomona | CA | $100,000 |
| Valley Contractors Exchange, Inc. | Chico | CA | $100,000 |
| Connecticut Worker Center, Inc. | Bridgeport | CT | $99,000 |
| Georgetown University | Washington | DC | $99,904 |
| Georgia Tech Research Corp | Atlanta | GA | $100,000 |
| Lucky Shoals Community Association, Inc. | Tucker | GA | $81,280 |
| Chicago Jobs with Justice (JWJ) | Chicago | IL | $100,000 |
| Honeybee Strategies, Inc. | Marrero | LA | $100,000 |
| All Things Women, Inc. | Livonia | MI | $91,997 |
| Lamar Institute of Technology | Beaumont | TX | $99,739 |
| University of Washington | Seattle | WA | $100,000 |
| Worker Justice Wisconsin | Madison | WI | $87,450 |
| Capacity Building Follow-on recipients | City | State | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shasta Builders Exchange Inc | Redding | CA | $103,890 |
| The Sustainable Workplace Alliance, Inc. | Eagle Lake | FL | $135,270 |
| Western Iowa Tech Community College Foundation | Sioux City | IA | $145,800 |
| National Council for Occupational Safety & Health | Somerville | MA | $145,797 |
| Melwood Horticultural Training Center, Inc. | Upper Marlboro | MD | $112,996 |
| Arriba Las Vegas Worker Center | Las Vegas | NV | $121,500 |
| State University of New York, The Research Foundation for the | Syracuse | NY | $162,000 |
| Western New York Council on Occ. Safety & Health Inc | Buffalo | NY | $161,910 |
| Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center | Cincinnati | OH | $89,000 |
| Oklahoma State University | Stillwater | OK | $162,000 |
| Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville | PA | $149,099 |