Susan Harwood Training Grant Program
TCIA was recently awarded a federal grant in the amount of $165,000 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The grant was awarded through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, which provides funding for nonprofit organizations to conduct in-person, hands-on training and educational programs for employers and workers on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces.
"With the help of this grant, we can work toward keeping workers safe" stated Mark Garvin, TCIA president. "It is an important component toward achieving our industry's goal of reducing injuries and fatalities with respect to electrical hazards in tree care work."
TCIA is developing approximately 25 free workshops in order to train 750 or more employers and employees of tree care companies in safe ways to handle electrical hazards associated with trees. These select workshops, financed 100 percent through federal funds, will be offered to affected employees and owners of small businesses, including limited-English, low-literacy, and hard-to-reach workers.
"No one should ever suffer injury or death for the sake of a paycheck," retary of Labor Hilda L. Solis in announcing the grant. "The grants awarded by the federal government today will provide tools for worke said Secrs and employers in some of the most dangerous industries to identify and eliminate hazards. This education and training will help ensure that every worker returns home safely at the end of his or her shift."
To view a complete list of grant funded EHAP workshops, click here.
Please Note: The attendees limit for each workshop is 30. Registrations from one company are capped at 10 until one week before the workshop when all empty seats are released. Sorry, no walk-ins.
Public Service of NH Grant
Public Service of NH (PSNH) recently awarded TCIAF a grant to train 100 tree workers on how to safely work around overhead conductors and live wires, further recognizing our Electrical Hazard Awareness Program (EHAP) as the perfect tool to accomplish that goal. Eligible workers include all those that work within the service district of PSNH. Look for further announcements on where and when registration for these workshops will open.
The secondary goal of the award is to use consumer focused outreach to spread the word: trees of the right variety, placed properly and pruned regularly are less likely to obstruct transmission and drop lines, cause power outages, safety hazards or damage homes. Most importantly, they will learn which projects should be left to professional arborists or when they might be suitable for the Do-it-Yourself weekend warrior.
