FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Steve Rank, IMPACT Western Region, (916) 784-9144
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Iron Workers International and the Ironworkers Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT) are pleased to announce that recent news coverage inBNA reaffirms a recent letter of clarification from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stating that our Joint Apprentice Training Committee Programs (JATC) and Ironworker Apprenticeship Certification Program (IATP) meet OSHA’s definition of a “third party qualified evaluator” approved to certify a signal worker’s qualifications.
OSHA’s written clarification recognizes and validates the efforts of the National Training Fund, IATP and our JATC’s, which serve as independent entities to assess whether individuals meet the qualification requirement for signal persons.
James Maddux, chief of OSHA’s directorate of construction, indicated in a June 28 letter to Walter Wise, General President of Iron Workers International, that “[L]abor -management joint apprenticeship training programs that train and assess signal person would typically meet the definition for a third-party qualified evaluator.”
Maddux’s letter speaks to the quality and prestige of the Iron Workers International and IMPACT’s comprehensive training programs, not just those dedicated to signal training.
“We are pleased that [OSHA] has recognized the quality of our training programs,” said Wise, adding, “I am committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure that our members are the best-trained and skilled workforce in the construction industry.” The Iron Workers International and IMPACT spend more than $50 million on training programs each year to ensure that our workers are the safest and most productive union workers in the field.
Last year, representatives from the Iron Workers International and IMPACT aggressively pursued regulatory clarifications from the agency to recognize the use of JATC’s to administer training as a “qualified evaluator (third-party)” for the purpose of evaluating signal person qualifications.
About IMPACT: IMPACT is a labor management partnership based in Washington, D.C., designed to provide a forum for union Ironworkers and signatory contractors to address mutual concerns and encourage reasonable, balanced solutions to construction and employment issues.
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