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Your Environment. Your Health.

Advancing Partnerships to Improve Worker Health and Safety

October 19-21, 2021
Virtual Workshop

WTP 2021 Fall Awardee Meeting and Workshop, October 19-21, 2021, Virtual

Purpose of the Awardee Meeting

The semi-annual WTP Awardee Meeting brought awardees together to provide program updates, exchange information regarding training, and discover new areas of interest to awardees.

Justice40/Environmental Justice Stakeholder Engagement Meeting

At the conclusion of the WTP Awardee Meeting on Tuesday, October 19, a public Justice40/Environmental Justice Stakeholder Engagement Meeting was held. The purpose of the meeting was two-fold:

  1. To share information about the Justice40 Initiative and also one of the pilot programs covered under the initiative – the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP).
  2. To solicit feedback and suggestions on how to enhance the program's effectiveness.

 

Purpose and Scope of the Workshop

Partnerships ensure the longevity and success of WTP efforts at a local and national scale. The fall workshop considered elements that are integral to forming successful partnerships among WTP stakeholders, including grantee organizations, community-based organizations, and state and federal agencies. While partnerships may take various forms, they require an understanding of expectations and formulating negotiations that will result in mutual benefits. The workshop addressed these topics, along with other issues related to building and sustaining partnerships. Workshop participants had an opportunity to learn about the strengths and needs of others within the WTP network. Participants left with a better understanding of communication, evaluation, and other strategies needed to enhance their partnerships.

 

Agendas

Workshop Report

Presentations

WTP Awardee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Time Topic
1:00 – 1:45 p.m. Welcome and NIEHS Update (6MB) (Recorded Webinar)
  • Sharon Beard, Demia Wright, Kathy Ahlmark, Jim Remington, NIEHS WTP
1:45 – 2:15 p.m. Grants Management Branch (GMB) Update (277KB) (Recorded Webinar)
  • Lisa Edwards and Jenny Greer, NIEHS GMB
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. NIEHS National Clearinghouse Update (1MB) (Recorded Webinar)
  • Deborah Weinstock, NIEHS WTP Clearinghouse/MDB, Inc.
2:30 – 2:45 p.m. Break
2:45 – 2:55 p.m. Environmental Justice and Natural Disasters Report (927KB) (Recorded Webinar)
  • Tim Fields and Joy Lee, NIEHS WTP Clearinghouse/MDB, Inc.
2:55 – 3:50 p.m. COVID-19 and Recovery Centers Update (Recorded Webinar)
3:50 – 4:00 p.m. Break
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Justice40/Environmental Justice Stakeholder Engagement Meeting (Recorded Webinar)
5:30 p.m. Adjourn

Workshop: Advancing Partnerships to Improve Worker Health and Safety

Workshop Day 1: Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Time Topic
1:00 – 1:15 p.m. Welcome (Recorded Webinar)
  • Sharon Beard, Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Training Program (WTP)
  • Gary Ellison, Ph.D., Acting Director, NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training
1:15 – 2:00 p.m. Setting the Stage: Experience with Partnerships (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: Mitchel Rosen, Ph.D., New Jersey/New York Hazardous Materials Worker Training Center
  • Montgomery Proffit, OAI, Inc.
  • Janelle Rios, Ph.D., Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Consortium
Partnership Structures and Agreements
2:00 – 2:30 p.m. Defining Partnership Structures and Expectations (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: Salvatore Cali, OAI, Inc.
2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Partnerships: Making Agreements and Understanding the Nature of Negotiations (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: David Turcotte, Sc.D., The New England Consortium-Civil Service Employees Association
  • Ashlee Fitch, The Steelworkers Charitable and Educational Organization
    TOPIC: New partnership with Paducah
  • Brian Griffin, Midwest Consortium for Hazardous Waste Worker Training
    TOPIC: Greater Cincinnati Occupational Health and Great Oaks partnership (552KB) 
  • William “Bill” Nash, Partnership for Environmental Technology and Education
    TOPIC: Military Training Partnership with Barton Community College
3:00 – 3:15 p.m. Q&A and Open Discussion for Partnership Structures and Agreements
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. Break
Best Practices to Sustain Long-Term Partnerships
3:30 – 4:15 p.m. Sustaining Partnerships for the Long-Term (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: Kevin Riley, Ph.D., Western Region Universities Consortium (WRUC)
  • Cesar Bandera, Ph.D., Cell Podium, and Mitchel Rosen, Ph.D., New Jersey/New York Hazardous Materials Worker Training Center
    TOPIC: A Small Business Innovation Research E-Learning for HAZMAT and Emergency Response Grantee and Worker Training Program Grantee Partnership
  • Steve Doherty, The Steelworkers Charitable and Educational Organization
    TOPIC: Partnership with Valero in Memphis, TN, around the Triangle of Prevention
  • Kenneth Oldfield, Alabama Fire College
    TOPIC: Partnership with Native American Fish and Wildlife Society
4:15 – 4:30 p.m. Q&A and Open Discussion
Interactive Roundtables
4:30 – 5:15 p.m. Virtual Roundtables
MODERATOR: Kenda Freeman, National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Training
  • Best practices for working with Worker Centers and crossing language barriers
    Arturo Archila, The Labor Institute with United Steelworkers (USW)
  • Best practices for crafting agreements – items to consider including to protect all partners
    Lawrence Baldino, The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Training and Education Fund
  • Best practices for developing and sustaining federal interagency partnerships (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), NIEHS, U.S. Environmental Protective Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), etc.) and why these partnerships are important
    Elizabeth Del Re, International Association of Fire Fighters
  • Best practices for partnerships and work at DOE sites
    Ted Giltz, NIEHS WTP Contractor, and Gary Gustafson, CPWR
  • Best practices for leveraging expertise within advisory boards and committees to build partnerships
    Stephen Grant, Ph.D., Nova Southeastern University
  • Best practices for partnerships to train workers for disaster cleanup
    Gene Sabitoni, LIUNA Training and Education Fund
  • Best practices for partnership with tribal organizations
    Roy Stover, Alabama Fire College
5:15 – 5:25 p.m. Wrap-up and Adjourn
  • Sharon Beard, NIEHS WTP Director

Workshop Day 2: Thursday, October 21, 2021

Time Topic
1:00 – 1:05 p.m. Recap of Day 1 and Setting the Stage for Day 2 Discussions (1MB) (Recorded Webinar)
  • Sharon Beard, NIEHS WTP Director
Tracking Success and Lessons Learned
1:05 – 1:35 p.m. Tracking Success and Evaluation (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: Demia Wright, NIEHS WTP
  • Larry Hodge, Jobs to Move America with USW
    TOPIC: Establishing Community Benefits Agreements
  • Reggie Maclin, Afton Chemical Corp, and Randy Schwartzkopf, International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC) Local Leadership
    TOPIC: ICWUC partnership with Afton Chemical Corp.
  • David Casavant, Sustainable Workplace Alliance
    TOPIC: Partnerships with companies that hire ECWTP graduates
1:35 – 2:05 p.m. Tracking Lessons Learned (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: Jim Remington, NIEHS WTP
  • Lara Maldjian, New Jersey/New York Hazardous Materials Worker Training Center (NYCOSH)
    TOPIC: NYCOSH and NYC Transit (MTA) challenges (246KB) 
  • Kevin Riley, Ph.D., WRUC
    TOPIC: WRUC Partnership with Service Employees International Union Nurse Alliance of California
2:05 – 2:20 p.m. Q&A and Open Discussion for Tracking Success and Lessons Learned (Recorded Webinar)
Breakout Discussions
2:20 – 3:05 p.m. Breakout Session (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: Kathy Ahlmark, NIEHS WTP

Breakout session for participants to gather and discuss various challenges and issues they have encountered with partnerships and strategies to adapt and overcome these challenges.
3:05 – 3:35 p.m. Report Back from Breakout Session (Recorded Webinar)
3:35 – 3:50 p.m. Break
Partnerships for Disaster Preparedness
3:50 – 4:30 p.m. Outreach and Partnerships for Better Disaster Preparedness (Recorded Webinar)
MODERATOR: Jonathan Rosen, National Clearinghouse
4:30 – 4:50 p.m. Q&A and Open Discussion
4:50 – 5:05 p.m. Closing Thoughts and Proposed Follow-up Actions (Recorded Webinar)
  • Kenneth Oldfield, Alabama Fire College
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