Res. No. 521

Resolution calling on the United States Department of Labor to expand the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) authorized outreach trainers in New York City’s ten designated languages.

By Council Members Farías, Hanif, Ossé, De La Rosa, Narcisse, Ung, Joseph, Won, Cabán and Gutiérrez

Whereas, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a federal agency under the United States Department of Labor (DOL), which is responsible for regulating federal and private sector workplaces to ensure safe and healthy conditions; and

Whereas, In New York State, an OSHA-approved State plan further regulates both state and local government working conditions; and

Whereas, In addition to performing inspections, OSHA certifies workers in particular sectors and provides outreach trainings for four primary industries, including construction, general industry, maritime, and disaster sites; and

Whereas, These trainings provide guidance on safety practices in an industry as well as information on basic rights in the workplace; and

Whereas, In New York City, most construction and demolition workers are also required to complete 40 hours of site safety training (SST) through 30 and 10-hour OSHA courses; and

Whereas, In New York City Local Law 196 of 2017 mandates 40 hours of SST for certain construction and demolition sites through Local Law (LL) 196 of 2017, which was passed in response to increased injuries and deaths on construction sites; and

Whereas, These SST’s are facilitated by OSHA authorized trainers who are authorized through OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Centers; and

Whereas, According to OSHA’s website, OTI Education Centers are selected through a national competitive process with the closest of the current 36 centers to New York City being Somerset, New Jersey, Baltimore, Maryland and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and

Whereas, Pricing on several OTI Education Centers websites indicates that these courses cost $895; and

Whereas, OSHA also lists the names, locations, industries taught, and languages spoken by their authorized trainers; and

Whereas, In New York State there are 1,044 OSHA-authorized outreach trainers in construction, 347 in general industry, 20 in disaster sites, and 4 in maritime; and

Whereas, New York City is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the United States; and

Whereas, In 2017 the City designated 10 languages spoken most by New Yorkers with limited English proficiency and required that City agencies to provide resources and services in these languages; and

Whereas, Only 123 construction outreach trainers in New York can train in a language other than English, 35 in general industry, 5 in disaster sites, and none in maritime; and

Whereas, Additional breakdowns of OSHA’s outreach trainers in New York City’s 10 designated languages shows further limitations; and

Whereas, Spanish-language trainers are more prevalent according to OSHA, with 88 in construction, 29 in general industry, and 3 in disaster sites; and

Whereas,  Of the OSHA authorized outreach trainers in constructions, only two speak Korean, four speak Russian, one is a Bengali-speaking trainer, three speak Urdu, and nine construction trainers can train in Chinese, although OSHA’s website does not specify if the Chinese is Mandarin, Cantonese, or Taiwanese, which are the specific languages indicated in the City’s Chinese language designation; and

Whereas, Of the OSHA authorized outreach trainers in general industry and disaster sites, only two Arabic-speaking trainers can perform general industry training, and only one Urdu-speaking can provide disaster site training; and

Whereas, There are no outreach trainers in any industry in New York who can train in Haitian-Creole, French, or Polish; and

Whereas, Additionally, the City continues to see rising numbers of individuals coming from Spanish, French, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Haitian-Creole speaking countries and if they are interested in engaging with New York City professions that require OSHA safety trainings, these trainings must be available to them in their preferred languages; and

Whereas, In a city rich with languages, with ten specifically designated as the most spoken in the City, limited access to trainings that provide life-saving practices in the workplace can severely jeopardize a worker’s safety or limit access to professions that desperately need workers; and

Whereas, Reporting from Associated Builders and Contractors has shown that the construction industry, which historically has been a sector with a significant number of immigrant workers, is dealing with a massive shortage of workers; and

Whereas, According to Associated Builders and Contractors, in 2025 the construction industry needs to hire over 450,000 workers, in addition to their normal hiring pace, to meet the growing demand for labor; and

Whereas, Additionally, more than 1 in 5 construction workers are 55 or older and likely to retire soon, threatening an even larger shortage; and

Whereas, Empowering immigrant workers through information on basic worker rights and safety practices that could save their lives is imperative to ensuring that immigrant workers are protected in the workplace; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the United States Department of Labor to expand the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) authorized outreach trainers in New York City’s ten designated languages.

LS #17135

07/31/2024

RLB