Kelli Heflin of Southwest Generation told stories of withdrawing from VPP and how her company got back on track.
"It is a serious issue. It's the number of serious violations that were found. It means that many employees were at risk of serious injury," Norman R. Deitch said.
More than 2,500 attendees participated in the association's 2015 conference. Next year, the event takes place in Kissimmee, Fla.
The NFL team and the companies involved expressed regret for the casualties.
But ANA said exemptions for medical or religious reasons should be allowed.
The union, which represents 750,000 active and retired members, reported Director of Safety and Health David Mullen "has been flying blind" until recently.
"Management continues to allow workers to clean equipment without following safety procedures and without guards being properly installed. This company needs to address all workplace hazards, not just the ones for which penalties have been proposed," said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office.
CPSC's announcement said consumers "should immediately stop using these recalled lawn mowers and contact Scag Power Equipment or an authorized dealer for a free repair."
The Outreach Award went to Tropicana Products Inc. and the Innovation Award to both Washington River Protection Solutions and Raytheon-Intelligence, Information and Services Indianapolis Site.
The exemption takes effect Oct. 1 for those who are self-employed doing work that poses no potential risk to the health and safety of other workers or members of the public.