OSHA Renews Alliance with CMAA, Focusing on Language Barriers, Youth
The Club Managers Association of America and OSHA yesterday renewed their Alliance, originally signed on Sept. 16, 2003, to provide CMAA members, small businesses, and others with information and training resources to help protect the safety and health of membership club employees, including non-English or limited English speaking and youth workers. Additionally, the organizations will address safety and health issues related to membership clubs' landscaping and horticultural activities.
"OSHA's four-year collaboration with CMAA has resulted in a number of successful initiatives to improve the safety of employees in the membership club industry," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "Our renewed alliance will continue to provide valuable guidance and education to increase awareness of effective safety and health programs in the workplace."
CMAA CEO James B. Singerling said, "We are delighted to renew our formal alliance with OSHA and continue to promote healthy club work environments." A professional association for managers of membership clubs, CMAA has nearly 7,000 members who operate more than 3,000 country, city, athletic, faculty, yacht, town, and military clubs. Singerling said the association's member-managed clubs employ close to 300,000 people nationwide. "[T]hese clubs recognize the value in protecting their greatest assets--their employees. We look forward to continuing the productive and positive partnership between CMAA and OSHA well into the future."
In the past year, the alliance developed eleven toolbox talks, in English and Spanish, addressing issues related to hazard communication, respiratory protection, landscaping, and horticultural activities. CMAA also supported the 2007 North American Occupational Safety and Health Week. The association has more than 90 senior and student chapters and colonies in the United States and abroad.