History and Background

The Occupational Safety and Health Education Program (OSHEP) was founded in 1994 with a grant from the Workforce Development Partnership of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.  In partnership with Rutgers University, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO sought to, and continues to, achieve positive organizational change and reduce workplace illnesses and injuries by delivering both site specific and general health and safety training to New Jersey's workers and employers.  OSHEP's training methodology encourages the development of team-building, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, important in meeting today's workforce challenges.

The Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations is the world’s leading source of expertise on managing and representing workers, designing effective organizations, and building strong employment relationships. The School’s distinguished faculty has an international reputation for excellence in research, education and technical assistance in the broad field of labor and employment relations.  SMLR faculty have expertise in management, leadership and organizational behavior; private and public sector collective bargaining and industrial jurisprudence; labor economics; occupational safety and health;  union administration;  community organizing;  workforce development, education and training; alternative dispute resolution; joint labor-management decision-making; and many other specialties. 

The OSHEP partnership of NJ State AFL-CIO and Rutgers combines the two organizational strengths to lead to a much more effective training and intervention program that will have a significant impact on making workers safer on the job.  The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is the chief representative entity for union activity in the state representing approximately 1,000,000 rank and file members.  The Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations is an internationally recognized research, education, and service leader in union organizational best practices, joint labor management cooperation, occupational safety and health, training delivery and program evaluation.

The strength of the program lies in the comprehensive and holistic approach to occupational safety and health that involves labor unions, employers, and government agencies in forming strategic partnerships for maximum effectiveness in training intervention programs.  OSHEP is especially proud of a new training partnership with Wakefern Food Corporation, the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States and the United Food and Commercial Workers to launch a customized safety and health program designed to reduce injuries for ShopRite employees.  This partnership will have a demonstrated impact in reducing the number of injuries among the state’s food and retail sector employees.