Union offers bilingual health and safety training
AFT plans to expand Spanish-language training program

Equipping activists and others with the skills they need to recognize and address health and safety hazards is one of the primary aims of the AFT health and safety program. In September, the national union conducted a bilingual version of its highly regarded training program for a group of paraprofessionals and school-related personnel. The two-day cooperative program with the California Federation of Teachers was held at the CFT office in Burbank, but most of the trainees came from school districts in Texas.

The sessions focused on two topics for which the AFT health and safety program has developed training materials: chemical hazards and blood-borne pathogens. “Most members are not educated on the hazards of some of the materials they use,” says Lizeth Montoya, a bilingual staff member of the Alliance of Dallas Educators, who attended the training.

The idea behind the bilingual program is twofold: to train the staff who don’t speak English and to recognize that many school employees are more comfortable learning in their first language—in this case Spanish—which allows for more thorough and subtle discussions of important concepts to promote job safety.

The health and safety program uses a train-the-trainer approach (as do many AFT training initiatives), which means that when the participants who gathered in Burbank returned home, they were well-prepared to train their colleagues. And, given the preponderance of Spanish-speaking PSRPs in Texas, the Lone Star State is one place where the AFT state federation and local affiliates are eager to offer the bilingual training.

Montoya believes the training will benefit the alliance’s many Spanish-speaking PSRPs. “I’m glad the union is doing this, because it’s a good idea,” she says. “You can really explain things to the members, and they will comprehend much more if this kind of training is done in Spanish.”

To find out which AFT health and safety resources are available in Spanish, visit www.aft.org/psrp/topics/index.htm or call the AFT health and safety program at 202/393-5677.