The Facts:

• Worker safety training isn't just a good practice. It saves lives, especially in high risk industries. And, it's the law. 
• Certain high risk industries like Tree Care and Utility Vegetation Management are facing pressure to perform work in increasingly risky environments due to wildfire activity in the Western US,  necessitating a renewed focus on workplace safety training.
• OSHA has created an oligopoly of Authorized Online Outreach Training Providers by restricting competition and disallowing any new providers, in violation of Federal Acquisition Regulations.
• This Oligopoly has existed since October of 2019, since OSHA - having recognized the poor quality of this online training option - decided to pursue a consortium model. 
• According to documents available online, no work past the public review, which concluded in December of 2019, has been completed towards development of this new model.
• Not only has competition been restricted for a period in excess of 5 years, but so has innovation and improvements in training quality.
• Authorized OSHA Outreach Trainers  - who provide instructor-led training - must compete directly with the online providers on price and convenience while dealing with a host of apparently arbitrary restrictions further limiting their ability to compete. 
• On the online side you have no class minimum, no class maximum, zero required instructor contact hours and no restrictions on use of technology to satisfy the training hours requirement. On the in-person side, you have a class limit of 40 for in-person and 20 for virtual and you cannot use any technology as a substitute for instructor contact hours or provide any hybridization to your training. Both methods result in the exact same DOL Card. 
• Although the program is voluntary, OSHA 10/30 are frequently required by State OSHA plans or contract authorities for public works projects making the DOL Card valuable. 
• Complaints by Outreach Trainers to OSHA to seek redress of grievance have resulted in threats by OSHA to revoke the trainer's authorization to teach if they persist. 

Background: The Western United States is at war with wildfires, placing workers in many industries and community residents at increased risk. This necessitates an increased focus on training field workers and supervisors in hazard identification and control measures. My work with training Tree Care Workers and Utility Line Clearance Vegetation Management Safety Inspectors in California after the 2018 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County - which forced my family to evacuate - and the 2019 Camp Fire, led me to realize that safety training for the front line workers in this fight was more important than ever, and I sought to improve quality and access. 

OSHA 10/30 Outreach Training Courses provide a solid foundation in safety fundamentals and can be tailored for relevance to a particular industry, such as General Tree Care and Utility Line Clearance Tree Trimming. In researching the OSHA Outreach Training program, I discovered numerous areas for improvement, especially as it relates to quality, cost and accessibility - all of which have a significant impact on the employer, the employee, and the contract authority overseeing the work. 

Although this is a voluntary program in most states and industries, many wildfire related projects are considered public works projects which often triggers a requirement for OSHA 10 and 30 Hour safety training under the OSHA Outreach Training Program. Finding time for safety training is always a challenge, especially when the requirements identify specific courses offered by a small group of providers. When OSHA Outreach Training is required, the Online training companies authorized by OSHA can deliver convenient and economical on-demand training as a rapid path to an OSHA Outreach Training DOL Card. However, this training is a poor substitute for instructor led or hybrid training and delivers learning outcomes that are marginal at best. 

This online training competes directly with Authorized OSHA Outreach Trainers who deliver instructor-led training in a physical classroom or virtual environment and who cannot compete on the basis of price or convenience that online training offers. OSHA recognizes the current model as being of subpar quality and halted applications for new providers in October of 2019 while researching the feasibility of a new consortium model. The public review period ended in Dec of 2019 and according to government documents available online, there have been no actions taken since. Existing providers, who compete directly with Outreach Trainers, continue to provide this training and have enjoyed a protected oligopoly for over 5 years. Restricting competition in this manner is a clear violation of  Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and has prevented innovation or improvements in quality. 

I reached out to OSHA in 2023 to inquire about becoming an online training provider and to discuss opportunities for innovation and hybrid training to serve the Tree Care and Utility Vegetation Management industries. I believed that allowing Outreach Trainers to develop hybrid training could better enable them to compete with the low cost and convenient self-paced online training, while improving quality in the process. OSHA responded with what appeared to be the “company line” on their consideration of a new consortium model and shut down any further discussion on the matter.

I went on to become an Authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer and delivered the first Tree Industry Expo sponsored OSHA 10 Course at the 2024 Arbor Expo in Edison, NJ and followed it up with a virtual OSHA 30 for a few of the same students.

As an OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer, I continued to see room for improvement with this program. In my further communications with OSHA, I took issue with the fact that they created a protected oligopoly for the existing online providers. I expressed my distaste for current Outreach Trainer Standards that further restrict the ability of Outreach Trainers to compete with the oligopoly or to innovate in the space. I advised that I believed their actions were in violation of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. And I advised that unless they provided me with a satisfactory explanation, I would have to take action. Their response was to threaten to revoke my authorization to teach for seeking redress of grievance - in clear violation of the First Amendment. As an Outreach Instructor, I am neither an employee nor a contractor. As such, I am likely not protected by any whistleblower rules. I filed a complaint with the Department of Labor OIG but I do not expect resolution via that channel. Even if they hold OSHA accountable for their threats, there is still work to be done in breaking the oligopoly and improving training quality. 

The Oligopoly of OSHA Authorized Online Training Providers needs to be busted. The most efficient way to accomplish this is to issue an immediate prohibition against any public agency, State OSHA plan, or contract authority for public works from requiring OSHA Authorized Outreach Training unless they also accept equivalent training from a Non-OSHA Authorized provider. Further consideration and discussion on the nuances and externalities of such a move and the necessary controls should be encouraged but should not prevent immediate adoption of the prohibition.