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Remarks Delivered by
U.S. Secretary of Labor
Elaine L. Chao
Louisiana Regional Council Training Center Tour
United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
Baton Rouge Louisiana
Monday, April 10, 2006
Thank you, Jason [Engels Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Louisiana
Regional Council, United Brotherhood of Carpenters]. And thank you for the
tour of this wonderful training facility.
I want to thank you for inviting me here. Your president, President
McCarron, appreciates and values the importance of skills training, which is so
apparent in facilities like this one. His leadership and for everything he is
doing to help address the nationwide shortage of workers in the skilled trades
is greatly appreciated.
I would also like to recognize Sheila Greenwood, who is here on behalf
of the Federal Coordinator's office for Gulf Coast Rebuilding. Sheila used to
work at the Labor Department, and she knows your issues and will be a great
asset to the Gulf Coast Rebuilding effort.
I commend Jason and your leadership at the local level for making it a
priority to ensure your members had food, shelter, and the means to work in the
days and months following the hurricane. I have heard some very inspiring
stories of how the union fund has helped some of you recover, whether it be a
month's rent or the boots on your feet. You treat each other like family, and
it shows!
The Carpenters have been a valued partner with the Labor Department in
encouraging safety on the job. That's why last year, the U.S. Department of
Labor awarded a grant of nearly a million dollars to help train carpenters in
critical safety skills.
Thank you for the great work you are doing in helping New Orleans and
the greater Gulf Coast region recover and rebuild. That's so important to this
region and to our country.
Some may not think of you as responders to natural disasters. As second
responders, long after the ambulances and fire engines have left the scene,
you're still there. You are key to the clean-up and recovery. As we saw after
9/11 in New York, the courage and resolve of our nation's skilled trades can
make a real difference.
So, thank you for showing me your facility, and God Bless you for
everything you are doing — and will do — to help rebuild the Gulf.
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