Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Media Briefing On Department-Wide Initiatives To
Improve Hispanic Worker Safety and Prosperity
Feb. 21, 2002

Thank you for joining us. We're here this afternoon to discuss Hispanic worker safety and health. It's been a growing concern of this Administration.

It's no secret that more that 10 million Americans speak little or no English, and that language has become a major barrier to worker safety. The fatality rate among Hispanic workers especially troubles me. Many can't read English and they don't get safety tips or instruction in Spanish.

Hispanic's comprise 11 percent of the workforce. Yet they have a 14 percent fatality rate. This must end. Back in August, I directed DOL agencies to make unprecedented efforts to meet this and related challenges.

We looked to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to provide workplace safety and health information to Hispanic workers in construction and other trades. We called upon the Wage and Hour Division to see that all workers, especially immigrants, receive their hard earned wages. And, we asked the Employment and Training Administration to make a special outreach to the Hispanic community advising them of our programs, especially to migrant and seasonal farm workers.

We have made significant progress and I want to provide you with an update on this progress today.

OSHA is holding construction safety courses in Spanish across the country. Wage and Hour is working with Mexican Consulates to help inform workers of their rights. And ETA is teaming up with the National Council of La Raza and others to provide training for the unemployed and unskilled.

And that's why I have with me John Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of OSHA, Emily DeRocco, Assistant Secretary for ETA and Mark Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Wage and Hour Division so they can each discuss the various initiatives they have developed to assist Hispanic workers.

We want to help Hispanic workers climb the ladder of success. We want to help them develop more skills and training. And, we want them to continue to be an integral part of the American workforce.

The DOL is committed to ensuring the safety and prosperity of Hispanic workers.

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