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Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao's Labor Day
Message
Monday, September 2, 2002
Labor Day
 On Labor Day we pay tribute to the generations of men and women
who built America. We truly stand on the shoulder of giants -- workers who made
this country the hope of the world and the land of opportunity for millions of
people.
Like America, this nation's workers continue to reinvent themselves as
we leave the industrial age behind and enter the 21st century workplace of
service and information technology jobs.
Not surprisingly, more people today work with a mouse than a hammer.
Whether you carry a briefcase or a lunch pail to work, this much is
certain. The recent Wall Street dips and corporate scandals have created a
sense of unease around America's dinner tables.
Clearly, we're facing challenging times.
However, there is cause for optimism. The economy is moving in the
right direction. Inflation is low, home sales and auto sales are still strong,
interest rates are at the lowest levels in decades, productivity continues to
rise, and we have had three straight quarters of positive growth.
President George W. Bush's aggressive economic growth agenda -- which
includes tax relief, corporate accountability, and pension security -- will
further build on these underlying strengths. He won't be satisfied until every
American who wants a job can find a job.
As the U.S. Secretary of Labor, I do more than administer the nation's
unemployment insurance program and roll out labor statistics on a timely basis.
I essentially view my job as providing hope to America's workers -- by helping
them reach their fullest potential by connecting them with opportunities and
giving them the skills they need to succeed in a 21st century economy.
How do we do that?
For starters, we run America's Job Bank -- the world's largest pool of
active job openings, providing 24-hour-a-day access to more than 1.5 million
job listings at major corporations and small businesses throughout the U.S.
But more important - and truly one of the country's unsung programs --
are the over 1,800 federally funded community based employment centers (the
aptly named "one-stop" career center), that offer a wide variety of services in
just one place to people looking for work.
These are definitely not your father's unemployment offices.
Today, they're demand driven -- training and connecting people with
real opportunities in real time. We consider these "one-stop" centers as the
nation's employment talent scouts. They're working ahead of the curve as they
canvas local and new businesses to discover their needs, and then funnel
workers into training that makes sense for today's job market.
It was a local One Stop Career Center that helped Hazard, Kentucky
persuade American Woodmark Corporation to build its new plant in the area. The
same thing happened in Magic Valley, Idaho in helping bring Dell Computer's
technical support center to the region.
And not far from my own office, in downtown Washington D.C., the
nation's largest drug store chain -- CVS -- has set up a complete pharmacy, a
camera department, and a greeting card store in the back of a local D.C. One
Stop Career Center. Talk about real world on-the-job training! Already, CVS has
hired 1,000 employees trained in this facility.
The point is, the U.S. Labor Department is reaching out to create new
and innovative ways to meet the demand of today's job market and help put
Americans back to work.
We want to make sure that the world of work and the world of
government-backed career counseling and training are not worlds apart.
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