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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
93rd Annual National Safety Congress
and Expo
Orlando, Florida
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Thank you, Alan [McMillan, President and
CEO, National Safety Council].
Let me begin by saying that our thoughts and prayers remain with the survivors
and the recovery efforts along America's Gulf Coast. I recently traveled
there with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Treasury Secretary John
Snow. We met with survivors of Hurricane Katrina, state and local officials,
the relief organizations, and the volunteers helping them. We met with survivors
of Hurricane Katrina, state and local officials, the relief organizations,
and the volunteers helping them. Among those volunteers were teams sent by
Spain, Austria and other nations. Countries around the world, including
Uruguay and other concerned nations in the Americas, sent supplies and expressed
concern. The evacuees are facing many difficult challenges in the months
ahead, reclaiming their lives and rebuilding their communities. But progress
is being made. The New Orleans airport has reopened. And the flood waters
will be pumped out of New Orleans by the end of September, way ahead of schedule.
A number of the Labor Department's agencies, including OSHA and MSHA, have
been playing key roles in the cleanup and recovery efforts. Their role is
to ensure that recovery efforts are not compromised by injuries or fatalities
caused by accidents that can be avoided. As soon as this hurricane disaster
struck, OSHA sent teams of professionals to work with local and state officials.
I want to thank the OSHA safety and health professionals—and all of you—who
have answered this call.
I am delighted to be here with you today. At this worldwide gathering of
safety experts, I want to take this opportunity to talk about the generational
shift that is taking place in our nation's workforce and what that means
for safety and health in the workplace.
The demographics of America's workforce are changing dramatically. Our
nation is facing the impending retirement of a huge cohort of workers—"baby
boomers"—who were born between 1946 and 1964. Their retirement has implications
for just about every major public policy issue, including health and safety.
As the baby-boomer generation leaves the workplace, they are taking with
them the health and safety knowledge they gained through a lifetime of
work experience.
They are being replaced with a whole new generation of young workers who
are beginning their careers, and thus possess relatively less health and
safety experience. And these young workers are coming on board when the workforce
is more mobile than ever before. The days of staying with one employer for
a lifetime are over. The average American worker today changes jobs nine
times before age 34 to pursue greater economic opportunities. And that's
not just because of technological change or the competitiveness of the worldwide
economy. Young workers in America today are much more interested in trying
out a variety of experiences, before settling on one career path.
So, our country's challenge is to preserve the gains made over the past
50 years by intensifying our health and safety training programs for the
incoming new generation of workers.
There are many great training programs, especially in the skilled trades,
to teach worker safety and health. But workers alone can't ensure a safe
workplace.
There are many good employers out there who put safety first. But employers
alone cannot ensure a safe workplace.
And just issuing citations or enforcement can't do it alone. Citations occur
after the fact. Our mission is to prevent accidents, injuries and fatalities
from happening in the first place.
Workers and employers must join together to
build a culture of safety within the organization that says safety is #1.
America's economy is strong and resilient and more people are working than
ever before. Our labor force numbers approximately 149 million people. One-third
of the workforce changes jobs every year. The economy has created more than
4 million new jobs since May 2003. Net job growth has averaged about 194,000
per month for 27 straight months.
The nation's unemployment rate for August was 4.9 percent, which is lower
than the average of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This is good news for our
economy and our workforce. Again, this means that the number of workers who
need health and safety training continues.
As the workforce continues to grow, the variety of our workplaces is expanding.
Small businesses employ half of all private-sector workers and create two-thirds
of all new jobs. In fact, OSHA has developed a Web site just for small businesses.
Also, the number of self-employed workers continues to grow as technology
provides workers greater flexibility and independence. The different venues
for messages promoting health and safety are increasing.
The Department of Labor is adapting its programs to meet these and other
new challenges of the 21st century. The Department is continuously striving
to improve health and safety programs to meet high standards for worker protections.
I am especially proud of the work of OSHA and MSHA. We have the best health
and safety record of any Administration.
Since 2001, the number of workplace fatalities has been reduced to historic
lows. And for four years in a row, MSHA has helped the U.S. mining industry
set the best safety records since statistics were first compiled in 1910.
How were these results achieved? First, through strong, fair and targeted enforcement.
Second, through the Enhanced Enforcement Program. This focuses on employers
who ignore their health and safety responsibilities and continually place
their workers at risk. And third, through compliance assistance—an aggressive
health and safety education and outreach campaign to better protect workers.
Through this program, the Department reaches out to educate employers and
workers so that they better understand their responsibilities and rights
under the nation's health and safety laws.
For example, the Department has a compliance assistance specialist ready
to help in every federal OSHA area office in America. These specialists
identify local areas of concern. They reach out to local employers and workers
to help address these concerns. And they search out opportunities for improved
health and safety efforts in the communities they serve.
Through cooperative programs, we are going beyond strict regulatory compliance
to better protect workers. OSHA's premier cooperative program—the Voluntary
Protection Program, or VPP—continues to get results. 20 years of experience
has shown that VPP participants have incident rates averaging 50 percent below other
companies in the same industries. And the VPP family of participants has
doubled in size since the year 2000.
Employers in Mexico, Canada and across the Atlantic are taking notice in
the success of the VPP program. Ireland recently recognized its first VPP
site. And the Department has been working with Finland to explore future
participation in the program.
The Department will continue to reach out to the international community
to share lessons learned and assist developing nations to improve workplace
health and safety. In fact, last year, the Department signed several health
and safety agreements with the People's Republic of China.
Of course, the Department's partnerships extend beyond the VPP program.
A good example is our Alliance with the National Safety Council. Together,
we are reaching small businesses, younger workers and even internationally
to provide information, guidance and training resources.
Another good example is the success of the Department in partnering with
organized labor. In fact, we have the largest ever number of worker health
and safety partnerships with organized labor—350!
Technology is providing new ways for people to learn new skills. A few weeks
ago, for example, I visited with the United Industrial Workers at their training
facility in Piney Point, Maryland. In the last three years, more than 10,000
seafarers have trained at this impressive facility. One of the innovative
tools they employ is a computerized simulator to teach students how to navigate
ports and waterways.
Through the Alliance program, we have developed a growing number of electronic
assistance tools to further workplace safety and health. Greater utilization
of Web-based training tools helps us reach employers and workers. And this
is just one example of what we can accomplish with technology. That's especially
important with today's technology savvy younger generation.
Just as technology advances and evolves, so do workplace relationships.
Adversarial relationships, which pit employer against worker, are a relic
of another era.
The environment of the 21st century requires a new paradigm, where employers
and workers must work together to make safety
and health #1. That's the best way to protect workers!
Fortunately, there is a great deal of consensus regarding the importance
of safety and health in America. We know continued progress can be made
if we continue to work together.
Our goals are clear. Every organization must have, as its core, values that
make safety #1. Every organizational culture must have this goal as its touchstone
value. Every supervisor, manager and worker must include health and safety
in their responsibilities.
And as this generational shift in the workforce occurs, challenges loom.
I urge you to continue to focus on education and training and be especially
vigilant of new workers entering the workforce.
Thank you for all you are doing to protect the health and safety of workers
in our country and around the world.
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