U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Reaches Out
to Hispanic Workforce
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao is
strongly committed to the well-being of the Hispanic American workforce. With
Secretary Chao's leadership, the Department of Labor has undertaken the
following selection of activities that benefit Hispanic American workers.
DOL Agreement with the Mexican Government — On
July 21, 2004, Secretary Chao and Mexican Secretary for Foreign Affairs Luis
Ernesto Derbez, signed a Joint Declaration that reaffirms the shared
commitment of the United States and Mexico to improve compliance with and
awareness of workplace laws and regulations protecting Mexican workers in the
United States. Two Letters of Agreement were also signed which
highlight specific efforts to be undertaken jointly between the Department of
Labor's Wage and Hour Division and the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, and the Mexican Embassy and the 45 Consulates in the United
States. These initiatives build on existing joint efforts and are designed to
protect the rights and the safety of Mexican workers within the United States.
DOL Hispanic Safety and Health Summit — Held on
July 22, 2004, in Orlando, Florida, the Hispanic Summit on Occupational Safety
and Health brought together over 500 representatives from government, community
and faith-based organizations, non-profits, industry, academia and organized
labor to share practical safety and health information, present success stories
and discuss gaps in communication, training and outreach for Hispanic workers
in the United States. The Summit was designed to raise awareness about safety
and health issues affecting Hispanic workers. Attendees learned and shared
practical information on how to reduce workplace injuries, illnesses and
fatalities among Hispanic workers.
Opportunity Conference: Asian Pacific and Hispanic Americans,
Building on America's Promise — The September 2003 Opportunities
Conference in Washington, D.C., was a huge success and welcomed over 1,500
attendees from around the country. The event covered a range of topics on
economic development for the Asian Pacific and Hispanic American communities.
The Department of Labor partnered with MANA, the National Association for
Hispanic Federal Executives, Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, among others, to reach out to small business
owners, non-profit organizations, and community leaders. This innovative
conference addressed the needs of the two fastest-growing segments of the 21st
century workforce. A second Opportunity Conference is scheduled for October 12,
2004 in Washington, D.C.
Injury and Fatalities Numbers Decline — Workplace
fatalities for all workers are at historic lows, decreasing by more than half
in the last 30 years. Fifteen percent of the workers who died in 2002 were
Hispanic, even though Hispanics comprise less than 13 percent of the workforce.
Hispanic workers are more likely than the general population to be injured or
become ill on the job. In 2002, fatalities among Hispanic workers fell for the
first time in 7 years.
OSHA Hispanic Taskforce — Under the leadership of
Secretary Elaine L. Chao, the Department of Labor created the OSHA Hispanic
Taskforce to respond to the increasing number of injuries and fatalities in the
Hispanic workforce. This taskforce meets bimonthly to discuss policy changes,
events, training conferences and ways that OSHA can improve safety and health
practices among the Hispanic population.
Safety and Health Information on the Web — The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides workplace safety
and health information in Spanish online, over the telephone, and through print
media. OSHA added a Spanish-language option to the OSHA national hotline
(1-800-321-OSHA) in June 2002. Additionally, OSHA launched a Spanish-language
Web page in February 2002, which has recorded a significant increase in visits
from 2,500 in February 2002 to over 28,500 in February 2003. The Web site
provides workplace safety and health information to Spanish-speaking employers,
workers and Hispanic business owners; an overview of OSHA and its mission;
worker/employer rights and responsibilities; a list of safety and health
resources; an OSHA Hispanic/English-as-a Second-Language (ESL) coordinators
list; and highlights from the agency's extensive Web site. OSHA also has links
to Spanish safety and health Web sites and documents. Although research shows
that Hispanic use of the Internet is lower than other demographic groups, it is
growing, and OSHA expects the number of visitors to its Spanish sites to climb.
MSHA Hispanic Outreach Initiatives — The Mine
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) uses a machine translation program
which converts 15,000-plus Web pages into Spanish as they are requested by
users. Updates are processed when posted, with no delays by translations. On
the average, 2,200 visitors use the Spanish Web site every month. MSHA has
developed 10 Web-based interactive problem-solving health and safety training
exercises, and 32 percent of MSHA's health and safety training materials are
translated into Spanish.
MSHA also provides various services utilizing Spanish-speaking
personnel, including assistance by phone and in person. Through the State Grant
Program, grantees provide services in Spanish, including training classes and
assistance for the development of training plans. Through the Washington,
D.C.-based Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities program, students
translated MSHA's HazCom Internet Training Program and are currently
translating Web-based problem-solving exercises. The International Union of
Operating Engineers, through an alliance with MSHA, have also translated health
and safety training materials (currently 34 programs) into Spanish.
To support the continuing need for Spanish-speaking instructors, MSHA's
Educational Field Services provides training at mines where there is a need for
such instruction. MSHA has also announced five positions in its Educational
Field Service with a desirable skill of Spanish fluency. MSHA is hiring
Spanish-speaking employees to work in Program Evaluation and Information
Resources to develop Spanish Web-based content and to translate training
materials at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy.
OSHA Spanish Materials — OSHA has developed an
English-to-Spanish glossary of over 200 frequently/commonly used terms for
general occupational safety and health in the construction industry. OSHA also
issued publications entitled, All About OSHA, OSHA: Ready to Help
You, OSHA: Employee Workplace Rights, and a poster entitled Job Safety
and Health Protection in Spanish. OSHA maintains a library of 11 Spanish
language publications. Additionally, OSHA launched a national campaign on
Worker Memorial Day 2003 with the release of two public service announcements
(PSAs) to over 650 Spanish radio stations. One spot is meant for employees and
their families; the other targets employers. First month figures showed the
spots played 93 times, reaching 15.2 million listeners in significant markets
including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and
Miami. In the coming months, OSHA will follow up with additional
Spanish-language PSAs through the Hispanic Radio Network.
OSHA Spanish-Speaking Employees — OSHA is
compiling a database of fluent Spanish-speaking employees that includes 119 in
Federal OSHA, 38 in states and territories with OSHA-approved safety and health
plans, and 22 in onsite consultation agencies. The agency is actively
recruiting Spanish-speaking employees (to add to the 179 who already work for
OSHA, State and Consultation Programs) with special emphasis on recruitment of
Compliance Assistance Specialists (CAS).
OSHA Office of Small Business Assistance — Under
Secretary Chao's leadership, OSHA created the
Office of Small Business Assistance. The program is part of the Directorate of
Cooperative and State Programs, that not only administers OSHA's nationwide
onsite consultation program, but also serves as the point of contact within the
agency for small businesses, many of which are owned and run by Hispanics.
Office of Small Business Programs Hispanic Outreach —
The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) is developing a poster
commemorating small businesses owned by Hispanic Americans which will be
displayed throughout the Department during Hispanic Heritage Month, September
15 to October 15, 2004. OSBP has also created a Spanish language poster matrix
listing DOL posters that must be displayed in small businesses.
High-Growth Job Training Initiative — The
President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, as implemented by the
Employment and Training Administration, is a strategic effort to prepare
workers to take advantage of new and increasing job opportunities in
high-growth/high-demand and economically vital industries and sectors of the
American economy. The Initiative is designed to ensure that worker training and
career development resources in the public workforce system are targeted to
helping workers gain the skills and competencies they need to obtain jobs and
build successful careers in these industries. Under the Initiative, ETA has
funded several grantees in the biotechnology, healthcare, hospitality, energy,
retail, and advanced manufacturing industries that serve Hispanic job seekers
and/or workers as part of their broader service population, or are developing
training curriculum and related products in Spanish that target Hispanic
trainees and workers. Successful approaches, models and products developed
under the High-Growth Job Training Initiative grants will be broadly shared
with our workforce system, education, and industry partners for replication.
Hispanic Worker Training Initiative — In March
2004, Secretary Chao announced the Department's Hispanic Worker Training
Initiative, which is focused on helping Hispanic Americans take advantage of
job opportunities in high-growth sectors of the economy such as hospitality,
health care, retail and construction. These growth sectors of the economy offer
ample opportunity for employment and career advancement. The Hispanic Worker
Initiative is part of a larger effort at the Department of Labor to link the
resources of the $15 billion public workforce system to job opportunities that
exist in growing industries.
The Labor Department's Hispanic Worker Initiative is pursuing the
following strategies to address the challenges faced by Hispanic Americans, and
help them prepare for and find good jobs at good wages:
- Help Hispanic Americans develop language and occupational skills;
- Help Hispanic youth stay on an educational path that leads to
rewarding careers;
- Encourage collaboration between employers, community colleges and the
public workforce system to help Hispanic Americans build the skills required in
growing industries.
HI-Demand Project — In March 2004, Secretary Chao
announced a $1.9 million grant to the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
(HERE) for their HI-Demand project. HERE partners with 24 hospitality industry
employers and Nevada Partners, Inc., a community-based training provider that
houses the Culinary Training Academy. The project demonstrates ways to prepare
Hispanic workers to fill the high demand for qualified, trained employees in
the growing hospitality industry of Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New
Jersey. In Las Vegas, HERE will deliver occupational English training to 2,000
new citizens and immigrant workers for entry-level and career ladder
hospitality positions through its partnership. Onsite pre- and post-shift
occupational English proficiency training will also be offered to 450 incumbent
workers at 10 major area hotels. In Atlantic City, HERE will partner with 13
employers and Atlantic Cape Community College to train 45 incumbent workers
with limited English skills for jobs as fully trained and skilled cooks.
ALPHA Program — In March 2004, Secretary Chao
announced a $1.5 million grant to the Cuban American National Council, Inc. for
its Academic, Leadership, and Career Prep for Hispanic American Youth (ALPHA)
Program. This program assists Hispanic youth seeking to overcome educational
and employment barriers. The Cuban American National Council (CANC) will
operate three Hispanic community centers in Florida — two in Miami-Dade
County and one in Orlando — that will serve 300 at-risk Hispanic youth in
grades 9-12 and out-of-school Hispanic youth ages 16-21. In Miami-Dade County,
the program will serve students in grades 9-12 at Little Havana and Hialeah
High School Institute and out-of-school youth at the Youth Center located in
South Miami-Dade. In Greater Orlando, the program will serve students in grades
9-12 in Orange and Osceola public high schools. The CANC will also serve
out-of-school youth through Workforce Florida's Institute for the Development
of Engaged Adolescents.
Words for Work Program — In May 2004, Secretary
Chao awarded a $1.5 million grant to Digital Learning Group (DLG) for their
Words for Work Program. The program assists unemployed and underemployed
Hispanics with limited English proficiency that impedes their access to
employment. The Words for Work Program is a user-friendly multimedia
instruction program that will enhance participant employability by developing
occupation-specific English language and related workplace skills training for
health care and construction industry employment. The program will provide
quick-start training and job placement to 225 Hispanic youth and adults in the
Baltimore metropolitan area to maximize their chances for job retention by
working closely with local employers in demand occupations. DLG is partnering
with Anne Arundel Community College, the Governor's Workforce Investment Board
of Maryland, a consortium of faith-based organizations serving the Hispanic
community, the Maryland Hospital Association, Schuster Construction, a large
Maryland-based contractor, and Anne Arundel Medical Center to develop and
implement Words for Work.
Hispanic English Proficiency Study — In July
2004, Secretary Chao announced an award of $600,000 for a study of the level of
English proficiency various employers require of their Hispanic workforce. The
study will be conducted by HMA Associates, Inc., in partnership with the
U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce. The study will engage employer members of the
U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce to determine the level of English proficiency
expected by local employers; how the level of English proficiency required
varies with the type of work performed; methods used by employers to assess
applicant proficiency; and services or programs employers use to help workers
improve workplace communication.
Growing America Through Entrepreneurship (GATE) Project
— Secretary Chao initiated this innovative demonstration project,
The Growing America Through Entrepreneurship, or Project GATE, with
Administrator Hector Barreto of the U.S. Small Business Administration to help
emerging entrepreneurs in rural and urban communities achieve the American
dream of owning their own business. Project GATE supports economic freedom
through promoting individual entrepreneurship. Project GATE seeks to energize
local small business creation and help diverse urban and rural populations
create, support and expand small businesses. Project GATE funding is $9 million
over five years. Project funds are allocated for technical assistance and
training of Project GATE participants, administrative costs including training
of dedicated one-stop center staff, community outreach and data collection and
evaluation.
Faith-Based and Community Organization Youth Worker Training
— In June and July 2004, Secretary Chao announced a $2 million
grant to the Latino Coalition and a $2.76 million grant to Nueva Esperanza to
help at-risk Hispanic youth train for and find jobs. Through these grants,
Hispanic young people will acquire the skills and services needed to get a
fresh start building careers and brighter futures.
Safety and Health Training — OSHA offers a
variety of training and education programs to help Hispanic employers and
employees improve their knowledge of safe and healthful work practices and
comply with OSHA standards. OSHA continues to award Susan Harwood Training
Grants to a variety of organizations, including colleges, universities and
other educational institutions to provide Spanish-language safety and health
training programs targeted for hard-to-reach workers.
In September 2002, 26 grants with a Hispanic component were awarded.
These grants focused on topics such as: blood-borne pathogens, construction,
electrical power generation, transmission and distribution, ergonomics,
hard-to-reach workers, and institutional competency building. For example, the
agency awarded $161,150 to the National Safety Council (NSC) to conduct a
10-hour safety and health training for Hispanic workers in the roadway
construction industry. NSC will translate recently developed training materials
addressing the hazards of highway work zone operations into Spanish for
hard-to-reach, vulnerable, immigrant Hispanic workers in the highway
construction industry.
OSHA has increased the number of training centers to help meet the
demand for training and provide added value to our outreach efforts including
Spanish language courses. Some OSHA Regional Offices around the country provide
free training to members of the Hispanic community, offering OSHA's 10-hour
construction course in Spanish.
GEM-SETIII/Girls' E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering &
Technology for Immigrant Girls — Since 2001, the Women's Bureau
has been leading GEM-SET, a demonstration project that links girls, ages 13-18,
with volunteer women mentors in the fields of science, engineering and
technology via e-mail and a Web site,
www.gem-set.org.
Through the GEM-SET I and II programs, the Women's Bureau has determined that
girls of immigrant backgrounds often have unique needs and concerns that are
markedly different from the general student population. GEM-SET III promotes
mentorship, family and community involvement to prepare and encourage immigrant
girls to study and enter the fields of science, engineering and technology. The
project serves primarily Hispanic and Asian immigrant girls in Chicago, New
York City, Miami, Houston and Los Angeles. GEM-SET III has over 300 Hispanic
girls working with 23 mentors.
Employer-Driven Older Women Workers — The Women's
Bureau is partnering with CVS/Pharmacies to reach out to older Hispanic and
Asian American women through basic computer and life skills training. Upon
graduation, these women can apply for entry-level career ladder positions with
CVS. Fifty-two Hispanic women have graduated from the program in Dallas.
Justice and Equality in the Workforce Program (JEWP) —
In 2002, under the leadership of Secretary Chao, the Department of
Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the City of Houston, the
Mexican Consulate and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund joined in a
partnership to help all Hispanic workers in different areas of labor rights.
The Mexican Consulate established and staffed a dedicated telephone number for
taking employee complaints, and then referred the complaints to the appropriate
agency. Later in 2002, new partners joined the team, including the Consulates
of Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala. Since its inception, JEWP has
recovered $1.5 million in back wages for more than 2,300 Latino workers. Given
the success of this initiative, similar programs were begun in Dallas and Las
Vegas in 2003. A similar partnership, EMPLEO, was launched on June 30, 2004, in
Los Angeles where there are an estimated 7 million Hispanic workers.
Alliance with the Hispanic Contractors of America (HCA)
—On the national level, OSHA formed an Alliance in March of 2002
with HCA to reach out to Hispanic employers and workers in the construction
industry. The goals of the Alliance include outreach and communication to
promote safe and healthful work conditions for Hispanic construction workers,
training and education to help Hispanic contractors improve knowledge of safe
and healthful work practices and achieve compliance with OSHA standards, and
increase access to safety and health training resource materials in Spanish.
Alliance with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
— OSHA and NAHB signed an Alliance on May 8, 2003, providing NAHB
members and others in the residential construction industry with information,
training opportunities, and guidance that will help them protect employees'
safety and health. The Alliance focuses particularly on reducing and preventing
exposure to residential construction industry hazards. The Alliance's goals
include: promoting a national dialogue on Spanish-speaking workforce safety and
health by working with the various Hispanic contractors associations and other
Alliance Program participants to establish a dialogue on residential
construction safety issues affecting the Spanish-speaking workforce; working to
raise others' awareness of, and demonstrate their respective commitments to,
workplace safety and health whenever OSHA and NAHB leaders address groups with
specific emphasis on the Spanish-speaking workforce.
Association Health Plans (AHP) — Secretary
Chao joined a bipartisan group of Members of Congress in
endorsing legislation giving millions of American small business owners and
employees access to quality health insurance through AHPs. This issue is
particularly important to Hispanics since there are more than 1.2 million
Hispanic-owned businesses in the country that generate more than $200 billion
in annual gross receipts and employ more than 1.3 million people. (U.S. Census)
Retirement and Health Plan Benefits — The Employee
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) provides assistance in a variety of
methods to assist Hispanic workers to understand their rights and
responsibilities so that they are able to make informed decisions about their
retirement and health plan benefits. This includes outreach and assistance by
regional offices with 21 bilingual Benefits Advisors and 50 other bilingual
staff members, including Spanish-speaking staff members in each regional
office. EBSA's bilingual Benefits Advisors participate in participant
assistance activities such as the “Las Mujeres y el Dinero” (Women
and Money) Conferences sponsored by the Women's Bureau and also rapid
response/dislocated worker activities for Hispanic workers who are affected by
plant closings and layoffs. EBSA also provides a toll-free telephone number
directing callers to bilingual staff or contract translation service staff. In
addition, EBSA offers written responses in 148 languages, working with the same
translation service and nine publications have been translated into Spanish
including Top 10 Ways to Beat the Clock and Prepare for Retirement
and Women and Retirement Savings: What Women Need to Know and Do.
Women and Money (“Las Mujeres y el Dinero”)
— Hispanic women face unique challenges when it comes to
financial security. According to recent findings, the knowledge about savings
and retirement compared to other demographic groups and their retirement
confidence level is lower than workers overall. They are most likely to rely on
Social Security for retirement and to expect support from their children and
family. To address this issue, the Women's Bureau has launched a program called
Las Mujeres y el Dinero (Women and Money) and is sponsoring a series
of 10 financial education conferences across the country for Hispanic women.
Seven conferences have already been held, serving over 3,000 participants.
The mission of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is
to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards. This mission is
implemented by strategies of compliance assistance and enforcement. One of
WHD's priorities is improving compliance in low-wage industries which typically
employ large numbers of minority and immigrant populations. WHD pursues
strategies to ensure that employers are informed of legal requirements and
workers know their rights and protections.
Strategic Partnerships/Business Associations — In
2004, WHD is building on the number of compliance assistance partnerships with
agriculture employers' associations. To date, WHD has entered into partnerships
with The Nisei Farmers League in California, The Delta Council, Texas Produce,
Gulf Citrus Growers Association, Western Growers Association, New Jersey Farm
Bureau, and the Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc. In June 2004, Wage and Hour
signed a compliance agreement with the United Mushroom Farmers Cooperative,
Inc., comprised of farms owned by Mexican nationals employing more than 200
workers. WHD began partnering with the North Carolina Growers Association in
March 2004 to provide information in Spanish to all incoming H-2A agricultural
workers about their rights. To date, WHD staff has reached 4,400 Hispanic
workers under this program.
Strategic Partnerships/Community-Based Organizations
— In December 2003, the Compliance Outreach to the Asian
Community and Hispanics (COACH) program was launched in northern New Jersey.
The purpose of the initiative is to acquaint Hispanic and Asian employers and
employees with the services of the WHD. To date, they have reached more than
943 businesses and 7,194 employees with 34 percent comprised of Hispanic-owned
businesses.
Voluntary Incentive Program (VIP) — The Wage and
Hour Division entered into its first VIP program with Labor Ready, a company
that provides short-term temporary laborers, many of whom are Hispanic, to
millions of small businesses through 750 establishments located throughout the
country. As part of the VIP agreement, Labor Ready agreed to distribute
compliance assistance information to all of its customers as enclosures with
their billing information and distribute wallet-sized cards in Spanish and
English to workers placed by Labor Ready.
Informational Materials — The WHD continues to
increase its library of industry-specific fact sheets in Spanish. The WHD is
prioritizing the translations of fact sheets in industries such as agriculture,
restaurants, and construction where minorities are most likely to be employed
and enforcement statistics show higher rates of violation. In addition, five
industry-specific wallet-sized cards are available for workers in Spanish
explaining basic legal protections and providing a toll-free help line to call
for assistance. The help line provides Spanish-speaking operators to respond to
those needing assistance in Spanish.
Speeches and Presentations — The WHD is
increasing the number of presentations targeted to both minority employers and
immigrant workers. During the first two quarters of fiscal year 2004, the
office reached an estimated audience of some 160,000 through outreach events,
including media events, geared towards the Hispanic population. About 6 percent
of outreach events were targeted directly to the Hispanic population, and an
additional 20 percent of the agency's events occurred either in low-wage
industries that employ large numbers of Hispanic workers or in connection with
the agency's strategic partnerships.
Public Awareness Campaigns — In May 2002,
Secretary Chao launched the YouthRules! campaign to
educate young workers, parents and employers about the jobs young people may do
and the hours they may work. Many of the YouthRules!
partners are business associations whose members employ large
numbers of young Hispanic workers. Additional YouthRules!
materials are being created and published; all are available in
Spanish at www.youthrules.dol.gov.
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