Remarks Prepared for Delivery by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao DOL Safety Day
Remarks Prepared for Delivery by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao DOL Safety Day
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Thank you, Pat [Pizzella, Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management]. Good morning everyone! It's great to see you all here to help us kick off DOL Safety Day.
This year's theme for National Safety Month is "Look, Listen, and Speak Up." That means being proactive being on the look-out for problems before they arise.
At the Department of Labor, we take pride in our proactive approach.
All of us in the Department applaud the professionalism of our colleagues at OSHA and MSHA.
OSHA is helping to save lives and reduce injuries on a record scale. Since 2001, the overall fatality rate has declined by 7 percent. And the fatality rate among Hispanic workers has fallen by 18 percent. Deputy Assistant Secretary Bryan Little will soon explain more about OSHA's premier Voluntary Protection Programs and its proactive training and education programs.
Everyone at MSHA is working hard to implement the MINER Act, since President Bush signed it last June 15. The professionals at MSHA work towards the goal of ensuring that every miner goes home safe and healthy to family and friends after every shift of every day.
The Department takes the lead in this Administration's efforts to improve health and safety standards. President Bush's SHARE initiative Safety, Health and Return-to-Employment has helped make workers safer and healthier than ever before.
Under SHARE the Department has:
* Reduced the number of workplace injury and illness cases by 3 percent;
* Reduced lost time due to workplace illness and injury by 3 percent;
* Improved the timeliness of filing notices of injuries and illnesses by 5 percent; and
* Reduced the number of worker's compensation cases that resulted in time away from work by 2 percent.
As a result, President Bush extended the SHARE initiative last September for another three years.
Now the health and safety practiced here at work can be extended to other aspects of life. That's why through the Office of Work-Life and Benefits Programs the Department helps employees with eldercare, healthy lifestyles and safety at home
Finally, let me underline how seriously this Department takes day-to-day safety in this building. Since September 11, 2001, the Department has placed major emphasis on ensuring that we are prepared for emergency situations. The construction of the barrier on Constitution Avenue and the new security complex in the lobby show our concern for those who work here and for the youngsters in the Child Development Center.
The Department's shelter-in-place program remains a model for other federal agencies. And thanks to all of you all for your patience with the safety drills.
And thank you all for everything you do to help make the Department of Labor, and every workplace in America, safer and healthier for our nation's workers!
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