Letter to Elaine Chao
September 8, 2006
The Honorable Elaine Chao, Secretary
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington , D.C. 20210
Dear Secretary Chao,
We are writing to express our concerns about the recently proposed plans to weaken the vital role of the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor by significantly reducing the number of career positions in the Bureau's national office. We urge you to renew your support of this important agency.
As the only federal agency devoted solely to the concerns of women in the workplace for more than eighty years, the mission of the Women's Bureau is unique. As such, we believe that Women's Bureau positions are best filled by career staff, dedicated to the work of the Bureau with specialized knowledge of the issues facing women in the labor force and familiarity with the Bureau's history and mission. We are troubled to learn of your plan to outsource almost half of the career positions at the Women's Bureau's national office. If implemented, such action would result in a significant loss of institutional knowledge for the Women's Bureau and would considerably reduce the Bureau's effectiveness.
In addition, we have learned that as regional administrator positions have become vacant in the ten regional offices, these positions have not been filled - with remaining regional administrators currently managing more than one region. As you well know, the regional offices of the Bureau play a crucial role in ensuring that women across the nation are aware of their legal protections against potential abuses in the workplace, as well as provide key guidance to women seeking employment. Making regional administrators responsible for additional states undermines their ability to effectively perform this role by stretching their staff resources thin.
Secretary Chao, we all agree that improving the working conditions and expanding the number of opportunities for employment for all women are among the most critical responsibilities of the Department of Labor. In our judgment, weakening the capacity of the Women' Bureau to assist in this goal runs counter to this shared priority. That is why we respectfully ask that you reconsider the Department's proposed plan to outsource permanent positions at the Bureau and work toward filling any vacant positions at Bureau's regional offices.
We appreciate the work that the Department of Labor does to support America 's working women, and we look forward to your leadership in ensuring that women are full participants in today's economy through the revitalization of the Women's Bureau. Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
ROSA L. DeLAURO HILDA L. SOLIS NANCY PELOSI
SHERROD BROWN ELIOT ENGEL ELIJAH CUMMINGS
TAMMY BALDWIN JIM OBERSTAR MICHAEL CAPUANO
MADELEINE BORDALLO GWEN MOORE JOHN DINGELL
CAROLYN MALONEY HOWARD BERMAN CAROLYN C. KILPATRICK
DONALD PAYNE LOUISE SLAUGHTER RAúL GRIJALVA
SHEILA JACKSON-LEE DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN JAN SCHAKOWSKY
LOIS CAPPS ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON CAROLYN McCARTHY
BERNIE SANDERS JERROLD NADLER MIKE DOYLE
JOSE SERRANO BARBARA LEE EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON
RUSH HOLT PETER DeFAZIO EDOLPHUS TOWNS
RON KIND LINDA SANCHEZ JOHN OLVER
MIKE HONDA ALLYSON SCHWARTZ BETTY McCOLLUM
CHAKA FATTAH LYNN WOOLSEY SAM FARR
ROBERT BRADY MAJOR OWENS MAURICE HINCHEY
DORIS MATSUI NITA LOWEY DENNIS KUCINICH
MARCY KAPTUR SHELLEY BERKLEY ROBERT WEXLER
JIM McDERMOTT DENNIS MOORE BRIAN HIGGINGS
Earl Blumenauer Corrine Brown James Clyburn
Ellen O. Tauscher Marion Berry Edward J. Markey
Darlene Hooley Alcee L. Hastings John B. Larson
Diana DeGette Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Chris Van Hollen
Susan A. Davis William D. Delahunt George Miller
James P. McGovern Nydia M. Velazquez Vic Snyder
Barney Frank Steve Israel Rahm Emanuel
Tim Ryan Gary L. Ackerman Anna G. Eshoo
Loretta Sanchez David Wu Henry Waxman
Sheila Jackson Lee Neil Abercrombie Emanuel Cleaver
David Obey Stephen F. Lynch Steny H. Hoyer
Diane E. Watson Frank Pallone Melvin L. Watt
Zoe Lofgren Julia Carson David Price
Dennis Cardoza Gregory W. Meeks James P. Moran
Brad Sherman Paul E. Kanjorski Wm. Lacy Clay
Bart Gordon Robert Andrews Bobby Scott
http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2006/September/Labor_Dept_Womens_9_08_06.html