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Remarks Delivered by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
OSHA 35th Anniversary Family Celebration
Washington, D.C.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Thank you all for joining us today to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration!
I would like to begin by thanking our (fairly!) new Assistant Secretary of OSHA, Ed Foulke. He is the agency's 12th Assistant Secretary, and he is passionate about protecting the health and safety of America's workers.
And thank you to former Acting Assistant Secretary Jonathan Snare. He did such a good job as the Acting Assistant Secretary of OSHA that we are sending him over to the Solicitor's office to be the Acting Deputy Solicitor.
And I would like to recognize the former OSHA Assistant Secretaries and Deputy Assistant Secretaries, as well as the Commissioners from the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission who are joining us today.
And welcome to the family members and OSHA partners who were able to join us today.
And finally, let me thank all of the members of our OSHA family — in the National office and our regional offices — for your commitment to OSHA's mission.
You have a lot to be proud of. Since OSHA's inception and through the dedicated work of our field staff and the national office, you have helped to drive the decline in injury and illness incidence rates across all sectors of the workforce.
Today, OSHA has more than 2,220 workers, including 1,100 inspectors. In fact, joining us today are seven of the 13 OSHA workers who have been with us since OSHA's creation 35 years ago. Could you please stand — so everyone can greet you? Let's give them a round of applause!
Every day for the last 35 years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has worked hard to make safety a #1 priority in the workplace. They have helped to ensure that:
- Employers and workers understand their responsibilities for providing a safe and healthy workplace;
- Working men and women are aware of the safety procedures and hazards at their worksites; and
- Safety and health professionals have the tools to identify and reduce the risks of injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
And since 1971, OSHA has helped to cut occupational injury and illness rates by 40 percent. That's a tremendous achievement! And this was accomplished while U.S. employment more than doubled — from 58 million workers to nearly 150 million workers.
Of course, there is always more to do. But we are very proud of our role in helping to ensure that America's workers are safer and more protected on the job than at any other time in our nation's history.
The Department of Labor has a strong enforcement record in health and safety. OSHA has demonstrated its commitment to closely monitoring workplace safety and health by hiring more enforcement personnel. This strong enforcement has identified real safety and health hazards in the workplace, resulting in more than a 10 percent increase in citations for alleged violations over the past five years.
At the same time, injuries and illnesses continue to decline significantly. Since 2001, we've experienced an 18.4 percent drop in the number of workplace injuries and illnesses. And in the construction industry, there have been 16.7 percent fewer workplace injuries and illnesses.
Workplace fatalities remain at historically low levels. In fact, the last three years have been the lowest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting this data.
OSHA has also been a leader in the Department's compliance assistance efforts. OSHA has developed specialized publications and online resources, devoted to both employers and workers. And OSHA's call center makes workplace safety and health information and assistance available to all employers and workers, including those with limited English proficiency. OSHA has a network of more than 70 Compliance Assistance Specialists in local offices available to provide employers and workers with tailored information and training. These outreach, education and compliance assistance initiatives have helped OSHA play a key role in preventing on-the-job injuries and illnesses.
And there has also been a significant increase in the number of safety partnerships. These partnerships allow employers, labor unions, trade or professional groups, government agencies, and educational institutions to work with OSHA to prevent injuries and illnesses in the workplace. In fact, this department has the largest number of safety partnerships with organized labor in the department's history.
As many of you know, we were the first Department to "get to green" and achieve all of the President's Management Agenda criteria. And OSHA was — and remains — a major part of this effort. Thank you for your contributions in pursuing and implementing good management practices.
And finally, thank you — all of you — for the work you have done across the country over the past 35 years. Thank you for your commitment to workplace safety and health. I know that in the years to come, OSHA will continue to lead the way in securing a safer, healthier workplace for the 21st century.
Thank you.
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