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Date: September 30, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention Office 
of Health Communications (404) 639-8895, CDC Division of Media Relations (404) 639-3286

Major Companies, NBA Players Union among Winners of Awards from CDC for Outstanding Workplace AIDS Prevention Programs

Leading American businesses have been recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for their outstanding workplace-based programs aimed at preventing HIV and AIDS. These companies are among the recipients of the first National Business and Labor Awards for Leadership on HIV/AIDS. The presentation of these awards by the Director of CDC, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., at a banquet in Washington was an important aspect of the CDC's National Business and Labor Conference on HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Satcher, said, "Fifteen years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, prevention remains the most effective way of addressing this disease. Business and labor have a crucial role to play in HIV/AIDS prevention, and I applaud these organizations for taking a leadership role in bringing this issue to the forefront in America's workplaces."

"The prevention of HIV and AIDS continues to be a top priority." Helene Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., director of the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, said. "I am delighted that these awards are being presented to organizations that have demonstrated their commitment to this national priority by implementing exemplary workplace prevention programs."

Awards were presented in eight organizational and programmatic categories. The winners are:

  1. I. Levi Strauss and Company, San Francisco, Calif., for excellence in HIV/AIDS workplace programs by a large business (more than 500 employees);

  2. II. the Sailor's Valentine Gallery, Nantucket, Mass., for excellence in HIV/AIDS workplace programs by a small business (fewer than 500 employees);

  3. III. the National Basketball Players Association, New York, N.Y., for excellence in HIV/AIDS workplace programs by a labor group or union;

  4. IV. the Hawaii Industry Venture, Honolulu, Hawaii, for excellence in HIV/AIDS workplace programs by an association or gateway.html group;

  5. V. IBM, Inc., Armonk, N.Y., for excellence in the creation and implementation of manager/supervisor training programs related to HIV/AIDS prevention;

  6. VI. Polaroid, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., for excellence in the creation and implementation of employee training programs related to HIV/AIDS prevention;

  7. VII. UNUM Life Insurance Company of America, Portland, Maine, for excellence in the creation and implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention programs for the families of employees; and

  8. VIII. Gap, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., for excellence in the creation and implementation of a workplace-based program of community service, volunteerism, and philanthropy related to HIV/AIDS.

Robert D. Haas, chairman and chief executive officer of Levi Strauss and Company, said, "We are honored to receive this recognition from CDC. HIV/AIDS is a serious problem that is of direct and vital importance to every business.

We are committed to sustaining and strengthening our own HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, and I continue to urge every chief executive officer to make HIV/AIDS prevention a top priority."

A competition for the awards was announced in April and nominations were sought from a wide range of public health, community, AIDS service, and business and labor organizations.

The winners were selected by a panel of chief executive officers, trade association directors, union leaders, and other prominent individuals who serve on the CDC Business Reponds to AIDS (BRTA) /Labor Responds to AIDS' (LRTA) 99 Business and Labor Partners, a group that advises the CDC on implementation of its public, private partnerships through business and labor organizations.

BRTA and LRTA were developed to assist businesses and labor groups across the country to formulate appropriate HIV/AIDS policies for the workplace, train managers and labor leaders in how to address HIV/AIDS, implement HIV/AIDS education programs for employees, encourage employees to educate their families about HIV/AIDS prevention, and become involved in HIV/AIDS-related community service.