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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
DOL 91 st Anniversary Honor Awards
Great Hall, Frances Perkins Building
U.S. Department of Labor
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Thank you, Steven [Law, Deputy Secretary of Labor] .
First, let me thank Assistant Secretary Pat Pizzella for chairing the Honor
Awards committee. You have done a terrific job.
And thank you to the Peer Groups that have reviewed hundreds of nominations
and selected those we honor today.
These awards, as you know, honor individuals and work products that help
the Labor Department achieve its strategic goals.
The Department of Labor has a long tradition … in fact, 91 years long … of
working hard to protect and support America's workers.
These awards go back to the very beginning of the Department, on March 4,
1913. On that day, President William Howard Taft signed the Act creating
the Department of Labor. None of today's honorees go back quite that far!
But we do have many award winners who have distinguished themselves by their
length of service to our nation's workforce. We are recognizing their service
with the Length of Service Award. They are part of the 217 DOL employees
who have served in the federal government for 35, 40, 45 and 50 years! Now
that's commitment and dedication.
Those of you who have been here the longest have witnessed a lot of history
being made. You have probably known and worked for many of the previous secretaries
whose portraits line these walls. You know the difference this Department
can make in the lives of American workers.
Today's ceremony gives us an opportunity not only to recognize individuals,
but to reflect upon the Department's accomplishments as a whole. Many of
the Department's recent achievements are listed in today's program.
I want to especially single out the record decline in overall workplace
fatalities and the decline in the number of fatalities in the mining industry.
And I also want to point out two other milestones. In 2003, the Wage and
Hour Division hit an 11-year high for the most money recovered in back wages
for America's workers. Also in 2003, 74 percent of adults completing job-training
programs found work. Those are real, concrete improvements for America's
working families.
So, thank you for all that you do and for your continued commitment to public
service. Congratulations to all of today's winners!
Now, let's present the awards.
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