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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Drug-Free Workplace Alliance
Frances Perkins Building
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Good afternoon, everyone.
I would like to welcome the leaders from organized labor who are with us
today:
Frank Hanley, General President, International Union of
Operating Engineers;
Doug McCarron, President, United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners of America;
Joe Hunt, President, International Association of Bridge,
Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers; and
Newton Jones, President, International Brotherhood of
Boilermakers;
Thank you so much for being here.
And let me thank
John Henshaw, the Assistant Secretary of Occupational
Safety and Health
David Lauriski, Assistant Secretary of
the Mine Safety and Health; and
David Gray, the Acting
Assistant Secretary for Policy and their staffs for the work they've done
to help create this alliance.
Today the U.S. Department of Labor and 4 of the nation's largest and most
prestigious labor unions sign a very important agreement to improve worker
safety. With this agreement, we are pledging to work together to eliminate
the hazards of workplace drug and substance abuse, which are serious public
safety and health issues.
A Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis found that in 1998, as many as 20
percent of the toxicology screens taken after on-the-job fatalities tested
positive for drugs and/or alcohol.
And one in five workers report that they have had to—
- work harder;
- re-do work;
- cover for a co-worker; or
- have been put in danger or injured—
as a result of a colleague drinking on the job.
So preventing drug and substance abuse on the job will reduce workplace
hazards and help create a safer, more secure and more productive working
environment.
Today's alliance expands and strengthens the Department's Working Partners
program. This program provides a model that employers and employees can use
to develop effective strategies for drug-free workplaces. The key is the
joint commitment of employers and employees to work together to achieve this
important goal.
I want to commend Presidents Hanley, McCarron, Hunt and Jones for their
commitment to further reduce workplace drug and alcohol hazards. Your leadership
will not only help save lives, but help change lives for the better.
One of the most difficult challenges anyone can face is drug or alcohol
abuse. It takes real courage to step up to the plate and try to change. All
of us here today are offering to step up to the plate with affected workers,
and help them confront and conquer drug and alcohol abuse.
So again, I want to commend you for your leadership. And I want to thank
you for your commitment to building drug-free workplaces and better lives
for workers.
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