President's Column - Who do you trust?

Congress and the Administration just don't get it, or they choose not to, because of contributions of business interests to their campaigns. Each week a new corporate scandal comes to light. These fraudulent and illegal business dealings have cheated thousands of workers and stockholders, and generated a lack of trust in the stock market. These are some of the same corporations that the proponents of privatization want to invest the Social Security Trust Fund.

Recently, there has been an announcement of fraud in a Forbes 500 Corporation at the rate of one per week. If the Bush Administration's newer and tougher policy of corporate investigation is true, this number could increase at an alarming level. It appears to be more of a normal operation of doing business, rather than a few "bad apples." I don't profess to understand the inner workings or subtleties of big business, but these well respected companies either under reported losses or over reported profits. Either way the CEOs and other Board members and officers made huge gains on the stock options while the stockholders and workers were left holding the bag.

If this is a fact of life, why would we want our pensions (yes, they want to go after federal employees pensions also) and our Social Security being handled by or the money invested in such companies. It's like the old Johnny Carson TV quiz show, "WHO DO YOU TRUST?"

Social Security has been working fine for 60 years and the main reason that it might run out of money is that more and more people are using it. Isn't that an odd circumstance? People are living longer and collecting their Social Security.

Analysts are divided on if it will run of money and when it might run of money. Some say that if it remained fully funded, it may never go bankrupt. But surely privatizing the Trust is not the answer. Investing the Trust fund into private stocks in this declining and untrustworthy economy would be disastrous. And finding, in the present arena, a company that is trustworthy is almost impossible.

Clearly, we need to let our Senators and Representatives know that we do not wish them to change Social Security and surely not our federal pension. I am sure they are not voting to invest their own... "not in this economy!"

President's Column - Secretary Chao and "Employee Bashing"

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao's staff does not serve her well or she doesn't have a clue as to what is the current policy of her Department. In a speech on June 14, 2002, before the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), she remarked that, "her vision for the Department was a change in culture and attitude." She went on to criticize the Department for not giving employers the tools and knowledge to comply with the regulations. Chao says she will correct this is to creating a new job description, "that would require them to help you." Secretary Chao should have checked, or had her staff check, with the Agency heads to find out that this is already a major portion of the position description of every DOL employee.

Under previous Secretaries of Labor, Reich and Herman, every agency went through an extensive reinvention and restructuring to become more "customer oriented" and the customer was the employers of America. So Chao's remarks regarding DOL employees are both disingenuous and incorrect. Each of the agency both in the national office and field offices, provides compliance assistance for every program. There are DOL employees who perform these tasks full time, by mail, phone, email and presentations to business and labor groups.

In addition, there is the Office of Small Business Programs that operates directly out of the Secretary of Labor's Office that provides specific information to small businesses. Its mission is to: "administer the Department's mandated responsibilities for ensuring that small businesses and minority institutions have fair opportunity to participate in DOL acquisition activities. Pursuant to Executive Orders, OSBP manages DOL's programs for historically Black, Hispanic and minority colleges and universities. OSBP serves as the DOL clearinghouses for compliance guides for small businesses and central referral point on DOL mall entity compliance programs, with related responsibilities regarding compliance assistance mandated by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act." This office is on the DOL webpage and provides a Small Business Handbook that provides compliance assistance for all DOL regulations.

Further on in her speech, Chao criticizes the Department for not being fair to the employers by expecting the business to know the rules and regulations without any decent help from the people who write them, promulgate them and penalize the business for not abiding by them - and that from now on, all the rulebooks will be available to the employers. If her staff had checked, they would have found that the OSHA rules books are available and have been for many years. In the real world, the NFIB, the group she was speaking to, has a full time staff that interprets the rules for its members.

What is most disingenuous is when Secretary Chao remarked that the new job descriptions for the DOL employee will 'forbid' these employees from referring you for investigation just because someone asked a question. This is blatantly untrue, and has never been a policy of any agency. No agency would do that because of the volume of questions posed. Voluntary compliance with OSHA and other agencies has been in place since the 1980s. There are not enough inspectors to go to all of the places where workplace problems exist so priority is given to the worst place on a randomly prepared list. This is a result of a court actions. So, to say that a telephone call would trigger an investigation is false and demeaning.

Secretary Chao's comments regarding phone calls did not address the fact that most agencies, except for OSHA and PWBA (and this is changing) have 800 number where questions are answered by "contractors." She should have said that the Department's efforts have come back to haunt it. These "800 number contractors" do not have the expertise to answer most questions and they if they cannot answer the question they give out wrong information.

Secretary Chao's efforts may be improved but they are not new. Under Secretaries Reich and Herman the Department of Labor, agency by agency, evolved in providing customer service The regulations and rules have been available both online and in printed format to employees and employers alike. The reason it might take weeks to get a book of regulations is because budget cuts severely curtailed or eliminated the printing of free copies available to the public.

Secretary Chao's speech was clearly "employee bashing" in the guise of how this Administration has made improvements. It is the right of the current Administration to take credit for being kinder and gentler to small business, but it should be factually correct. We, at the Department, have always been responsible and responsive in fulfilling the mission of the agency we work for and the Department on the whole. The employees have enforced the laws mandated by Congress in the manner of the Administration that is in power. The policy is set by the Administration not the employees and it is disingenuous to say otherwise. It is ironic that Secretary Chao speaks on being more responsive to business when her management officials measure performance by the number of inspections and penalties.

Secretary Chao should have a meeting with her agency heads to find out just what is being accomplished before she is sent out to speak on the "change in culture and attitude." This administration has been in power for 17 months... we can't blame it all on the Clinton team.

Speech at Secretary’s 2002 Awards Ceremony - Philadelphia

SPEECH FOR 89TH ANNUAL SECRETARY'S HONORS AWARDS CEREMONY

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Good Morning.

I am very happy, and proud, to be here and having the opportunity to say a few words at this great ceremony. I am especially proud to be here to honor Bill Brown for his valor.

Bill Brown is a good MSHA inspector, a good union brother and a very good shop steward for Local 644. Bill is a quiet unassuming man who just does his job. What we in the Labor movement call an Everyday Hero. A HERO EVERYDAY. Those of who know Bill are not surprised by this heroic act; in fact we expect it of him. The union knew about this a year ago, but he asked us not to make a deal about it. He just did what he had to do ... A HERO EVERYDAY.

Bill goes into coalmines at some risk to his life to protect the mineworker ... a HERO EVERYDAY. Not unlike the rescue workers at the World Trade Center who were honored in the video, HEROES EVERYDAY. Men and women, all of which were members of the American Labor movement who died on September 11 in a valiant effort to save lives. Yes, all of the rescue workers were union members, HEROES EVERYDAY.

On September 11, we witnessed the American Labor movement run to the Towers to save lives and on September 12, we witnessed American Big Business run for the offshore to save their investments. While not as well documented, those of who saw the attack on the Pentagon marveled at the fact that federal workers and military who have gotten to safety saw some fellow workers in trouble and ran back to the Pentagon to attempt to save lives. Yes, we saw public workers run back to the Pentagon and heard about public official who just ran to "undisclosed locations." Federal workers ... HEROES EVERYDAY

At Ground zero, construction workers, rescue workers came, even though the buildings were still burning, debris falling, white ash raining down. They came in fire trucks, ambulances, and on construction cranes to save lives... American workers... HEROES EVERYDAY. So many members of the American labor movement showed up at Ground Zero that by the evening of the 11th there were more volunteers than they could use. American Workers ... HEROES EVERYDAY.

Hundreds of OSHA inspectors volunteered to go to Ground Zero to help in anyway they could. American workers ... HEROES EVERYDAY.

We celebrate the heroism of those American workers. All who gave some, some who gave all. We take pride in their sacrifice, proudly displaying our flags and our patriotism. But we at the Department of Labor have a unique opportunity to remember the American worker. Those who built this country, fought its wars and gave at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon ... those Everyday heroes who want their families to have a decent life, want all workers, union or not to have good working conditions and dignity and pride.

We can enforce the labor laws that the American Labor movement fought for to get the past 100 years ... to enforce the minimum wage, overtime and safety laws, to provide the training and opportunities for minorities and women. Just to enforce the regulations as Congress intended when the labor laws were enacted, not make it easier for big business. Big business did not show up on 9-11, no limos drove into Ground Zero.

If we want to honor those Everyday Heroes, then we need to keep faith with the American worker. Everyone in this room can honor Bill Brown and all of the courageous American workers of 9-11 by doing our utmost to protect the American worker ... HEROES EVERYDAY!

Thank you and God Bless America!

Speech - “A PROMISE”

“A PROMISE”

PATCO Rally, September 25, 1981
Jim Weyrauch, Secretary, NCFLL, AFGE, AFL-CIO

Much has been said about the oath given the air traffic controllers when hired by the government. This oath was merely a promise. A promise is a declaration assuring that one will do or will not do something. All government employees make this promise as their half of a bargain. The government in it’s half, promises to give these employees fair pay and a say, through collective bargaining, in their working environment. The Federal Aviation Administration failed in its promise to the Air Traffic Controllers.

Ronald Reagan says that his is the “Administration of Promise”. He promised to cut the budget. He promised to take government out of the marketplace. He also promised to address and remedy the intolerable working conditions of the Air Traffic Controllers. These were all campaign promises.

Ronald Reagan kept his promise to cut the budget, no matter what it cost the poor, ill and the aged. Ronald Reagan kept his promise to get the government out of the marketplace, no matter what it cost the workers. The only campaign promise he hasn’t kept is the one to the traffic controllers. And when they tried to bring the administration to task, by going to the streets, he fired them.

I urge all concerned citizens, no matter what your feelings on the issues, to contact the President and let him know that you want him to keep his promise. That the Federal Aviation reinstate the 12,000 fired controllers and get back to bargaining table and resolve the issues, as he promised to do.

The FAA is spending millions of dollars to train new controllers. Millions of unnecessary dollars that could and should be spent on needed social programs. How many more Thursday night re-runs of Death Valley Days do we need? How many more times should we have to listen to the Great Communicator tell us that if we tighten our belts, just one more time, his ill-conceived economic program will work, and that’s a promise.

Today I make a promise. That this show of support for the sisters and brothers of PATCO is our message to the Administration. Federal employees will demand their rights as employees, union members and citizens. WE SHALL BE HEARD!