Remarks of U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao at the Opening Ceremony of the

Fraternal Order of Police Biennial Conference 08/14/2007

 Thank you, Chuck.

And thanks for speaking at the DOL staff training conference last Thursday.

Let me also recognize Jim Pasco.

It's a pleasure to be here in my home state of Kentucky, and to join the thousands of

Fraternal Order of Police members for this conference.

Before I begin, I also want to give a big hello to my home state delegation from Kentucky, and its National Trustee, Mike Hettich!

Let me recognize my very favorite senator, the Republican Leader of the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell. Let me also recognize Robert White, Chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, and Colonel John Aubrey, Sheriff of Jefferson County.

This morning, I'd like to share some thoughts on what we are doing to show our appreciation for the tremendous job that you do as front line defenders of freedom.

In May of 2001, I was privileged to be the first Secretary of Labor to attend the National Peace Officers' Memorial. I have attended that very special ceremony every year since. My experience joining you over the years has helped me to appreciate the code of duty, honor and sacrifice that comprise the core values of our men and women in blue. These services are also an opportunity to meet with the families of the fallen, and to understand how we can help them as they honor their loved ones and move forward and heal their lives.

I am very proud that the Department of Labor, as a partner in the Steven Young Memorial Scholarship program, has played a role in helping the families of fallen law enforcement officers. This scholarship program helps families to heal by offering tuition assistance and personalized employment services to spouses of officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. In the aftermath of a tragedy, this program helps spouses access the education and skills training needed to enter the workforce and advance in their careers, so that they can provide for their families. Since the program's inception, the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation has awarded 82 Steve Young Memorial Scholarships to help surviving spouses.

FOP members and their families make enormous sacrifices for their fellow citizens. Through these scholarships, spouses of fallen officers receive the assistance to help them get back on their feet financially. But, these courageous scholarship recipients also give something back. They are wonderful role models and show that even in the face of the most difficult challenge, there is always hope. These spouses, and I have had the privilege of meeting some of them, are an inspiration!

Many careers in our diverse economy attract determined professionals who are willing to give 100 percent of their effort. But, only in a very few professions, are workers prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the American people.

Law enforcement is not just a job, it is a calling: a calling that requires a strong sense of patriotism, a commitment to duty, and unquestionable integrity. In our society, law enforcement officers are a source of community trust and confidence. We live in a post-9/11 world, and that changing reality will continue to test our national character. As you all know very well, law enforcement officers experience the war on terror from a unique perspective.

Law enforcement is hard work, with long hours that test both mind and body. That is why when the Department of Labor began the long overdue process of updating the nation's overtime rules, your needs were a priority. Thanks to the constructive engagement of the Fraternal Order of Police in the rulemaking process, the right to overtime for police was clearly protected and strengthened in the new overtime rule, for the first time in U.S. history.

The struggle to clear up ambiguities over who is entitled to overtime protections is ongoing. Just recently, the Department of Labor filed an amicus brief in favor of police sergeants who were denied overtime. This is an example of how the Department will continue to seek overtime protections for those covered by the new regulations.

I am pleased that the Administration and the FOP are able to work together on other important issues fundamental to protecting the rights of organized workers. An example is the recent debate over the Employee Free Choice Act. The " card check" bill was a threat to workers' ability to cast his or her vote in private when deciding whether or not to be represented by a union. The card check proposal was an historic departure from the formality and sanctity of union elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board for 60 years.

This Administration is committed to protecting the rights of workers, organized and unorganized. This includes the employment and re-employment rights of our nation's citizen soldiers as they return to civilian life after fighting the War on Terror. Each year, about 318,000 military members return to civilian status. In 1994, Congress passed the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, known as USERRA, to protect the employment and reemployment rights of veterans returning to the public and private sectors after active-duty. However, the previous Administration failed to write regulations implementing the law, so employers were unclear what their responsibilities were.

So, in December 2005, the Department announced the first-ever USERRA regulations. And as a result of these regulations, and many other outreach efforts, there has been a significant reduction in the number of employment-related complaints from returning members of the Reserve and National Guard. Complaints are down 31 percent since the Gulf War.

Strong traditions of military service and law enforcement exist in many American families. Often, both traditions will be present in the same family, and even in the same individual. This is the case with many FOP members. That's why I am pleased that the Department of Labor partners with FOP to support these wonderful traditions of service. The Department works with the FOP to provide information to FOP members returning from active duty about their employment and re-employment rights.

The Administration is also dedicated to improving occupational safety and health for all workers, including police officers. That's why I am pleased that two FOP members sit on key Labor Department committees dedicated to improving occupational safety and health for workers. Lou Cannon is a labor member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH). And Kevin Sommers is the labor representative to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety & Health (NACOSH).

And I want to thank them for their contributions.

America has many unique strengths. Key among them are our nation's democratic institutions, respect for the rule of law, transparency and accountability. And the dynamism and flexibility of our economy and workforce are the foundation of all that we are able to do in the world.

Another key strength is our stability and the sense of optimism and hope that it creates. Some Americans tend to take this for granted. But many of us who immigrated to America appreciate just how precious it is. As law enforcement officers, you know firsthand how important security and stability are, because you fight the battle to preserve them everyday. You are the guarantors, the front line defenders, who make our way of life possible. You safeguard our homes and communities, keep the peace and help defend our country from outsiders who want to do us harm.

So on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you very much for your sacrifice, your professionalism and your heroism. And thank you to the FOP, as well, for helping others recognize and appreciate what law enforcement officers do everyday to keep our country strong, safe and free.

# # #