Michaels Praises VPP but Warns of Its Possible End
On August 23, OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels addressed more than 2500 members of the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants Association at its annual conference. His remarks can be found at http://tinyurl.com/22wzbyk. Michaels thanked participants for their commitment to protecting the safety and health of workers and “setting an example of excellence” for other businesses. He also helped give out awards to the nation’s best special government employees (SGEs). But he also spoke frankly about OSHA’s intent to find alternative ways of funding VPP and warned the audience, “The bottom line is that if we are to succeed in saving this program, we — OSHA and VPPPA together — need to present a united front on this issue, because in this environment of austere government budgets a fractured fight over VPP risks losing the program entirely.”