Orlando, Florida - United Steelworkers (USW) members and others in the international labor union movement decried the safety award given by the National Safety Council to DuPont at its yearly conference this week. The USW believes DuPont's abominable health and safety record should have disqualified the chemical giant from receiving the safety group's 2006 Green Cross for Safety Award.  

According to the NSC, the Green Cross is given annually to an organization that has "distinguished itself over a period of years for outstanding achievement in workplace and off-the-job safety and health programs, community service, environmental stewardship, and responsible citizenship."  The USW's DuPont Council chairman, Ken Test, said, "We condemn the fact that DuPont received this award, since it appears this company's actions contradict the NSC's criteria."

With members clad in orange t-shirts proclaiming DuPont puts "U.S. Jobs and the Environment at Risk," yesterday's protest came on the heels of a USW published report which connects DuPont's many health and safety violations and facility accidents to its DuPont STOP behavior-based safety program.  DuPont STOP is based on the theory that almost all injuries are caused by workers' unsafe acts.  In contrast, the USW research has shown that multiple root causes related to hazards and unsafe conditions, not multiple unsafe behaviors, cause accidents.

"We felt it was vital that members of the health and safety community understood the truth regarding DuPont's safety record," said DuPont worker and rally participant Jim Rowe.  "What this company sells to other corporations and what actually happens at DuPont plants are two completely different things.  In fact, we have found many safety folks here at the conference have been sympathetic to our message."

The USW represents 1,800 workers at six DuPont facilities.  For copies of the full USW report, "Not Walking the Talk: DuPont's Untold Safety Failures" go to <http://www.dupontcouncil.org>www.dupontcouncil.org