In addition to these 4,000, about 9,000 others received a letter from me this spring advising them that they reported injury and illness rates for 1998 more than twice the national average. I encouraged them to address safety and health problems in their workplaces and to get help if they need it from private consultants like many of you here, from the OSHA consultation program, from insurance companies, or from others in their industry. I believe that knowing they are on OSHA's list, they may be motivated to address their problems. Partnerships are also making a difference. We started in 1993 with Maine 200, tried a national approach and have now evolved into a series of local partnerships, with 63 active today.
Partnership is a different way of working that makes enormous sense.
Each partnership is tailored by our area offices to hazards in their local area. Our agreements focus on solving problems. They provide another avenue to reach employers and employees to encourage them to adopt effective safety and health programs and to share strategies for eliminating common hazards that result in injuries and illnesses. The grandmother of OSHA partnerships, of course, is the Voluntary Protection Program our premier partnership recognizing worksites doing an outstanding job with occupational safety and health. Many of you come from one of the more than 600 workplaces that fly a VPP flag.