robert.harrison@ucsf.edu

As we look ahead to 2008 and beyond, one change is certain: we will have a new administration in Washington, D.C. and a potential opportunity to significantly strengthen our policies and programs for worker protection. The list of needed improvements is long:  restoring scientific integrity to new standards setting; vigorously enforcing existing standards; increasing extramural and intramural research budgets; building epidemiological capacity for state-based surveillance and intervention programs; integrating occupational health into chronic disease, environmental and injury prevention programs; and increasing the occupational health work force.  An ultimate goal is to put our scientific and technical knowledge in the hands of workers and their organizations, reminding us that many of the accomplishments of health and safety professionals are ultimately tied to coalitions forged with our friends and colleagues in the labor movement.

The Occupational Health and Safety Section of APHA has been guided by this principle for many decades, and much of our work within and outside of APHA has been the product of joint efforts between safety and health professionals and the labor movement.  At this year’s meeting in San Diego - just one week before the election - no doubt the formal breakouts and hallway discussions will focus on strengthening health and safety in the next administration. Over the next several months, we need to begin the process of defining our priorities, sharpening our agendas and strategies, and forging alliances and coalitions with organizations allied with our common interests.  The theme of this year’s meeting, "Public Health Without Borders,” will address a diversity of topics including immigrant and refugee health, health disparities and the critical importance of cross-national health and safety struggles in the global economy.  Many of these topics should be highly relevant to our strategic goals over the next four years.  On behalf of our Section leadership, I look forward to working together with you in the coming year.