The Mobile, Alabama native and Xavier University of Louisiana graduate brings more than two decades of leadership to the position of labor secretary. She has spent her entire career on the front lines of the changing workforce as a business woman, government executive and community leader dedicated to implementing policies beneficial to workers with increased  opportunities and skills for the hard-to-employ. She put her experience to the test in the summer of 1997 when she succeeded in bringing UPS management and Teamsters union leaders to the negotiating table in marathon talks in Washington, D.C. The talks ended the 10 day-old strike with Secretary Herman declaring that "our faith in the collective bargaining process has been reaffirmed." 

In an interview with THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Magazine, Secretary Herman discussed many aspects of her strategic goals and aspirations for the balance of her career as U.S. Secretary of Labor. 

THE BLACK COLLEGIAN - What are the top priorities you want to accomplish before leaving office?

Herman - Well, I have established three strategic goals. Let me speak briefly to those three goals, and then what the key priorities are for me and those goals. The three key goals that I have articulated are, first of all, a prepared workforce to enhance opportunity so that we can really take advantage of the jobs and opportunities of the new millennium. This means we  have got to have an increased emphasis on skills and skill development, because as we all know, the workforce of tomorrow is going to be a knowledge-based economy. The second goal is a more secure workforce because the other reality going into the 21st century, since I hope to still be in this job when we usher it in is a recognition that we live and work today in a global marketplace. It's a very dynamic market. We have to help workers I think do a better job of managing the change in such a dynamic global marketplace today. So, that means that we have to do things like strengthen pension protection to make sure that the commerce securities are to be there in the midst of so much restructuring that is taking place. It means issues like passing a patient's bill of rights to broaden health benefits. These are all of the issues that point to a more secure workforce. And then the last goal that I have established is a quality workplace. And by that, I mean that we have to foster workplaces today that are safe, healthy, and fair. And while it has been the historic mission of the department to administer occupational safety and health laws to make sure that our workplaces are, in fact, free of discrimination, I think that we have to be more vigorous and more vigilant in those efforts going forward precisely because of the changing nature of work. We can't leave our  values behind in terms of what we expect of a quality workplace for American workers just because it is so dynamic and it is changing. Specifically, when I look at the priorities and the strategies that I am working on in those three goals, I will say, first of all, I put a real emphasis on out-of-school youths and minority youth, in particular, as we talk about preparing the workforce for the future. When I came to this department 20 years ago, the unemployment rate for Black teens was at or about 30 percent. I've come back 20 years later, it's still there. I am determined when I leave, to have made a real change in the rate of our employment rates of our young people and to say that we have done a better job of putting them on the path to success. The second thing that I would say on the prepared workforce is to follow through on the President's commitment to manage the transition from welfare to work with dignity. We fought very hard to make sure that we are going to pay people at least a  minimum wage, that all of our laws that we administer would apply to those who are going from welfare to work. I want to make sure that's going to be so. When the case load comes down, as we hear so much about reducing case loads, we need to know they have gone into real jobs that will literally help them get on the road to independence. And I want to be held  accountable for that effort. It's not enough to say case loads have come down. I want to know that these people are in jobs and they are working, and that we are helping them to turn their lives around. 

The area that I would say in terms of a priority for a secure workforce I hope to boost is through both the inclination and the information when it comes to the needs for retirement income and to help us all have a better understanding of why savings is important and why it is especially important for the minority community in particular. They are dependent on Social Security. But Social Security is not going to be enough. It is going to only represent about 40 percent of what you will need in your retirement. For many of us it represents 80, 90, oftentimes 100 percent of our retirement income. We have to broaden our outreach to minority communities. We have to broaden our outreach to our business community and make pension benefits and retirement securities a reality for all Americans. But I attach a high priority to minorities and women in that vein. In the third area in terms of a priority of quality workplaces, what I mean is I hope that we will be able to analyze a very basic and very bottom line term that we stress an enforcement effort in terms of protecting worker rights in this country, and I want us to be able to measure that. I want us to be able to say that injury rates declined in the workplace in terms of occupational safety and health efforts. I want us to be able to say that we, in fact, raised the minimum wage so that we could put families in a better position to care for themselves into the future and their families. I want us to say that in terms of a bad action such as discrimination in the workplace, that we were diligent in getting back pay awards when we found pay violations; and that we were diligent in making  sure that we enforced equal employment opportunity laws in the workplace while measuring that in terms of compliance on the part of employers. And lastly, I put a special emphasis on protecting the children and eradicating child labor. When I came to the department, we only had 29 violations that had been cited for child labor violations in our country. Just before completing 1998, I am proud to say that we are now in the hundreds when we look at the fact that we have been really diligent in terms of looking at child labor violations, and not just here, but also we are taking this message abroad. We can't be leaders here at home on the domestic front if we are not concerned about the whole question of child labor on a global basis. Those are the bottom line things that I want to point back to as Secretary of Labor when I leave. 

THE BLACK COLLEGIAN- Are there any plans in the Labor Department to issue goals and timetables for private industry to eliminate the so-called glass ceiling in employment opportunities for minorities? 

Herman- Well, there are already. As you know, companies are already required to produce goals and timetables in terms of the plans they have to submit that we administer. I think the issue is not so much issuing the goals and timetables, but holding companies accountable and responsible for the plans that they submit. That's why for me enforcement has to be the priority, holding companies accountable and not simply relying on the stated timeframe that companies do commit to on paper. 

THE BLACK COLLEGIAN - What are the key characteristics and values that have contributed to your professional success? 

Herman - Well, you know, I was raised in Mobile, AL, and I know there were three things that always guided me, and that's been a very strong family, that's been deeply rooted in strong faith, and a very strong work ethic. I was raised to believe, really, that next to family and faith, the most important thing in our lives is the work that we do. It's not just a source of income. It's a source of dignity. I was raised to believe there was no such thing as a bad job, and that whatever the task is that you are charged to do, you do your best, and you let your work speak for itself. I've tried to live by that myself for my entire life. 

THE BLACK COLLEGIAN- What advice can you share with college students about how they can become successful in their chosen occupations? 

Herman - Well, I tell young people to be successful today that, first of all, that what you learn today directly impacts what you earn tomorrow. This is a knowledge-based economy. Unlike any other time in our history, we have to know that staying in school and getting an education is the most important thing you can do. You are four times more likely to be unemployed today if you have less than a high school diploma. I also tell young people that if they are really looking for a strategy for success -- I call myself sometimes the nation's top job counselor -- I give them what I call the five Ss. The five Ss are, first of all, to Stay in  school because this is a knowledge-based economy. Secondly, Study computers because we will not be able to compete successfully in a new global economy if you don't know the new technology. The third S is Speak another language because the workforce of the future is going to be very diverse and global, and you are going to have to be able to communicate in another language and understand other cultures. My fourth S is to Seek knowledge, and that means to read and learn as much as you can about your own situation where you live, the people around you and your teachers. You must seek knowledge on every front to broaden your own horizons, and that will also stimulate your own career interest. It will help you to shape a view of the future. And then, my final S is to Strive early to get practical work experience. There is no substitute really for learning about the world of work and being in the world of work. You can do that through internships. You can do it through summer job  experiences or even from volunteer jobs in your local community. Strive early to get some kind of practical work experience. 

THE BLACK COLLEGIAN- You know racism is still a fact of life in our society. And with that, how do you and the Labor Department deal with it? 

Herman - Well, there are a number of ways that we deal with it. I suppose the two biggest keys are education and enforcement. Education is important because, first of all, people need to know that discrimination still exists. It is still real in the workplace, and we should not take that for granted. While we have to get the skills and develop our abilities and our talents to  do all that we can possibly do and to reach our own God-given potential, the reality is that there are still racial barriers. And so we have to talk about them. We can't ignore it. We have to educate ourselves and others to that reality, so that we can continue to make the changes that we have to take. Secondly, we have to, at the Department of Labor, in particular, make sure that we maintain vigorous enforcement efforts to say that we will not tolerate any form of discrimination in the workplace today, be it racism or sexism or any kind of ism that prevents people from realizing their potential in the workplace today. So we deal with it on two fronts, education and enforcement. 

THE BLACK COLLEGIAN- What are the current and future employment opportunities for African-American college graduates in federal government service, especially the Labor Department? 

Herman - Really, the potential for, first of all, any college graduate today is enormously good. These are good times for anyone with a college degree today, particularly African Americans. With a college degree today, you really breach the unemployment rate. And in some communities we are talking about 1.9 percent, 2 percent. It's extremely good with any kind of college training. It is particularly good in computers and the health services area. The computer end of it, the high-tech end of it is a booming market, be it the public sector or private sector. The public sector certainly includes the Department of Labor. Those are jobs that are available. They are open and they are good paying jobs. The government as a whole has been actually retrenching under President Clinton's leadership. We have had actually a decline in government service overall, but the growth is in high-tech areas, specialty areas in the Labor Department and other departments. They are still opening. But the real growth  I must say in terms of the public sector for the Labor Department is really at state and local levels. That's where the real opportunities are today.