Alexandria, VA – October 16, 2009 – The Club Managers Association of America today announced its involvement in National Drug-Free Work Week, a U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored event that will take place October 19-25, 2009.
The purpose of Drug-Free Work Week is to highlight that being drug free is key to workplace safety and health, and to encourage workers with alcohol and drug problems to seek help. This is the second year that CMAA has joined the Department of Labor and members of the Drug-Free Workplace Alliance to support this effort to raise awareness of the importance of being drug-free as an essential component of a safe and healthy workplace.
The statistics related to the impact of alcohol and drug use by employees are staggering. These numbers are particularly significant in the hospitality and construction industries where alcohol dependence rates are the highest.
• Alcohol problems drain $185 billion from the nation’s economy each year.
• Health care costs for employees with alcohol problems are twice as high as those for other employees.
• People who abuse drugs or alcohol are three and a half times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident, resulting in increased workers’ compensation and disability claims.
• One in five workers reports being injured or put in danger on the job because of a coworker’s drinking, or having to work harder, redo work or cover for a coworker as a result of a fellow employee’s drinking.
(Source: Workplace Screening & Brief Intervention: What Employers Can and Should Do About Excessive Alcohol Use http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Alcohol_treatment_policy/Workplace_SBI_Report_Final.pdf)
“CMAA is proud to continue our involvement in National Drug-Free Work Week,” said CMAA CEO Jim Singerling, CCM, CEC. “We want to spread the message that ‘working drug free works,’ and to highlight the benefits that drug-free workplace programs bring to clubs, their employees and communities.”
Clubs and others in the hospitality industry can learn more about how to participate in Drug-Free Work Week and ways they can promote drug-free workplace messages -during the campaign and throughout the year – by visiting the Labor Department’s Working Partners for an Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace Web site at www.dol.gov/workingpartners.
###
About CMAA – The Club Managers Association of America is the professional Association for managers of membership clubs. CMAA has close to 7,000 members across all classifications. Manager members run more than 3,000 country, golf, city, athletic, faculty, yacht, town and military clubs. The objectives of the Association are to promote and advance friendly relations among persons connected with the management of clubs and other associations of similar character; to encourage the education and advancement of members; and to assist club officers and members, through their managers, to secure the utmost in efficient and successful operations.
Contact:
John Scott
(703) 739-9500
John.scott@cmaa.org
www.cmaa.org
