Above: United States Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao was a keynote speaker at AAHOA’s recent annual convention in Texas. Below: Football coaching legend Jimmy Johnson shared his experiences with AAHOA 2008 convention attendees. Photos by Chris Nelson

SAN ANTONIO – United States Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao praised the flexibility of the American economy and the diversity of the U.S. workforce, while calling attention to issues that could undermine this country's economic growth. And former National Football League head coach Jimmy Johnson spoke about what successful individuals and organizations must do to avoid complacency.

Chao and Johnson gave keynote speeches at the recent Asian American Hotel Owners Association 2008 Convention and Trade Show in San Antonio.

Chao, the current labor secretary under U.S. President George W. Bush, gave an update on the state of the American economy, which she described as “very flexible” thanks to the dynamism of the nation's workforce. She noted that of the 153 million people who comprise the U.S. workforce, the average 40-year-old will have worked 10 jobs, not due to a lack of opportunities but because there are more jobs available than ever before. Yet despite this abundance of good jobs, Chao said a “skills gap” has emerged in recent years that could undermine the overall health of the U.S. economy.

“By definition, these are better-paying jobs,” Chao said. “Everyone needs to have an understanding of technology; it's so much a part of the economy. The economy is facing a skills gap, where workers are looking for work but don't have the skills and employers are bemoaning this skills gap. We must focus on worker training and retraining, which is absolutely essential to maintaining the competitiveness of our economy.”

Yet, how to solve this problem remains the subject of a vigorous debate on Capitol Hill. Chao said that taxpayers, knowingly or not, are funding programs that help unemployed and dislocated workers update their skills and hopefully, obtain better-paying jobs. Yet, at the same time, members of Congress are weighing legislative proposals that would amend laws already in place or install new rules designed to assist the unemployed and dislocated workers. Chao called these proposals “well-intentioned, but misguided.”

“Some of the proposals that are being discussed in Congress would expand the [Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993],” Chao said. “The proposed bill would require employers to offer three months of paid family and medical leave; currently, we have unpaid family and medical leave. We have employers who hire more than 50 workers, and they would be required to offer them more than three months of paid medical leave. We believe this should be negotiated between the employers and the employees, because a bill like this would create an economic impact that we can't even think about.”

Chao also said the proposal would cost businesses money because it would require employers to offer their workers a mandatory seven-day sick leave that employees could opt to cash out rather than use for sick leave.

Aside from legislative issues that could impact the nation's small businesses, Chao also spoke about the need for a guest-worker program and lower taxes – two issues she considers critical to boosting U.S. economic growth. “The president's economic stimulus package includes important incentives to help small businesses grow,” she said. “Now, with the economy the way that it is, this is not the time to pass new taxes that would burden businesses and dampen the economy. With the current unemployment rate below historic averages, we actually have a difficult time finding temporary workers. So the H2B temporary worker program is quite popular with your industry. Still, Congress has mandated a cap on the number of H2B workers.

“Now, we realize this is causing hardships on many employers who rely on these workers, but the [Bush] administration cannot lift the cap – only Congress can. However, the administration is going to propose changes to the law, and the Department of Labor has drafted reforms that should be available soon for public comment,” Chao said. “This is part of the process – the public has the opportunity to to comment on and shape how this legislation will come out. Your opinions are essential and let me encourage you to make your voices heard.”

Johnson brought his experience as one of only two head coaches to win a college football national championship and the National Football League's Super Bowl to AAHOA, where he used it to motivate an audience of several hundred people during the convention's final keynote address on March 28. Johnson's resume is impressive: he won the 1987 National Collegiate Athletic Association football championship as head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes, won Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 as head coach of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and has co-hosted the Fox Television Network's wildly popular Fox NFL Sunday pre-game show off-and-on since 1994. The show has won four Emmy awards and topped the ratings for all but four weeks during its impressive 14-year run. According to Johnson, getting to that point was the easy part; maintaining Fox NFL Sunday's success is much more difficult.

“Being a part of Fox NFL Sunday, people ask me, how do we improve upon our success,” Johnson said. “I tell them, the biggest thing is your attitude. And once you've done that, it's all about communication. As a coach, I told my players, 'Guys, I'm going to be very consistent with you – I'm going to treat every one of you differently. Every one of you is on a scale; the harder you work, and the more you do what we ask you to do, the higher you are on our scale. You'll have more leeway with this team. But when you don't do the things that we ask you to do, then the lower you are on this scale.' The same applies to business – you need to do what people expect of you. But that's the difficult part when you're already number one. How do you improve?”

Johnson said the key to achieving success in life is having a positive attitude. He equated this philosophy to his first season as head coach of the Cowboys, when the team won only one game.

“My first year with the team, we won a single game – we beat the [Washington Redskins], and how we did that, I don't know,” he said. “Well, that season we were playing [the Cardinals] in Arizona and we had this great cornerback who was very personable named Everson Walls, and I thought we were going to win the game. Well, wouldn't you know the Cardinals threw a touchdown pass over Everson's head and they won the game. I was devastated and wanted to go right to the locker room, but in pro ball, all these guys know each other and they all go to midfield to shoot the bull after the game and I had to do that too. I hated doing that stuff.

“Well, I did my handshake with the opposing coach and was walking off the field when I saw Everson talking to the receiver who caught the ball that beat us,” Johnson said. “I stopped and said to him, 'Everson, what in the world – what in the hell is going on here?' I told him to get in the locker room. But he just looked at me and said, 'Aw, Coach, what's the big deal? We're one-and-eight, and we're not going to the Super Bowl.' He was right, we weren't going to the Super Bowl, but the attitude of the Cowboys back then was all about losing.”

Johnson paused, and then asked the audience, “Does it not mean anything to you? If you ever get to the point that you've lost and it's OK, then you need to get out of the game. You have to change that thought process – we get so comfortable with what we're doing, it's hard to change that.”