By Carolyn Maxwell

On September 27, 2013, The Amboy Guardian attended a ceremony at the Morton Salt facility located on High Street. The occasion was a flag raising ceremony where OSHA presented the company with a flag depicting their Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) Star Status.

Morton Salt was officially certified with this prestigious safety award in July 2013. The Perth Amboy location is only the seventh company nationwide to be awarded this honor. The VPPA (VPP Participants Association) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 which works closely with OSHA.

This program promotes effective worksite based safety and health. The VPP Management and Labor all work together to implement a comprehensive safety and health management system. Besides the workers and managers from the plant, several top executives in Morton Salt flew in from other parts of the world to honor their employees. Morton Salt CEO Christian Herrmann is from Germany.

After Mr. Herrmann spoke, Katherine and I went up to him to tell him how much we enjoyed his speech, especially when he said that the safety measures of the factories in the United States far exceed those in Germany.

Meeting the employees and management from Morton Salt was very pleasurable, especially when we started to kid around with two employees – one who was a Mets fan and the other a Yankee fan.

It was a beautiful sunny day and it reflected the atmosphere and attitude of those in attendance. Invited guests received some cool gifts from Morton Salt which included a huge umbrella with their famous logo of their little girl with the umbrella. Afterwards, we went to a luncheon at Terrazza. I was very happy because two of my favorite dishes were served: salmon and pernil. The icing on the cake was cake.

What made it even better was being in the company of the employees of Morton Salt who made us feel like part of their family. You can tell they are family to each other. That’s the way companies should operate and Morton Salt is a perfect example of this.

One of the most resounding comments made by all of the Morton Salt Officials was the Perth Amboy facility came up to the challenge and was the most impressive facility that they have visited. Connie White said, “Every time I came to the Perth Amboy facility it has improved. Although personnel has changed,the team came up to the challenge. This is not only a team, but they’re a family.”

I think that says a lot about the employees. As the afternoon was winding down, I can see why the employees earned this award. You may wonder why this award is so important. Think about it. Every day that a company operates without an accident happening, it saves the company money which translates to jobs being saved. One of those jobs could be yours.

We congratulations you on this achievement and the role model you will become to other companies.