The Open Source and Industry Alliance (OSAIA) sent the following letter to the Secretary Chao of the US Department of Labor. The letter commends the Department for distributing its Workforce Connections software package under an open source license. The Labor Department tells us the program has saved taxpayers millions of dollars in software and labor costs. This package shows the Department of Labor appreciates the benefits that redound to those choosing openness. We encourage other departments and agencies to study the Labor Department's example and consider open source software for their computing needs. A pdf copy of the letter can be found here.

March 31, 2004

The Honorable Elaine Chao
Secretary
U.S. Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210

Dear Secretary Chao:

As you know, information technology has done much to improve productivity in business and government alike. From the rise of the Internet to the Bush Administration's e-Gov initiative, computing has altered -- perhaps forever – economists' perceptions of how economies grow.

We at the Open Source and Industry Alliance congratulate the Department of Labor on its recent release of Workforce Connections (www.workforceconnections.gov). Workforce Connections is a free and innovative software package used for Web-based education and Web site construction. Labor Department officials tell us that this single program has already saved the Federal Government millions of dollars in software and labor costs, and promises to save taxpayers still more as it comes into wider use by state and local government. OSAIA member devIS of Arlington, Va., developed the code under government contract, and transferred its copyright to the Department at its request.

OSAIA is a project of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, an international, nonprofit association of computer and communications industry companies. CCIA is dedicated to preserving full, fair and open competition. Our members employ nearly a million workers and generate annual revenues in excess of $300 billion.

Workforce Connections is distributed under a form of “open source” copyright that gives everyone the right to use, copy and redistribute software free of charge as long as they make available the software's underlying technical specifications when they pass on software to others. DevIS, in other words, struck a simple bargain based on distribution and information sharing, rather than direct payment.

Although they vary in details, open source software licenses permit public disclosure and sharing of source code. Distributing software this way has an obvious benefit: Anyone at all can use open source software free of charge. But there are other, arguably more important benefits to open source software. Because all code is shared, it passes through a peer review process that often yields excellent quality. And since developers can modify software to fit their particular needs, open source projects encourage unparalleled creativity. Indeed, the remarkable rise of the Linux operating system has come about because millions of developers were willing to put aside whatever commercial differences they had in order to produce an operating system that all could use without fear of discrimination or unreasonable licensing terms.

Today, companies from IBM to Oracle, Ford Motor Co. to the Bank of America and countless smaller firms develop, distribute and enthusiastically use software whose source code can be examined and modified by anyone. All of the Fortune 50 and a large number of the Global 2000 use some kind of open source software in their daily operations. The Labor Department's decision to release publicly funded software back to the public shows that the Department of Labor, too, appreciates the benefits that redound to those who choose openness.

Secretary Chao, today millions of software professionals are changing the way we all think about technology. We congratulate you for helping to lead the Department into the future.

Sincerely yours,
Ed Black
President
Open Source and Industry Alliance