Northrop Grumman Newport News employee Linda Kindred was honored by The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association for exceptional workplace health and safety achievements. Click here for a high resolution image

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Sept. 27, 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) employee Linda Kindred has been honored by The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association (VPPPA) for exceptional workplace health and safety achievements as part of the VPPPA Safety & Health Achievement Program.

The VPPPA Safety & Health Achievement Award Program is an opportunity for hourly workers that are non-safety and health professionals to be recognized for their knowledge on health and safety issues as well as their contributions to learn and apply health and safety best practices.

An employee with the company's Newport News sector for more than 31 years, Kindred works as a crane operator in the company’s operations division. She also serves as a health and safety team leader, working to continuously improve the safety of employees throughout her department. She has also led numerous safety projects including an eye safety awareness program called "For Your Eyes Only," and she developed and presented a safety training program for employees in her department.

Kindred serves on the company's Employee Communications Advisory Board and is active in the United Steelworkers of America, serving as an elected guide and chairperson of the Benevolence and Community Relations Committee for the union's local chapter, 8888. A resident of Hampton, Va., she has been active in the community, volunteering with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization for more than 25 years, and serving as a court-appointed special advocate for youth with the Newport News court system.

The Voluntary Protection Program administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Department of Energy and State Plans, is a cooperative effort among labor, management and government. Acceptance into the Voluntary Protection Program requires safety and health programs that exceed OSHA's standards. On average, sites participating in the Voluntary Protection Program have overall lost-workday rates 50 percent below the industry average. More than 1,000 United States worksites are participants in the program, and more than three-quarters of a million workers in the U.S. are directly impacted by the program.

The VPPPA, Inc., a nonprofit charitable organization, promotes advances in worker safety, health and environmental excellence through best practices and cooperative efforts between workers, employers, the government and communities.

Northrop Grumman Newport News, headquartered in Newport News, Va., is the nation's sole designer, builder and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two companies capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines. Newport News also provides after-market services for a wide array of naval and commercial vessels. The Newport News sector employs about 19,000 people.

CONTACT: