Bush Administration Announces Ergonomic Forums
Chao: “Starting Point for Evaluating the Issue”
AFL-CIO: One - Sided Forums are a Sham and a Fraud
The Department of Labor announced in the Federal Register June 12, three public forums “to discuss possible approaches to addressing ergonomic hazards in the workplace.” According to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, these forums will develop “guiding principles” that will “provide a vital starting point for evaluating the issue and a point from which we can decide a final course of action.” The meetings will be held on July 16 and 17 in Washington D.C., July 20 in Chicago, IL, and July 24 somewhere in California. (The federal register notice can be found at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2001_register&docid=01-14740-filed.pdf.
It is clear that these forums are a sham and a fraud backed by industry and Republicans in Congress. The questions being asked by DOL are one-sided reflecting only concerns and issues raised by industry opponents. These questions have been asked and answered, not just by NIOSH and two congressionally mandated National Academy of Sciences reports, but through 10 weeks and 18,000 pages of public hearing testimony that ended just over a year ago, as well as hundreds of thousands of pages of additional records collected over ten years that rest in the OSHA ergonomics docket right down the hall from the Secretary.
The questions that DOL is asking are clearly an attempt to attack not only the science behind ergonomics, but on how ergonomic injuries are counted and recorded. NAM has challenged OSHA’s revised recordkeeping rule and wants DOL to change the way MSDs are recorded in order to define the problem away. It appears that DOL may be using these forums as justification to do exactly that.
In a press release issued last week, Chao claimed that “We are bringing everyone to the table to get this important issue moving forward and resolved. Defining the best approach for ergonomic injuries is not a simple process and we need everyone’s voice heard in the process.”
You will also be pleased to know that “the Secretary encourages all interested parties, particularly small business owners and employees of small businesses, to participate.”
The forums will address only three questions:
- What is an ergonomics injury?
- How can OSHA, employers and employees determine whether an ergonomics injury was caused by work-related activities or non-work-related activities; and, if the ergonomics injury was caused by a combination of the two, what is the appropriate response?
- What are the most useful and cost-effective types of government involvement to address workplace ergonomics injuries?
The Secretary will determine a course of action in September, “based on a review of information obtained during this process, along with other information.” Meanwhile, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over OSHA, has stated that he is “delighted” by Chao’s action. “She has obviously reviewed some of the voluminous testimony from the last misguided attempt and has struck at the heart of the problem," Enzi said.
The only question that needs to be answered now, but was not even asked by Chao is “What should OSHA do now to protect workers?” Meanwhile, while DOL fiddles, over 400,000 workers have suffered ergonomic injuries since George W. Bush signed legislation repealing the OSHA ergonomics standard last March.
Action Needed
Plan to be at the forums in strength. We need to tell OSHA once again that these injuries are real, that they are serious; that we need a new standard and that we aren’t going to go away until OSHA acts to issue a strong protective rule.
We will need to provide testimony inside the hearing and to state our case to the public and to the media outside the hearing rooms as well. Notices of Intention to appear are due on June 29, but because time is limited, you need to send in notices as soon as possible. We will need union staff and members to emphasize at the hearings that thousands of people are being hurt every day and that we need a strong ergonomics standard to stop the pain.
Notices of intention to appear may be submitted by mail, fax or electronically through OSHA’s Web Page. Mail notices to: Ms. Veneta Chatmon, OSHA Office of Public Affairs, Docket No. S-777A, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Room N-3647, Washington D.C. 20210. The fax number is (202) 693-1634. If you want to testify for more than 10 minutes, please state the time you need and the questions you want to address.
Written comments must be postmarked by August 3, 2001 and submitted to: OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. S-777A, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Room N-2625, Washington, D.C.
We will provide additional information and suggestions for testimony and comments shortly, and information on the locations of the public meetings as soon as it is available. In the meantime if you have questions, please feel free to contact the AFL-CIO Safety and Health Department at 202-637-5366.
