Fight Over Ergonomics Standard Moves to the Forefront

With Labor Day just around the corner and Congress returning Sept. 5, activity on the ergonomics front will be heating up. Here's a rundown on where things stand and what's expected on ergonomics.

Congressional Fight—After Labor Day, the political fight on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's ergonomics standard will enter its final stages. When Congress returns, action will be focused on the fiscal year 2001 Labor/Health and Human Services appropriations bill, which includes a rider prohibiting OSHA from moving forward with the standard. In June, both the House and Senate voted largely along party lines to include this prohibition in the bill. Just before the August congressional recess, Republican members of a House-Senate Conference Committee reached an agreement on the bill that includes the ergonomics prohibition.

President Clinton has promised to veto this anti-work measure if it comes to his desk.

At this point it is not clear whether Republicans will send the Labor-HHS appropriations bill to the president for a certain veto or move directly to try to resolve differences with the White House on this and other bills. In either case, there will be a showdown on the ergonomics issue in late September or early October.

Contact your senators and representative and thank them if they voted correctly; express deep disappointment if they voted against the ergonomics standard and ask them to stand with workers as the fight for this important standard continues. The House roll call, vote number 250, can be found at http://clerkweb.house.gov/evs/index.htm. The Senate vote roll call, vote 143, can be found at http://www.senate.gov/legislative/vote1062/vote_00143.html.

Republicans and Business Groups Continue Harassment Tactics to Block Standard—Business groups and conservative Republicans are pulling out all the stops to try to block the ergonomics standard. In addition to attaching the prohibition to the OSHA funding bill, Republicans are trying to make an issue of OSHA's use of expert witnesses and contractors in the ergonomics rule making, a standard practice in all of OSHA's rule makings in the past 30 years. Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.) in the House and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) in the Senate have launched a broad and far-reaching investigation asking OSHA and its expert witnesses to turn over every document and communication on this issue. They're attempting to force OSHA to spend time responding to these requests so they can't finish the rule, and in the process, hoping to turn up information that the industry can use against OSHA in their lawsuits on the standard. They're also trying to scare experts away from working with OSHA on future standards.

Republican members of Congress also have requested the inspector general's office of the General Accounting Office and the Department of Labor to conduct the same investigation, again hoping to tie OSHA up in knots so the agency can't work on the rule.

Work on the Standard Moves Forward—Despite the political attack and harassment from Republicans, OSHA is moving forward to develop the final standard; Aug. 10 was the deadline for post-hearing briefs. The AFL-CIO and many of our unions submitted lengthy briefs setting forth in detail our final positions and the record evidence that supports these positions. OSHA is reviewing these latest submissions and the record evidence and testimony and has promised to issue a final standard by the end of the year.

Party Platforms Take Stand On Ergonomics Standard—The lines have been drawn on this issue in the November election. The Republicans in their party platform have committed to withdrawing the proposed ergonomics standard. The Democratic platform commits to fighting for the standard.

This alert was amended from the AFL-CIO August 2000 Job Safety and Health Update.