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AFL-CIO Alert
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 today 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.
Stop the Pain
Hand Back the Ergo Standard!
Prepared by: AFL-CIO
Safety and Health Department, June 2001
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