On November 14, 2000, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its final ergonomics standard to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), the nation's biggest job safety problem.
On March 7, 2001 President Bush and Republicans on Capitol Hill got their way when the U.S. House of Representatives voted 223 - 206 to kill OSHA's ergonomics standard. The Senate voted the previous evening 56 - 44 to repeal the ergonomics standard.
The ergonomics standard was a product of 10 years of work and was debated in the Senate for 10 hours, while the House gave the issue one hour of consideration.
The treatment and eventually repeal of this important worker protection was disgraceful because:
- Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) caused by ergonomic hazards are the biggest job safety problem workers face today, accounting for an estimated 1.8 million injuries every year. Each year, these crippling injuries afflict tens of thousands of UFCW members from the supermarket check out line to the food processing line.
- Ergonomic injuries and illnesses are the nation's biggest workplace safety and health problem. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics they cause over 600,000 serious workplace injuries a year.
- The 2001 National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine report on work- related MSDs strongly supports the science behind the ergonomics standard. The Academy has estimated that these injuries cost the country $45 - $54 billion each year.
- The ergonomics standard was a flexible measure--based on sound science and good employer practices.
- The ergonomics standard would have prevented hundreds of thousands of crippling workplace injuries each year and resulted in significant cost savings for employers and workers.
- The ergonomics standard was 10 years in the making and was long overdue. The standard was the result of a lengthy and extensive rulemaking process, including nine weeks of public hearings, over 1,000 witnesses, and over 7,000 written comments.
The repeal of the ergonomics standard under the Congressional Review Act was an extremist action and because of this OSHA is now barred from issuing similar safeguards to protect workers from the nation's biggest job safety problem.
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