| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2001 |
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The Crippling of America: The Problem and the Solution Carmen Hacht, a meatpacking worker from Dakota City, Nebraska, is making her voice heard on Capitol Hill today. Carmen is sharing her experiences implementing a successful ergonomics program in her workplace. Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), the new chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment, Safety and Training, is holding a hearing on "Protecting Workers from Ergonomic Hazards." The purpose of the hearing is to hold the Department of Labor accountable on the issue of ergonomics, as well as to highlight the successful ergonomics programs that exist in workplaces. Ms. Hacht, a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local No. 222, and a Union Representative, worked at the IBP plant in Dakota City, Nebraska for 26 years. She became a union ergonomics monitor in 1988 when the settlement of an OSHA enforcement action mandated the creation of an ergonomic program. "The joint labor-management ergonomics program at my plant has made a dramatic positive difference for workers. The rate of repetitive strain injuries has been cut significantly. And the number of disabling injuries that require surgery has been cut even more. OSHA enforcement action was the impetus for change that stopped the pain for thousands of workers," Carmen told members of the Senate. The UFCW has successfully worked with employers in high-risk industries like meatpacking to develop and implement ergonomics programs that save money and stop the pain. Several major meatpackers have long seen the benefits of working closely with the UFCW to reduce serious injuries in the workplace. "The best way to protect workers from ergonomic hazards is to have an OSHA ergonomic standard that will protect all workers. Ergonomic hazards do not have to be a fact of the workplace. Workers have known for years that job modifications can prevent these injuries. We've been telling that to OSHA through our union for 20 years," Hacht said. Carmen's testimony comes the day after the Department of Labor held so-called "public forums" and information gathering sessions on ergonomics. The Bush Administration and Republican leadership in the U.S. House and Senate killed the overdue national ergonomics standard in March, despite 10 years of research and public commentary that shaped the comprehensive worker-safety regulations. (The 1.4 million member UFCW represents workers in retail food, meatpacking, food processing, health care, textile, distilleries, wineries, chemical and other industries. The UFCW is one of the largest single organizations of workers directly impacted by an ergonomic standard. The UFCW initiated the effort for an ergonomic standard during the George Bush Administration. Bush's Secretary of Labor, Elizabeth Dole, began work on the ergonomic standard following a meeting with the UFCW President. The current standard is a direct result of the work of the UFCW more than a decade ago.) United Food and Commercial Workers International Union: A Voice for Working America - www.ufcw.org |
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