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CWA Urges Prompt Action on Ergonomics Standard
The Communications Workers of America, along with other professional organizations and unions, is supporting the Labor Department in its effort to finalize protections for workers against repetitive motion illnesses and injuries and other ergonomic hazards in the workplace.
CWA members and officials will be among those testifying at public hearings conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The panel will hear from some 1,100 individuals over the course of the hearings, which include sessions in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Portland, Ore.
CWA has been fighting for a federal ergonomics standard for more than 20 years, calling for action on carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive motion illnesses facing computer and keyboard users, technicians, journalists and other workers.
"There is overwhelming scientific evidence of the need for an OSHA ergonomics standard, supported by the work of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health," CWA said. Hundreds of thousands of workers each year suffer from musculo-skeletal disorders or repetitive motion illnesses as a result of workplace ergonomic hazards that can be prevented, the union added. The proposed OSHA standard would cover 27 million workers.
CWA has worked with some of its employers to establish workplace ergonomic programs that have reduced illnesses and injuries. These kind of programs are highly effective, according to a 1997 General Accounting Office review, enabling employers to reduce workers' compensation costs and improve productivity.
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CWA members and officials will be among those testifying at public hearings conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The panel will hear from some 1,100 individuals over the course of the hearings, which include sessions in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Portland, Ore.
CWA has been fighting for a federal ergonomics standard for more than 20 years, calling for action on carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive motion illnesses facing computer and keyboard users, technicians, journalists and other workers.
"There is overwhelming scientific evidence of the need for an OSHA ergonomics standard, supported by the work of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health," CWA said. Hundreds of thousands of workers each year suffer from musculo-skeletal disorders or repetitive motion illnesses as a result of workplace ergonomic hazards that can be prevented, the union added. The proposed OSHA standard would cover 27 million workers.
CWA has worked with some of its employers to establish workplace ergonomic programs that have reduced illnesses and injuries. These kind of programs are highly effective, according to a 1997 General Accounting Office review, enabling employers to reduce workers' compensation costs and improve productivity.
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