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Ergonomic Rule’s Quick Death Prompts Labor to Fight Back
In the aftermath of the Republican stampede that crushed the federal ergonomics rule in March, union leaders nationwide are vowing to defeat anti-worker members of Congress and fight even harder for rules to prevent crippling repetitive motion and strain injuries.
“This fight is far from over,” CWA President Morton Bahr said. “We certainly won’t abandon our commitment to worker safety.”
The ergonomics rule was adopted by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration in January after years of medical research, workplace studies and debate.
“This standard was the result of bipartisan work that started 10 years ago under Republican Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole,” Bahr said. “This wasn’t simply a union effort, or a Democratic effort and it certainly wasn’t hastily put together. But that’s what Republicans and the business lobby want people to believe.”
The rule died under the never-before-used Congressional Review Act of 1996, which allows Congress to overturn federal rules with a simple majority vote. Under the act’s deadline, debate could have extended into May. Instead, Republicans pushed for votes with little warning — the Senate on March 6, the House the following day.
President George W. Bush formally killed the rule two weeks later at a White House ceremony that marked the first time he signed a bill with national impact. He called the rule’s death the beginning of a “culture of accomplishment in Washington.”
“There’s a bankruptcy bill that’s working its way through the House and the Senate,” Bush said, quoted in the Washington Post. “There’s an ergonomics, change in ergonomics regulations that I believe is positive … Things are getting done.”
Bush lobbied behind the scenes for the rule’s repeal, then sent a letter to Capitol Hill the morning of the Senate vote “expressing unequivocal opposition to the standard," the New Republic reported. The Bush letter wasn’t posted on the White House website, as are all other press releases, the magazine said, noting that its absence “wasn’t an accident.” The Bush camp “may be more hostile to labor than any administration in U.S. history — including Ronald Reagan’s,” columnist Ryan Lizza wrote.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass), one of the rule’s strongest supporters in Congress, said the rushed vote was an “atom bomb” designed to wipe out the rule entirely. Had Republicans truly been concerned about specific aspects of the standard, Kennedy and others said those problems could have been addressed.
The Senate vote was 56-44, with six Democrats joining all 50 Republicans in killing the rule. In the House, the vote was 223-206. Sixteen Democrats, mostly from southern states, voted to overturn the rule. Thirteen Republicans voted to uphold it.
The rule was designed to help nearly 2 million workers every year who suffer wrist, neck, back and other injuries due to poor work area design, repetitive motion and heavy lifting. About a third of the injured workers are hurt so severely they require time off from work to heal, and thousands suffer permanent disabilities.
OSHA estimated that the standard would save businesses $9 billion a year in workers’ compensation and other lost-time costs — twice as much they would need to spend to train workers and improve work areas. But bitterly angry and vocal business groups made it clear they wouldn’t stand for any government regulation in the area of ergonomics, no matter the statistics and cost-saving estimates.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said “dishonest and disgraceful” weren’t strong enough words to describe members of Congress who voted to put business interests above workers’ safety. He said Democrats who “gave cover to this assault are especially dishonorable.”
By using the Congressional Review Act, Republicans have made it extremely difficult for proponents of the ergonomics rule to resubmit it without significant changes. The act bars the issuance of any replacement rule that is “substantially” the same as the one revoked.
Only two states have ergonomic standards of their own. Dave LeGrande, CWA occupational safety and health director, said California’s 1998 standard is weak and under-used while Washington state’s new standard is stronger than the now defunct federal standard.
Helping workers in both states understand and use the standards to their fullest potential, and lobbying other state legislatures to consider similar laws are likely next steps for CWA and other unions concerned about ergonomics, LeGrande said.
A third state, North Carolina, had adopted the federal standard as a state regulation. But the state’s new Republican labor commissioner, Cherie Berry, issued an order that voided it the day of the Senate vote.
Just hours before the Senate vote, Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and Barbara Mikulski (Md.) held a news conference that featured three women who suffered disabling injuries due to poor ergonomics at work — a chicken processor, school secretary and an Internet publishing company employee.
The senators said women, especially, suffer from ergonomic-related injuries because of the type of work many women do, including nursing, telecommunications and data entry.
“Women hold more than 80 percent of the jobs that involve repetitive motion injuries,” Clinton said. “Many women who leave their jobs at the end of the day to care for their children find it hard to lift a child, do household chores or even engage in mild exercise because of the pain it causes.”
Like Kennedy, Clinton said Democrats were willing to discuss items in the standard that Republicans claimed were unacceptable. “What’s especially galling to us is the fact that the opponents of this worker health standard are not interested in changing it,” she said. “They are interested in destroying it completely.”
Ergonomics Roll Call
Senate Democrats who voted against the ergonomics rule:
Max Baucus (Mont.)
John Breaux (La.)
Mary Landrieu (La.)
Ernest Hollings (S.C.)
Blanche Lincoln (Ark.)
Zell Miller (Ga.)
House Democrats who voted against the rule:
Allen Boyd (Fla.)
Brad Carson (Okla.)
Bob Clement (Tenn.)
James Clyburn (S.C.)
Robert Cramer (Ala.)
Calvin Dooley (Calif.)
Ralph Hall (Texas)
Christopher John (La.)
Mike McIntyre (N.C.)
Norman Sisisky (Va.)
Ike Skelton (Mo.)
John Spratt Jr. (S.C.)
Charles Stenholm (Texas)
John Tannen (Tenn.)
Gene Taylor (Miss.)
Jim Turner (Texas)
House Republicans who voted for the rule:
Sherman Boehlert (N.Y.)
Mike Ferguson (N.J.)
Benjamin Gilman (N.Y.)
Felix Grucci (N.Y.)
Stephen Horn (Calif.)
Peter King (N.Y.)
Frank LoBiondo (N.J.)
John McHugh (N.Y.)
Thomas Petri (Wis.)
Jack Quinn (N.Y.)
Jim Saxton (N.J.)
Christopher Smith (N.J.)
Curt Weldon (Pa.)
“This fight is far from over,” CWA President Morton Bahr said. “We certainly won’t abandon our commitment to worker safety.”
The ergonomics rule was adopted by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration in January after years of medical research, workplace studies and debate.
“This standard was the result of bipartisan work that started 10 years ago under Republican Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole,” Bahr said. “This wasn’t simply a union effort, or a Democratic effort and it certainly wasn’t hastily put together. But that’s what Republicans and the business lobby want people to believe.”
The rule died under the never-before-used Congressional Review Act of 1996, which allows Congress to overturn federal rules with a simple majority vote. Under the act’s deadline, debate could have extended into May. Instead, Republicans pushed for votes with little warning — the Senate on March 6, the House the following day.
President George W. Bush formally killed the rule two weeks later at a White House ceremony that marked the first time he signed a bill with national impact. He called the rule’s death the beginning of a “culture of accomplishment in Washington.”
“There’s a bankruptcy bill that’s working its way through the House and the Senate,” Bush said, quoted in the Washington Post. “There’s an ergonomics, change in ergonomics regulations that I believe is positive … Things are getting done.”
Bush lobbied behind the scenes for the rule’s repeal, then sent a letter to Capitol Hill the morning of the Senate vote “expressing unequivocal opposition to the standard," the New Republic reported. The Bush letter wasn’t posted on the White House website, as are all other press releases, the magazine said, noting that its absence “wasn’t an accident.” The Bush camp “may be more hostile to labor than any administration in U.S. history — including Ronald Reagan’s,” columnist Ryan Lizza wrote.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass), one of the rule’s strongest supporters in Congress, said the rushed vote was an “atom bomb” designed to wipe out the rule entirely. Had Republicans truly been concerned about specific aspects of the standard, Kennedy and others said those problems could have been addressed.
The Senate vote was 56-44, with six Democrats joining all 50 Republicans in killing the rule. In the House, the vote was 223-206. Sixteen Democrats, mostly from southern states, voted to overturn the rule. Thirteen Republicans voted to uphold it.
The rule was designed to help nearly 2 million workers every year who suffer wrist, neck, back and other injuries due to poor work area design, repetitive motion and heavy lifting. About a third of the injured workers are hurt so severely they require time off from work to heal, and thousands suffer permanent disabilities.
OSHA estimated that the standard would save businesses $9 billion a year in workers’ compensation and other lost-time costs — twice as much they would need to spend to train workers and improve work areas. But bitterly angry and vocal business groups made it clear they wouldn’t stand for any government regulation in the area of ergonomics, no matter the statistics and cost-saving estimates.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said “dishonest and disgraceful” weren’t strong enough words to describe members of Congress who voted to put business interests above workers’ safety. He said Democrats who “gave cover to this assault are especially dishonorable.”
By using the Congressional Review Act, Republicans have made it extremely difficult for proponents of the ergonomics rule to resubmit it without significant changes. The act bars the issuance of any replacement rule that is “substantially” the same as the one revoked.
Only two states have ergonomic standards of their own. Dave LeGrande, CWA occupational safety and health director, said California’s 1998 standard is weak and under-used while Washington state’s new standard is stronger than the now defunct federal standard.
Helping workers in both states understand and use the standards to their fullest potential, and lobbying other state legislatures to consider similar laws are likely next steps for CWA and other unions concerned about ergonomics, LeGrande said.
A third state, North Carolina, had adopted the federal standard as a state regulation. But the state’s new Republican labor commissioner, Cherie Berry, issued an order that voided it the day of the Senate vote.
Just hours before the Senate vote, Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and Barbara Mikulski (Md.) held a news conference that featured three women who suffered disabling injuries due to poor ergonomics at work — a chicken processor, school secretary and an Internet publishing company employee.
The senators said women, especially, suffer from ergonomic-related injuries because of the type of work many women do, including nursing, telecommunications and data entry.
“Women hold more than 80 percent of the jobs that involve repetitive motion injuries,” Clinton said. “Many women who leave their jobs at the end of the day to care for their children find it hard to lift a child, do household chores or even engage in mild exercise because of the pain it causes.”
Like Kennedy, Clinton said Democrats were willing to discuss items in the standard that Republicans claimed were unacceptable. “What’s especially galling to us is the fact that the opponents of this worker health standard are not interested in changing it,” she said. “They are interested in destroying it completely.”
Ergonomics Roll Call
Senate Democrats who voted against the ergonomics rule:
Max Baucus (Mont.)
John Breaux (La.)
Mary Landrieu (La.)
Ernest Hollings (S.C.)
Blanche Lincoln (Ark.)
Zell Miller (Ga.)
House Democrats who voted against the rule:
Allen Boyd (Fla.)
Brad Carson (Okla.)
Bob Clement (Tenn.)
James Clyburn (S.C.)
Robert Cramer (Ala.)
Calvin Dooley (Calif.)
Ralph Hall (Texas)
Christopher John (La.)
Mike McIntyre (N.C.)
Norman Sisisky (Va.)
Ike Skelton (Mo.)
John Spratt Jr. (S.C.)
Charles Stenholm (Texas)
John Tannen (Tenn.)
Gene Taylor (Miss.)
Jim Turner (Texas)
House Republicans who voted for the rule:
Sherman Boehlert (N.Y.)
Mike Ferguson (N.J.)
Benjamin Gilman (N.Y.)
Felix Grucci (N.Y.)
Stephen Horn (Calif.)
Peter King (N.Y.)
Frank LoBiondo (N.J.)
John McHugh (N.Y.)
Thomas Petri (Wis.)
Jack Quinn (N.Y.)
Jim Saxton (N.J.)
Christopher Smith (N.J.)
Curt Weldon (Pa.)