For Immediate Release
Friday, May 12, 2000
When It Hurts, Workers Still Must Do Their Jobs
On Final Day of OSHA Hearings, AFSCME Calls for Greater Safety Protections from Employers
WASHINGTON —Summing up months of hearings on a proposed ergonomics rulemaking by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) borrowed from a Henny Youngman classic. It's the one where the patient says, "Doctor, it hurts when I do this." The doctor responds, "Then don't do that!"
"This rulemaking," said James August, AFSCME's assistant director for health and safety, "is about the millions of workers who go to work each and every day and do not have the option to follow the simple medical advice of 'don't do that.'"
"This ergonomics standard is long overdue," said August on the final day of hearings on the matter. He also said that while AFSCME strongly supports the rulemaking process and proposed standard, the final rule must include stronger worker protections that reflect OSHA's tradition of a prevention-based approach to job hazards.
"Proactive steps should be required for jobs with well-known risk factors or when workers begin to suffer signs and symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)," August said. "OSHA must modify the triggers [for employer action] in this standard if our members are going to receive the protections they need and deserve. Employers should not be allowed to wait for injuries to occur before being required to fix problems." This is especially true, August said, in jobs with well-known risk factors or when workers begin to suffer signs and symptoms of MSDs.
Two panels of witnesses also testified for AFSCME, including one from the Rochester, N.Y., 911 Center, where there was a very high rate of carpal tunnel syndrome and other ergonomic injuries before the union and management took corrective steps. Dispatcher Janice Lloyd testified that after being confined to a totally rigid computer work station with a non-adjustable chair, she experienced such serious pain and disability that her surgeon recommended she quit her job. After her local union pursued changes with management, the 911 Center was redesigned, incorporating fully adjustable computer keyboards and screens; screens that respond to touch; individual control of heating, cooling and lighting; adjustable chairs; two-hour staff rotation; exercise equipment; a quiet room and peer counseling for stress endured while handling emergency calls.
While grateful for the workplace changes, Lloyd reports that she still has "no feeling in three fingers of my hand, no ability to lift my right arm above the elbow." She endures pain in housekeeping chores and can no longer enjoy hobbies, such as water skiing and cross-stitching.
"I now wonder," Lloyd testified, "had there initially been this genuine concern [for worker safety] before new technology was introduced to the workplace, would I (as well of many of my co-workers) have encountered the terrible consequences of workplace injury that I have personally experienced? I urge you to remember that without effective safety and health regulations, and without effective enforcement, many more dedicated workers' safety and health shall be placed in peril. Do not forget us!"
August urged OSHA to proceed with the rulemaking, despite the objections of business interests, who withheld their full participation and an airing of views from these public hearings.
