Gloves Are Off as GOP Flattens Dems
By John Millrany - March 8, 2001What price job safety? According to the US Congress, it’s not worth the cost of losing business.
On a virtually party-line vote, the House voted 223-206 March 7 to repeal workplace rules designed to curb repetitive-motion injuries. The action could signal an ongoing pitched battle of political wills, imbued with a lot of historical wrangling over legislative preferences.
The measure, voted less than 24 hours after the Senate repealed the new rules—put forth by the Clinton administration during its last week in power—is viewed as the first legislative accomplishment for business-friendly Republicans who won power over the White House and Congress in the 2000 national election.
Democrats and organized labor are squawking loudly, with labor operatives claiming that the GOP has reversed safety regulations for the first time since the Fed created OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) in 1970. However, President Bush has indicated that he will sign the measure sustaining the repeal.
The issue over ergonomics—the study of how a workplace and the equipment attached to it can best be designed for safety as well as efficiency and productivity—can be summed up by comparing the following sentiments:
"There’s a sure way to make all the injuries go away, and that’s to make all the jobs go away," argues Rep. Anne Northrup (R-KY), one of many GOPers who maintain that the ergonomic rules would result in prohibitive costs to business.
On counterpoint, argues Rep. Robert Mendez (D-NJ), "Elections have consequences, and today Republican leadership starts down the road of what I believe will be a long list of repealing worker rights."
Meanwhile, the Bush administration was on spin mode even as the House vote was in progress. A spokesman stated, "This administration is committed to protecting the health and safety of workers. That’s why the Department of Labor will pursue a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue. There is a real concern about the overly burdensome current rules because of the negative impact they would have on jobs and economic growth."
The Clinton-inspired rules were issued by OSHA, covering 102 million workers at 6.1 million work sites; they purportedly would prevent 4.6 million musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome back strain and tendonitis, and approximately average annual savings of $9.1 billion in the first 10 years they were to be in effect.
On the contrary, opponents said, the real cost could be as much as $100 billion in compliance expenses. In other words, "point" says it can save $90 billion in 10 years; "counterpoint" says it will cost $100 billion during the same span of time.
Loggerheads indeed.
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