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OCTOBER 2003
It's Good Common Sense
to Keep Workers Healthy
by Rick S. Bender, President of
the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Did
you know that more than half of all nurses suffer from chronic back pain
and that thousands of nurses leave the profession every year because of
back injuries?
That’s why the American Nurses Association (ANA) has launched its “Handle
with Care” campaign to reduce the number of job injuries nurses now
experience. The ANA is also
actively working to save our state’s workplace safety rule that would be
eliminated if Initiative 841 wins voter approval.
All workers have a stake in the outcome of this issue.
That’s why we are joining with the ANA to defeat Initiative 841 this
November. I-841 is the only
statewide ballot measure. It
would repeal our key workplace safety rule that prevents chronic painful
injuries such as carpal tunnel, back strain and tendonitis.
Current statistics show that 50,000 Washington workers suffer these
“ergonomic” injuries every year.
Dr. Tim Takaro, director of the University of Washington’s Occupational
Clinic, says he is alarmed by the potential impact on worker health and
productivity embodied in Initiative 841.
“With the pervasiveness of computers, no one is immune to the
overuse injuries our present rule helps prevent.
As physicians, our clinic has treated hundreds of workers for
problems resulting from overuse syndrome, ranging from minimum wage
production workers to Microsoft millionaires.
In all of these patients, the problems are tenacious and
potentially debilitating,” Dr. Takaro noted.
Since our state’s ergonomics rule was implemented, the rate of these
soft-tissue injuries has declined, but our injury rate remains nearly
twice as high as the national rate. With
full implementation, experts predict we can cut the injury rate in half,
and save millions of dollars in medical care costs and lost productivity.
The rule prevents these injuries before they happen by providing
workers safety training and taking feasible steps to mitigate known
hazards.
That’s just good common sense.
Sadly, the backers of this initiative
make wild and unsubstantiated claims that are designed to scare and
frighten people. The rule
does not restrict the number of hours workers can work, it doesn’t force
companies to reduce work hours or lay off workers.
It merely requires employers to make a good-faith effort to reduce
job hazards. And when job
hazards are reduced, injuries are reduced.
It’s important to our economy to keep Washington’s working
families healthy. By reducing
injuries, we reduce employee turnover, improve productivity and lower
employer costs. That’s why
so many companies in our state have already implemented successful safety
programs. Businesses can get
free training materials and consultations from the state to create their
own safety programs. Small
businesses are given special consideration and are allowed up to six years
to adapt to the new rule.
A cost-benefit analysis of the rule found it will save Washington
businesses nearly $340 million a year, while the cost to comply with the
rule is pegged at about $80 million.
That’s a cost-benefit ratio of more than 4-to-1.
A fiscal impact analysis found the rule will also save our
government more than $100 million over the next few years.
But the real savings comes from preventing chronic, painful workplace
injuries. Whole families
suffer when a worker becomes disabled, and so does our economy.
Keeping workers healthy just makes sense.
I-841 doesn’t make sense.
Rick Bender is President of the
Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
the largest labor organization in the state.
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Copyright © 2003 Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO