Yours truly, recent editorial criticizing President Clinton’s executive order to regulate ergonomics and set a standard for repetitive-stress workplace injuries was a slap in the face to working men and women across this country.
It is estimated that 1.8 million American workers a year report such work-related injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and back injuries. OSHA’s new ergonomic standards will reduce this figure tremendously.
The federal safety agency predicts the standards will prevent 4.6 million such injuries in the next 10 years.
During this country’s most prosperous times, it is shameful that your paper would advocate turning a blind eye toward an issue that affects so many millions of American workers. Nearly 6 million workers a year are injured or become sick while trying to earn a living. More that 50,000 will die from injuries at work or because of occupational illness. Our country and our economy have progressed too much for these high numbers to still exist. Modern science has conclusively proven that repetitive-stress injuries can be prevented and as a society, we should advance these prevention methods.
The success of the economy and high productivity this country currently enjoys is credited to the working men and women all across this country. But if the price of this success is the health and life of our workforce, then this price is too high.
You called Clinton’s ergonomic order part of his term’s legacy. I certainly hope you are right. To the thousands of American workers and their families who will benefit from these new standards, this final effort of the president will be remembered each and every night they return home from work, alive, unmaimed, uninjured and healthy.
