Union Calls for Strong Job Safety Standards.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 1999--

The Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) Monday called upon the federal government to move quickly to adopt new job safety standards on "ergonomics."

Responding to a controversial proposal by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), UNITE Southern Regional Co-Manager Harris Raynor today applauded OSHA's announcement of the proposed "ergonomics" standard.

"Every year, over 600,000 workers nationally are disabled by back pain and hand/arm injuries like carpel tunnel syndrome -- over 50,000 in the South alone," said Raynor. "Hundreds of thousands more workers keep working every day in pain, to feed their families. Workers desperately need strong OSHA standards on extreme workloads and heavy packages," he said. "OSHA has been talking about this for 10 years -- it's time for action."

Raynor also pointed out that many companies have already worked with UNITE locally to establish ergonomics programs, "because it saves them money, too." When leading apparel, textile and auto parts companies like Levi Strauss, Xerox, Fieldcrest-Cannon and Lear Corp., move ahead on ergonomics, said Raynor. "It can help keep manufacturing jobs in America."

This is also true for small companies, said Raynor, "who have relied on UNITE's training and technical assistance to identify key job hazards and even purchase discounted equipment."

"But we have to make sure," said Raynor, "that all employers follow these rules, and that all workers get the benefits of safer jobs. Faced with the brutal cost pressure from customers like Wal-mart, many employers refuse to provide even the simplest ergonomic equipment -- like adjustable chairs. We need OSHA to force them to treat their workers fairly."

Raynor also saluted OSHA for sticking to its promise to issue the proposed ergonomics standard, especially after the House of Representatives voted in August to stop OSHA's work on the standard.

"Next November," said Raynor, "we'll make sure that workers remember which elected leaders, like Senator Max Cleland and Senator John Edwards, stood up of worker safety and understood that the long-term interests of business are also tied to the interests of workers."

UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) is the leading apparel and textile union in North America, known for its aggressive organizing and defense of workers' rights.