Unions Sue Over OSHA Delay
on Protective Clothing
January 5, 2007
Labor unity took a step forward on Jan. 3 when the AFL-CIO joined
with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), an affiliate
of the Change to Win Coalition, in a lawsuit to force the Occupational
Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to implement rules requiring
employers to pay for personal protective equipment for workers.
In 1997, OSHA publicly acknowledged the need to adopt a rule requiring
employers to pay for workers’ personal protective equipment
(PPE) such as flame-retardant clothing, gloves and safety glasses. In
1999, the agency issued a notice of their proposal to adopt the
new requirements, but they were never enacted. The lawsuit states, “This
represents an egregious instance of unreasonable delay,”
“The fact that they failed to do so is an indication of
how loath they are to take any regulatory action,” says Peg
Seminario, director of safety for the AFL-CIO.
While most employers supply safety equipment to their employees,
many low-wage workers, including those on dangerous jobs in the
meatpacking and construction industries, still are forced to pay
for equipment. The issue of safety equipment is important
to virtually all IBEW members.
The Senate and House Appropriations Committees have pushed for
OSHA to act on safety gear. In 2003, the AFL-CIO, the UFCW
and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus petitioned the agency to
mandate employer-supplied equipment.
“We shouldn’t have to compromise worker safety for
the corporate bottom line,” says Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.)
who is an IBEW member.
“Nothing
is standing in the way of OSHA issuing a final PPE rule to protect
worker safety and health except the will to do so,” says
UFCW International President Joseph Hansen, who spoke at the IBEW
37th Convention in Cleveland last Sepember.
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