Four GOP senators sponsor anti-ergonomics resolution

WASHINGTON (March 5)—Four Republican senators are co-sponsoring a resolution to overturn the Occupational Safety and Health Administration´s ergonomics standard under the Congressional Review Act. The senators—Michael Enzi of Wyoming, Don Nickles of Oklahoma, Christopher Bond of Missouri and Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas—introduced the measure March 1 and hope to bring it to the Senate floor as early as March 6. Business interests, including tire and rubber associations, are lobbying hard for the resolution. ~"The cost of implementation (of the ergonomics rule) is going to put many businesses out of business without the guarantee of helping one individual," Becky MacDicken, director of government affairs for the Tire Association of North America, wrote in a letter sent to all U.S. senators urging their support for the resolution. On the other hand, the AFL-CIO and other labor interests are implementing a massive phone call and e-mail campaign in opposition to the resolution.