Protect Workers Against Disabling Injuries

Take action to protect workers against disabling injuries.

Send this message to:

Governor Jennifer Granholm (if you live in Michigan)
Your Representative (if you live in Michigan)
Your State Senator (if you live in Michigan)

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

I am writing to urge you oppose any efforts to block the implementation of ergonomic standards.  If implemented, these standards will save companies billions of dollars in worker's compensation claims, health care costs and employee absenteeism; more importantly, they will help to protect employees from disabling injuries that are easily preventable in the workplace.

The Ergonomic Standard Rule Advisory Committee referred draft ergonomic standards to the MIOSHA Commission for approval; these standards simply require businesses to train their employees on the hazards on improper body positions to prevent sprain, strains and repetitive movement injuries.   These minimal standards were the result of a multi- year consensus decision-making process where business, labor, academics and health and safety professionals provided input and agreed upon the final proposal.   In an attempt to block the implementation of these regulations the Senate passed Senate Bill 843, which prohibits the department from promulgating any ergonomic standards.  There is also a rumor that the Senate will place similar language in the boilerplate section of the DLEG budget.

These attempts to block the ergonomic standards are unconscionable when considering the statistics on workplace injuries. Overexertion is the number one cause of workplace injuries, costing the U.S. $12.5 billion per year.   Half of all workers' compensation claims are the result of strains, sprains and repetitive motion injuries.  Repetitive motion injuries resulted in the longest absences from work, in particular, Carpal tunnel syndrome resulted in the highest median days away from work (28-days).  Most if not all of these injuries are easily preventable with a little education that is currently being proposed by these standards.

Based upon the above, I strongly urge you to oppose any efforts to block these minimal ergonomic standards from being implemented.  Thank you for your consideration on this vitally important issue.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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