Charles Crain, managing vice president of policy at the National Association of Manufacturers. Photo: National Association of Manufacturers
Washington — The National Association of Manufacturers is calling on OSHA to rescind the agency’s rule on worker walkaround representation, as well as reconsider a proposed heat rule and “allow for further input from affected industry stakeholders.”
In an April 17 letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Charles Crain, managing vice president of policy at NAM, writes that the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and agency precedent “allowed experts and consultants to accompany inspections as reasonably necessary.” Crain contends, however, that the walkaround rule allows nonemployee third-party representatives to accompany inspections based on “tangential qualifications.”
Crain continues: “As the NAM wrote in its comments pursuant to the notice of proposed rulemaking, the walkaround rule infringes on the constitutional rights of employers and conflicts with our nation’s labor laws. Under the expanded criteria, antagonistic third parties, such as trial lawyers and union organizers, may enter and occupy an employer’s facility without an employer’s consent, effecting a per se taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“The rule also puts OSHA inspectors and the agency in the position of permitting or refusing requests for union organizers to enter workplaces – whether they are unionized or not – in conflict with both the OSH Act and the National Labor Relations Act (of 1935).”
As for the proposed heat rule, Crain contends that the potential regulation doesn’t account for manufacturers who “operate in disparate locations.”
He adds: “For example, the proposed heat triggers are nationally applicable, despite regional variations in climate and by extension acclimatization. And the proposed rule’s mandates regarding rest breaks, acclimatization, heat monitoring and the designation of heat safety coordinators will interfere with sustaining the responsive workforce on which manufacturers depend.”
If OSHA does decide to go forward with its proposed heat rule, NAM requests “at the very least” that the agency:
- Adopt a performance-oriented approach that allows employers to tailor controls according to their respective workplaces.
- Conduct a rigorous review to determine regional variations in incidences of heat-related illness.
- Account for the implications of any final rule on employers’ operations – in particular, by thoroughly determining the economic and technological feasibility of any proposed controls.
- Consider workforce availability and labor costs associated with hiring additional employees in any economic feasibility analysis.
- Assess the impact of any final rule on the movement of freight.
- Preclude any references to employee representatives.
“Manufacturers in the United States are committed to maintaining safe work environments and have dedicated significant resources to protect employees from hazardous heat in the workplace,” Crain writes. “The proposed rule, however, is inflexible and creates burdensome requirements for employers.”
OSHA has scheduled a virtual public hearing on the proposed heat rule for June 16.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication