Members urged to oppose I-841
MEMBERS OF labor organizations in Washington State, including Council 2, are being urged to oppose Initiative 841, which seeks to repeal the state’s ergonomics rules.
The initiative, backed by the Building Industry Association of Washington, will be on the fall ballot.
The ergonomics rules, established in 2000 by the Department of Labor and Industries, require businesses to take preventive measures to reduce work-related injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, low back strain and tendonitis. About 50,000 such injuries occur in Washington annually and account for 46 percent of the costs of all state workers’ compensation claims.
The BIAW reportedly spent $350,000 to place the initiative on the ballot.
“The rules were a compromise that was worked out with the Governor’s office on protecting workers’ safety,” says Pat Thompson, Council 2’s Director of Legislation/Political Action. He urged Council 2 members to vote against the initiative.
The Voter Education Project said it uncovered evidence that I-841’s paid petitioners lied about the initiative and about the state’s ergonomics safety rule to convince people to sign.
State officials inspected about 5 percent of the 258,411 signatures submitted by the builders’ lobbying group and concluded that more than one in every five signatures were duplicates, people who didn’t exist or were not registered to vote in the state. They estimated 206,608 signatures were valid, just 8,874 more than are necessary to qualify.
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