National Coalition on Ergonomics
The National Coalition on Ergonomics (NCE) is an industry-sponsored group that unabashedly proclaims it is a "coalition of business and professional organizations in opposition to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration's efforts to regulate ergonomics." [1]
Personnel
Founded by Eugene Scalia
History
Eugene Scalia (the son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia) and his National Coalition on Ergonomics (along with the aid of the Bush administration), were the driving force behind the rejection of OSHA's ergonomic regulation to improve worker health and safety. They claimed that the regulation would "make American industry non-competitive with the world market,…drive manufacturers to automate and eliminate jobs at an accelerated pace… and that [u]nder this rule, employers cannot expect workers to expend any material physical effort as such." [2] According to NCE, employer conformity to key worker protections should be voluntary. They even went so far as to call into question the actual validity of repetitive-motion injury, a well-docum=ented health problem.
The OSHA ergonomics regulation that Scalia and the NCE were successful in eliminating represented over a decade of effort to protect American workers.
Funding
NCE endorsement list:
- Academy of General Dentistry
- American Bakers Association
- American Feed Industry Association
- American Hospital Association
- American Hotel & Lodging Association
- American Iron and Steel Institute
- American Small Businesses Association
- American Road and Transportation Builders
- American Trucking Associations
- Associated Builders and Contractors
- Associated General Contractors of America
- Can Manufacturers Institute
- Corn Refiners Association, Inc.
- Food Distributors International
- Food Marketing Institute
- Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association
- International Mass Retail Association
- International Sanitary Supply Association
- International Warehouse Logistics Association
- Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association
- National Association of Convenience Stores
- National Association of Home Builders
- National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors
- National Association of Manufacturers
- National Association of the Remodeling Industry
- National Beer Wholesalers Association
- National Federation of Independent Business
- National Grocers Association
- National Oilseed Processors Association
- National Restaurant Association
- National Roofing Contractors Association
- National Soft Drink Association
- National Utility Contractors Association
- Painting and Decorating Contractors of America
- Roofing Contractors of America
- Snack Food Association
- Society of American Florists
- Super Value
- Textile Rental Services Association of America
- Tire Association of North America
- Tyson Foods
- Uniform and Textile Service Association
- United States Chamber of Commerce
- Watkins Motor Lines
The NCE website claims an additional 250 organization "endorsements" nationwide. They also gratefully acknowledge the economic support of the National Concrete Masonry Association to the ergonomics appeal effort.
Contact Information
National Coalition on Ergonomics
1615 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20062
(202) 293-3384
email: jone@fdi.org
Web: http://www.ncergo.org/
Related Resources
Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America (contains an entire chapter, "Blues in Belize," devoted to the ergonomics legislation, the National Coalition on Ergonomics and the impact on worker health)
