Ian
Urbina’s article, As OSHA Emphasizes
Safety, Long-Term Health Risks Fester, points out the poor working
conditions in Royale Comfort Seating factories, and the politics that allow
this to continue.
Starting
with the case of Sheri Farley, the article quickly dives into the problems
caused companies putting profits above working conditions. Sheri Farley is one
of many adults who can no longer support themselves because of permanent nerve
damage. The cause has been linked to the nPB glue frequently used in furniture
production for its fast drying qualities, high rate production, and low cost. While
the article brings up multiple times how Royale Comfort Seating and others are
trying to keep business local, this message and the resulting morale debate of
unsafe work vs. no work are undermined by the continued apathy of the company
towards recommendations to improve safety. Requests by OSHA (Occupational
Safety and Health Administration) to improve air quality have resulted in
ventilation that goes unmaintained, and demands for $18 respirators have been
met with $0.90 dust masks previously noted as useless against the vapors by
inspectors.
Work
related injury has historically been one of the big reasons behind unions in
America. Poor conditions and hazardous jobs could lead to permanent
debilitation and leave adults and parents with no future job opportunity on top
of medical bills. The effort to get companies to support these unfortunate
employees, and prevent future occurrences was an important step in improving
the safety of citizens, and the American standard of living. While I can
understand the conflict on spending money to swap to a safer and far less
profitable glue, the reluctance to put in some money and effort to improving
worker safety indicates to me the company and its managers lack concern for
their workers, both from a morale and monetary perspective. Even if managers
feel detached from responsibility to look for ways to affordably improve
safety, the fact that American policies don’t provide a fiscal incentive for
the company to get on top of problems its branches are causing stands as a
problem in society.
The
article brings up an important issue in our society and makes an effort to
bring the reasons behind both sides to the table; which I applaud it for. But I
find several facts from the article about our country concerning or downright
frustrating to know are true (like how small funding for protecting employees
is compared to other government budgets.)
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