Policy and Legal

Manufacturers are looking for a return to common sense by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on Thursday titled “Reclaiming OSHA’s Mission: Ensuring Safety Without Overreach,” at which President of CRH Americas Materials’ Northeast Division Jake Parson represented the NAM’s and manufacturers’ positions.

The big picture: “If we want to grow manufacturing in the U.S., we need to rebalance regulations that cost manufacturers $350 billion every year. This is money that could be spent on hiring people, building new facilities and creating new products,” Parson said.

• “OSHA has put forward costly rules that ignore the complexity of U.S. manufacturing.”

One regulation: “One problematic regulation is the proposed heat rule. A one-size-fits-all heat standard ignores the work manufacturers already do to protect our employees, and it ignores the unique ways in which it is done,” said Parson.

• Rules that make sense for one region do not make sense for another, he noted.
• “During my time leading an asphalt production and paving business in Texas, I saw firsthand how extreme heat impacts our teams and how local expertise and adaptive safety measures are critical. Now, overseeing similar operations in the Northeast, I face a completely different climate and set of challenges. Any standard must reflect the realities of our industry and the diverse environments in which we operate.”
• “The proposed rule imposes significant mandates on manufacturers—without fully grappling with or understanding whether they are feasible or cost effective. The result would be reduced production and ultimately fewer jobs,” Parson warned.

The NAM’s involvement: The NAM has long advocated for commonsense OSHA regulations that protect workers while accurately accounting for manufacturers’ extant safety procedures and operational needs.

• The NAM weighed in on the heat rule back in January, advising OSHA that “the NAM recommends that OSHA provide additional flexibility that reflects the breadth of work environments and company approaches to the issues,” among other changes.
• In the hearing Thursday, policymakers also discussed the worker walkaround rule finalized by the Biden Labor Department last spring. The NAM is suing to block this overreaching and legally dubious regulation that does nothing to improve safety.

The last word: “The NAM continues to bring manufacturers’ voices to policymakers as they decide how best to protect workers and ensure manufacturing competitiveness,” said NAM Director of Transportation, Infrastructure and Labor Policy Max Hyman. “Real-world experiences from the shop floor help craft policy that empowers employees and grows the economy.”