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INSIDE WASHINGTONCooperation vs. AntagonismNUCA has long maintained a “safety first” philosophy,which is backed up by the best safety awareness andtraining programs in the industry. While any and allefforts to enhance workplace safety should be consideredadmirable, we maintain that OSHA operations under theBush administration have proven to be considerably moreeffective than the over-burdensome “regulate, cite andfine” approach to safety enforcement that existed duringthe Clinton administration.Indeed, since taking office, the Bush administration hastaken a much more cooperative approach through theestablishment of several strategic relationships andalliances with industry organizations (including NUCA)that represent various facets of the regulated community.Further, through the use of voluntary consensus standards,OSHA has encouraged industry input indeveloping new regulations rather than promulgatingblanket, “one-size-fits-all” safety rules. Recent federaldata indicates that these policies have worked; the currentrate of workplace fatalities in America is the lowestin OSHA history.NUCA believes that working cooperatively with thefederal government is a much more effective way toenhance workplace safety. The Democratic approach asproposed in S 1244/HR 2049 would place OSHAin a much more adversarial role and damage orpotentially destroy the collaborative relationships thathave been fostered over the past six years. OSHA’sprimary role should be to work together with industryto prevent workplace accidents, not to focus efforts onreacting to them.But all is not lost. The business community and itsfriends in Congress will benefit from the same proceduralhurdle that served as an Achilles’ heel to OSHA reformlegislation when Republicans held the gavel — namely,the need for 60 votes to close debate and bring the bill fora final vote. The House would probably pass the Woolseybill (HR 2049), and it might get a slim majority of theSenate. But it will not get 60 votes, and the BushAdministration would surely veto the bill if it did.OSHA reform bills are nothing new, but the goals andstrategies of “reform” are so far apart that it is almost certainthat neither side will get their legislation signed intolaw anytime soon. That said, NUCA will continue tomonitor and act on legislation to ensure that any newsafety requirements do not unfairly burden the utilityconstruction industry.Eben Wyman is NUCA Vice President of Government Relations.August 2007 | Utility Contractor 43National Utility Contractors Association