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In fact, Labor Department data shows that RSIs have increased 10-fold since the mid-1980s and are now the leading cause of occupational illness in the country. "With tens of millions of workers spending long hours keying on their computers, office worker RSIs are fast becoming the occupational health hazard of the 90s," says The Labor Institute, a nonprofit training organization. (For quick-fix solutions for computer users, see the accompanying resource list.) Yet industry lobbyists, including the American Trucking Association and the National Association of Manufacturers, have stalled any action on the ergonomics standard reasoning that it's cheaper to continue to pay injury claims.
So what can you do if you're facing unsafe working conditions? If you suggest that your boss order new ergonomic set-ups or retool the factory floor, you'll be lucky if all you get is a dirty look. Although you can't legally be fired for whistleblowing, laws only provide so much protection. So whatever you do, do it carefully, and with the support of as many co-workers as possible--or your union, if you have one.
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