The Contra Costa Times Asks – Are you tough enough to be a Santa Cruz librarian?
Think twice before you answer. For the last six years, 76 worker compensation claims in the city-county library system amount to about $460,000 in medical bills, lost work time and other costs. There were 17 claims last year alone.
“The library’s unique because they’re lifting books — picking up and moving things, over and over again,” said Dee Schabot, principal analyst in the City of Santa Cruz human relations department.“
Unique?
“The library’s unique because they’re lifting books — picking up and moving things, over and over again,” said Dee Schabot, principal analyst in the City of Santa Cruz human relations department.”
That’s unique? How in the heck is that unique? This person needs to come into my world, or more specifically, my department. We receive a shipment every day from the branch libraries. These shipments arrive in dairy crates, which we use because they stack easily and are darn near indestructable. We average 10 crates per day, but it’s not unusual to work more than twice that. We have a crate under both checkout stations at the front desk which we drop returned items into. When they fill up, we take them back for check-in. We do that a minimum of once an hour. Then there’s the book drop tubs, stuff from the basement, stuff to go to the basement, stuff for the branches, stuff from the branches, donations, sales, and on and on and on.
I can’t think of a library that doesn’t lift, tote, carry, drag, pull, push, and just generally lug around books and materials all day. So I really don’t think there’s anything unique about Santa Cruz, other than the fact that their employees don’t seem to know how to lift, carry, and load properly.
Re:Unique?
I think she’s saying that the library is unique among the other city units–the only unit that has that sort and amount of repetitive tasks.
Yup
I bet they don’t teach them proper power-zone techniques, or lifting with legs, or not twisting their backs (ie: step and pivot), etc. Seems like they could do a lot with some gym access and some instructional help to cut down on their medical claims.
Blowing out your back is a one-time deal. Once you screw it up, it will stay screwed up forever. Even if you ‘heal’, within 5 years 80% of those people have re-injured it, and that’s only *if* you recover the first time.
— Ender, Duke_of_URL
k
Update
The Santa Cruz Sentinel, in an editorial, is calling for an “accounting” of these costs
Lies, damned lies, and statistics. Here’s a misuse of statistics, but at least the article makes it clear that some people are saying it’s the type of work that these librarians are doing that makes for the RSI injuries. The retort from the newspaper is, to paraphrase, “So why didn’t you protect these workers from injury?” and “You’re encouraging wrongful injury claims by making your workers cranky.”
It’s insane.