The reason companies are sluggish, according to the Tees Valley Chamber of Commerce Manager, Stephen Hood, is that they have grown weary of government invitations to partnership.
"We saw a lot of waterfront property being bought and smaller homes being torn down and replaced by million dollar mansions during the dot-com boom, " explains Sara Young , economic development manager at the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce.
"If this ergonomics draft is in fact the policy that OSHA is prepared to adopt, we strongly urge the agency to reverse course and rethink this unworkable proposal before serious mistakes are made, " said Peter Eide, the Chamber of Commerce's manager for labor law policy.