Letters
Readers React to End of
Alliance Talks
To the Editor: I was the AIHA® treasurer when we cospon- sored a year-long Unification Task Force (UTF) with both ACGIH® and ABIH. We spent significant amounts of both AIHA member money and time only to have ACGIH back out of this process at the 11th hour. Not only did ACGIH ignore the work of the UTF, but hey did not heed the report that was pro- duced by this august group of professionals. Among other things, this May 1996 report included recommendations to reorganize the xposure limit-setting process to better pro- tect the parent organization from litigation. The October 25 announcement that AIHA and ACGIH will end talks regarding a strate- gic alliance is now the second time that simi- lar discussions have come to nothing. I would strongly suggest that AIHA end not only these alliance talks but all of our rela- tionships with ACGIH, starting with the con- ference and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. I am a firm believer that the profession of industrial hygiene would be best served by one membership or- ganization, and if it is economic pressure that will bring this about, then it is economic pressure that should be applied. I—for one—do not want a nickel of my dues or a minute of AIHA staff time spent on any more discussions with ACGIH about alliance or unification. The sooner we look at them as a competitor for members and not a “sister” organization, the sooner we will be able to better serve the industrial hy- gienist with the membership organization they deserve.
LorenA.AndersonJr.,CIH
TotheEditor:
VernRose,DrPH,CIH,CSP,PE
Editor’s note: Additional letters about the AIHA/ACGIH® alliance will be
published on the Synergist blog at www.aiha.org/news-pubs/synergist/
synergistblog/ default.aspx.
