I’m going to say something controversial:

People who work outdoors in extreme heat should get breaks for water and shade.

“Wait, what’s so controversial about that, Robert?”

Well, apparently it’s controversial for Republicans in Florida.

• Florida — whose official nickname is, famously, The Sunshine State — had its hottest summer ever recorded last year.

• But — ridiculously — there is no law in Florida that requires employers to provide water, shade, or rest breaks for workers who face severe heat.

• Such protections are vital for agriculture and construction workers — overwhelmingly people of color — who are suffering more and more brutal temperatures as climate chaos worsens.

• So officials in Miami-Dade county — the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in the entire United States — tried to enact basic safeguards for outdoor workers.

• In response, the Florida Legislature — which is dominated by Republicans — is about to advance legislation that would prohibit any city or county in the state from setting even minimal standards to protect outdoor workers from the increasing risks of extreme heat.

• In other words, Republican politicians in Florida are so bent on serving their corporate masters and scoring “culture war” points that they are literally trying to outlaw commonsense protections for outdoor workers and willing to let people die.

• This is just one example — we’re seeing it all over the country — of Republicans eagerly abandoning their supposed belief in local control when a locality actually tries to help everyday Americans.

It may be a long shot, but we have to try to pressure Florida Governor (and failed presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis into NOT signing these bills into law if and when they get to his desk.

Tell Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:

Show the American people that you are not so craven and callous as to let workers in your own state suffer and die just so Republicans can score cheap “culture war” points. Do not sign into law any legislation that makes it illegal for cities and counties in The Sunshine State to enact basic protection for outdoor workers.

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For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 
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