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John,
For 14 months in a row, from May 2023 through July 2024, the worldwide monthly average heat broke the record high for that month, every month.
If you want to know if climate change is real, just ask the fieldworkers and construction workers who are out in it, all day, every day.
Extreme heat is dangerous, especially for these workers. It’s the most deadly weather-related event they experience, causing more deaths on the job than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes.
OSHA reports there are 40 deaths per year reported due to heat exposure on the job. However, they extrapolate there could be as many as 14 heat-related deaths for each reported one - - that is, the total could be as much as 560 per year.
Despite the dangers to workers, many states have no legal requirements for employers to provide even such basics as cool drinking water or places with shade for breaks. In the state of North Carolina, workers report they must provide their own water and electrolytes to stay hydrated and healthy.
For construction workers, the effects of triple-digit heat can be even worse due to wearing helmets and goggles that concentrate the excessive temperatures around the eyes and head. This can lead to heat stroke, permanent eye damage, and even death.
Responsible employers can make good faith efforts, but without legislation, the farming and construction industries cannot be relied upon to protect workers’ health and livelihoods. This is why the Biden administration has introduced a new heat standard rule to protect workers from extreme heat. Right on cue, though, these two big industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are trying to stop it.
Take a stand with the workers and send your official comment today! Tell OSHA and the Department of Labor to implement the Biden administration’s new heat standard rule, to save workers’ lives.
These first-ever federal safety standards for excessive heat, if enacted, will apply to 36 million workers. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su says when excessive heat reaches certain criteria, employers will be required to provide cool water, shade, a place to rest, and some paid breaks. No worker should have to choose between making a living, and staying alive.
Even though the new rule will save lives, the farming and construction industries oppose it, and Florida and Texas have even passed new laws prohibiting local protections! This is why we need to send your comments to OSHA and the Department of Labor.
Asked why he voluntarily agreed to guarantee his workers regular breaks and worker trainings on heat safety, farmer Randall Watkins said, “Because they’ve got family to go back home to.” He says the golden rule applies: they deserve to be treated the same way we would want to be treated. And that includes access to cool water throughout the day.
As big businesses continue to resist these standards, they continue to put a higher value on profits than on the health and livelihood of their workers. It is clear that we need these regulations to protect lives.
Send your comments to OSHA and the Labor Department today, urging them to adopt President Biden’s new heat standard rule.
And thank you for standing up to protect the quality of workers’ lives!
- Amanda
Amanda Ford, Director
Democracy for America
Advocacy Fund
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