TAKE URGENT ACTION: Workers Need Heat Protections!

160 million Americans were under a heat alert at some point this summer. For me and my co-workers, we've already experienced weeks of up to 100-degree weather day after day after day.

This extreme heat (triple digits in many areas) harms workers everywhere: factory workers, delivery drivers, farm workers, airport workers, postal workers, and fast food workers like me.

In July, my co-workers and I went on a heat strike because it was 103 degrees in the gas station where we work! When the A/C broke and our management refused to fix the problem, we knew we had to act.

While we waited to see if management would do their job and protect us, my co-worker who has a health condition, started to feel nauseous, dizzy, and had difficulty breathing. We did not have the opportunity to take enough breaks to cool down, and the temperature just kept rising. I knew that if we were going to do something about these extreme conditions, we had to do it together. So we walked out to show that workers WILL act to demand safety and respect at our workplace. 

My story is just one of hundreds of thousands. While the rich and powerful look for ways to deny climate change, dismantle the agencies meant to protect us, and put more money in their own pockets, people are DYING from temperature levels we can't control.

What can we control? Our power to stand together and do something about it.

Earlier this summer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed a rule that would curb the risk of heat-related illnesses in our workplaces. This rule could SAVE LIVES by providing breaks, hazard alerts, water, and education so everyone can recognize signs of heat stroke and other heat-related health emergencies.

We need 500 more working people to act and submit a comment to OSHA. Click here to submit your comment and tell regulators why it's so important for working people to win heat protection.

While my co-workers and I have been fighting for better heat protection, other workers from all backgrounds and races have been doing the same. Recently, fast-food workers in LA walked out after a co-worker fainted from unbearable kitchen temperatures that reached 101 degrees! And in the South, workers at Family Dollar, Popeyes, and other corporations are demanding action to keep workers safe.

Each year our Earth reaches more dangerous temperatures. We cannot wait to act while working people are fainting, getting sick, or worse. We need employers to listen to workers and provide safe working conditions, and we need our leaders to enact heat protections NOW.

Join Us >> Tell Regulators to Commit to Heat Protections for Working People!

In solidarity,

Nakeesha Pickens
Energy Mart Worker
Arden, NC
Fight for a Union