Major Win in Extreme Heat Protections for Workers
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Last week, in a victory for a coalition of labor and environmental justice groups including Sunrise Movement, the United States Department of Labor proposed a new rule which would require that employers take a number or actions to protect workers from the dangers of excessive heat — such as ensuring access to water, cooling areas, and breaks when temperatures reach dangerous levels.
No one should die on the job because they weren’t given a water break. But unfortunately, as climate change gets worse, millions of farm, construction, delivery, and food service workers face increasing risk of death or injury as a result of extreme heat.
These new rules are a critical step towards providing everyone a safe home and workplace in the face of climate disaster.
— Sunrise Movement
In a press statement announcing the proposed rule, Doug Parker, assistant secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), noted, “Workers all over the country are passing out, suffering heat stroke and dying from heat exposure from just doing their jobs, and something must be done to protect them.”
Advocacy towards such heat protections is part of Sunrise Movement's Climate Emergency Campaign. You can read more about the campaign, and sign a petition calling on the President to declare a climate emergency, at https://www.sunrisemovement.org/campaign/climate-emergency/.