Target: Douglas L. Parker, Assistant Secretary of U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Goal: Enshrine workers’ rights to rest, shade, and water.
The past summer marked the hottest ever recorded…at least since last year’s own record-shattering heat wave. And across the nation, communities have had to adapt to the new normal. For many laborers, this new normal can be fatal. The deaths of construction workers, farm workers, delivery workers, sanitation workers, and even restaurant workers from heat-related factors have all made headlines. These individuals are among the estimated 2,000 workers who lose their lives due to heat every year and the 170,000-plus who suffer injury. The numbers have doubled in recent years.
In response to the extreme heat conditions, laborers from many different sectors united over the summer for Heat Week. During this important movement, workers from about a dozen of the nation’s major cities called for the right to water, shade, and rest. Such rights are being fought for in union contracts, but if the federal government takes proposed action, it could seriously bolster these efforts. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is mulling a Biden administration proposal to set a federal workplace heat standard. This standard would mandate breaks and water and shade access for tens of millions of workers.
The method of finalization is expected to take months, however, and a new administration could obliterate the effort entirely. Sign the petition below to demand OSHA expedite a process that could protect countless members of the American labor force from preventable tragedy.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Assistant Secretary Parker,
Vomiting, severe headaches, convulsions, delirium, and body temperatures exceeding 104 degrees: these are just some of the effects that thousands of workers experience in the United States every year before they die from extreme heat exposure. With the planet getting hotter with every passing year, these tragedies will only continue to accumulate. Heat Week recently brought attention to the plight of millions of laborers who endure this reality, but they should not have to rely on a piecemeal approach to securing their right to water, shade, and rest.
The time for OSHA to act and ensure American workers’ right not to die on the job is now. Finalize the proposed federal workplace heat standard at once.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Andrea Piacquadio
110 Signatures