Excessive heat warning in Las Vegas
Mon, July 24, 2023 at 2:18 PM MDT
By Josephine Walker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of 112 Democratic members of Congress on Monday called on U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to establish heat safety regulations for indoor and outdoor workplaces as a persistent and deadly heatwave spreads across the country.
The group asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue new standards on adequate water and sheltered rest breaks, medical training to identify heat-related illness and a plan for workplaces to adjust their operations during times of dangerously high heat.
The move comes as the U.S. experiences a summer of record-breaking heat in some cities. Lawmakers cited the recent heat-related deaths of two Texans, a U.S. Postal Service employee who died on his route in 115 degree Fahrenheit (46°C) heat and a 35-year-old electrical lineman restoring power who likely died from heat exhaustion.
"These heat waves are dangerous, they are life-threatening, and – with the devastating effects of climate change – they are only getting worse," Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the lawmakers who signed the letter, said in a statement. "I urge the administration to move quickly to create this national heat standard to protect workers on the job.
The lawmaker asked OSHA to model the new standards after a 2022 bill that Congress never took up, the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatalities Prevention Act, named after the death of a California farm worker who died after picking grapes for ten hours in 105 F (41°C) temperatures in 2004.
(Reporting by Josephine Walker; Editing by Scott Malone and Marguerita Choy)
US House Democrat holds thirst strike to protest Texas water break law
Greg Casar
American politician
Tue, July 25, 2023
By Moira Warburton and Josephine Walker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Greg Casar of Texas held a thirst strike at Congress on Tuesday to protest a new law signed by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott blocking local ordinances that mandate water breaks for workers.
Casar, whose district includes parts of Austin and San Antonio, Texas, said would not drink water for eight hours while standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building, as temperatures in Washington rise to almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C).
A day earlier, over 100 Democrats signed a letter to President Joe Biden's administration, asking for federal workplace heat safety regulations.
"It's challenging and it's hot, but it's not as hot as it is in Texas," said Casar, who was sweating in the sweltering humidity. Temperatures in Casar's district were expected to top 100°F (38°C) on Tuesday.
Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called Abbott's bill "unreasonable, unconscionable and un-American."
Abbott's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The legislation blocks cities from writing local rules that go further than state laws, an attempt by Texas Republicans to limit the ability of local Democratic lawmakers to enact their policies.
The cities of Houston and Austin have sued the Texas government over the bill set to take effect in September.
Jasmine Granillo, whose family successfully pressured the city of Dallas to implement mandatory water breaks in 2015 after her brother died of heat stroke while working a residential construction job, said Abbott's bill "is chipping away what my family has fought for."
(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Josephine Walker; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
Greg Casar
American politician
Tue, July 25, 2023
By Moira Warburton and Josephine Walker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Greg Casar of Texas held a thirst strike at Congress on Tuesday to protest a new law signed by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott blocking local ordinances that mandate water breaks for workers.
Casar, whose district includes parts of Austin and San Antonio, Texas, said would not drink water for eight hours while standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building, as temperatures in Washington rise to almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C).
A day earlier, over 100 Democrats signed a letter to President Joe Biden's administration, asking for federal workplace heat safety regulations.
"It's challenging and it's hot, but it's not as hot as it is in Texas," said Casar, who was sweating in the sweltering humidity. Temperatures in Casar's district were expected to top 100°F (38°C) on Tuesday.
Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called Abbott's bill "unreasonable, unconscionable and un-American."
Abbott's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The legislation blocks cities from writing local rules that go further than state laws, an attempt by Texas Republicans to limit the ability of local Democratic lawmakers to enact their policies.
The cities of Houston and Austin have sued the Texas government over the bill set to take effect in September.
Jasmine Granillo, whose family successfully pressured the city of Dallas to implement mandatory water breaks in 2015 after her brother died of heat stroke while working a residential construction job, said Abbott's bill "is chipping away what my family has fought for."
(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Josephine Walker; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
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