DEATHS ON THE JOB FROM HEAT? TRUMP TEAM SHRUGS IT OFF

Aware of the dangers that extreme summer heat in the wake of global climate change is causing severe health hazards for workers, the Biden administration took some steps a few years ago to alleviate the problem. It mandated that workers have regular rest breaks with access to shade, and access to water. Now the Trump administration is moving to doing away with the rules protecting these workers.

The move is another in a long line that shatters this administration’s repeated claims that it represents the interest of workers. At the same time, Congress is considering legislation that would go a step further, prohibiting the Labor Department from adopting the Biden-era heat plan or similar rules. The action comes as reports from around the country tell of workers fainting and some deaths from heat exhaustion on the job.

​And in another move, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is curtailing workplace inspections that President Biden’s appointees had increased to raise awareness of heat-related illnesses.

Data collected by the AFL-CIO document that in 2024 there were 530 heat-related deaths and many more heat-related illnesses on the job. The toll may be much more because many such illnesses are not reported. People who work outdoors and in large warehouses without air conditioning are particularly affected.

In Phoenix, Arizona, for example, where temperatures have been over 100 degrees for many straight days and where baggage handlers loading planes at the airport face tarmac temperatures even higher, the situation is acute.

“They’re bringing the work force back to the 1800s,” said Trina David, a crew chief at he airport who oversees baggage handling and other activity while planes are parked at gates.

NY Times, 8/3; AFL-CIO Website, 8/3