July 15, 2024 – With a dangerous heat wave scorching much of the country, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed the first-ever federal standards to protect workers from the deadly effects of extreme heat stress. In response, Navina Khanna, Executive Director of the HEAL Food Alliance, shared the following statement:
“The Labor Department’s proposed rule for addressing heat hazards in the workplace is a long-awaited and welcome step forward for workers and organizers, including members of the HEAL Food Alliance, who have long-advocated for such protections.
The new measure will protect roughly 36 million workers nationwide at high risk of heat-related injuries, illnesses, and death, including food and farm workers who were previously excluded from federal heat standards. The safety of these workers should be the heart of any actions taken to address extreme heat, which is why we petitioned Congress to pass the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act, a bill that would direct OSHA to require employers to implement heat protections for workers.
With extreme heat ravaging the nation, basic protections like access to shade and water breaks are essential. Too many workers have already died because callous employers do not provide these protections. These laws are critical to shielding indoor and outdoor workers across the food supply chain from heat stress. With climate change shattering new heat records every summer, the need for stronger regulations has never been more urgent. This federal rule is also vital considering recent state-based efforts to strip worker protections in Texas and Florida. State leaders and employers have a responsibility to address the basic needs of their constituents. The health and safety of working people across the country should always be placed before corporate interests, especially amid a growing heat crisis.
While this action is a significant first step, the HEAL Food Alliance continues to urge Congress to pass the bipartisan Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act to ensure that federal heat stress protections for workers will be permanent. We also hope to see protections for food and farmworkers included in the upcoming Farm Bill to ensure greater safety and quality of life for the working people in our food and farm systems.”
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The HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance is a national multi-sector, multi-racial coalition. HEAL is led by its member-organizations, who represent about two million rural and urban farmers, ranchers, fishers, farm and food chain workers, Indigenous groups, scientists, public health advocates, policy experts, and community organizers united in their commitment to transformed food and farm systems.