Workers Are Mobilizing for Protections Against Extreme Heat
Amid soaring temperatures across the US, workers at risk of heat stroke and death on the job are demanding better protections. In some cases, the threat of overheating has fueled unionization efforts and innovative demands like heat pay.
Sandwich cafe workers at Homegrown, a Seattle chain, striking over extreme heat causing unsafe working conditions. (Courtesy of Maris Zivarts)
If you’re dreading summer on the job this year, you’re not alone.
Every month last summer was the most scorching on world record. Trapped under heat domes, dozens of metro areas busted their longest streaks ever of highs over 100 degrees. Phoenix afternoons were over 110 for a month straight.
On asphalt yards nearly hot enough to melt, bonus-hungry managers forced workers to keep up the usual pace. The results were lethal.
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