Local opinion: Arizona workers are dying for heat protection

Sarah Roberts and Martha Reyes Special to the Arizona Daily Star May 30, 2024

Dario Mendoza left his family on July 20, 2023, early in the morning to work the fields in Yuma, Arizona. Dario, a handsome 25-year-old, was at the top of his game. Strong, smart and agile, he could manage the many demands of being a farmworker. Long hours, low pay and piecework were hard, but that’s what it takes to survive. With the sun high in the sky, temperatures rose to 114 degrees. Dario knew he needed to harvest more to reach his quota. He felt exhausted and confused. Then things went blank.

Mendoza joined the list of workers killed on the job in 2023. The Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS] lists Arizona with over a hundred workers who died from traumatic causes at work in 2022, the last year available. The International Labor Organization [ILO] estimates that twenty times that number get exposed to chemicals, dust and other health hazards that will result in death. The list includes recycling plant and domestic workers, landscaping crews, letter carriers, warehouse and construction workers, and many more. Excessive heat on the job is a significant cause in several of these preventable deaths. We know that heat can stress people in lots of different ways, some hard to label: from confusion and impacts on kidney function, to cardiac and respiratory failure.

Worker deaths from heat exposure are totally preventable when worksite safety programs are effectively implemented. Employers have the responsibility to protect workers from safety hazards like heat under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. But that law has no specific requirements for heat as a workplace hazard, so federal and state safety agencies don’t often cite employers for heat exposure violations, except for rare occasions. While the federal OSHA agency’s website provides guidance on preventing heat illnesses, the recommendations aren’t enforceable standards Consequently, some state and regional government agencies – including in California, Oregon and Phoenix – have stepped up to fill the gap by passing ordinances or regulations that provide some protections for workers. The city of Tucson and Pima County have both passed resolutions, with an eye toward enacting new ordinances. What gets put into these ordinances will set a new standard for worker protections. These new ordinances need to send a message to all workers and employers in the state that heat protections are achievable. In fact, they will not only save lives, but also enhance productivity and our overall economy.

We need the following provisions to be included in the proposed resolutions:

• Provide regular cool down breaks in a cool shaded area along with hydration with cool potable water.
• Provide scheduling to avoid the hottest part of the day, and remote work opportunities.
• Training on heat protection programs, including how to recognize heat hazards and the symptoms of heat illness and how to prevent it, buddy systems, and other heat protections for outdoor and indoor workers.
• Worksite committees to oversee the specific worksite heat protection program.
• These programs must include the most important resource — workers themselves.
• An advisory role for community leaders and professionals to learn from these programs and to enhance monitoring of these programs.

As we progress towards an ordinance here in Southern Arizona, let’s be bold in our determination to effectively confront the ever-more-deadly challenge that heat presents in our workplaces. We have the resources in our community to make this program the model for the rest of the state. Let’s honor the memory of Dario Mendoza – and others who, like him, shouldn’t have died on the job – by passing the robust heat exposure ordinance our workers need and deserve.

Martha Reyes is Organizer of Arizona Jobs With Justice; and Sarah Roberts is a Steering Committee member, the Josefina Ahumada Worker Center (previously called the Southside Worker Center).

Article originally appeared at Tucson.com