Across the country, people are skipping meals and falling behind on housing payments while layoffs, automation, and diminishing labor protections deepen insecurity. The message many workers hear is simple: You are replaceable.
Before joining National COSH earlier this year, COSHCON was something I had only heard about from afar. Working as a consultant in the NYC labor movement, I knew it was a respected, bilingual gathering that brought together workers, organizers, and health and safety leaders, but it was still just a concept to me, something other people experienced.
A federal program aimed at protecting workers from heat-related injuries is set to expire April 8, raising concerns about enforcement gaps heading into the summer months.
In 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched the national emphasis program, allowing the agency to inspect high-risk workplaces to prevent heat-related injuries and deaths. The program resulted in about 7,000 inspections in industries with high risks of exposure to extreme heat.
Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said allowing the program to expire at the start of summer is dangerous and unacceptable. Providing workers with water, shade, rest breaks and acclimatization periods are simple, evidence-based steps to reduce heat-related injuries.
A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting safe, healthy, and just working conditions is warning that the expiration today OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) on heat will leave millions of workers without enforceable federal protections.
With hot temperatures already here in many parts of the U.S. the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is calling for a comprehensive heat standard that requires employers to protect workers from extreme heat.
OSHA’s heat exposure NEP, launched in 2022, created a nationwide enforcement mechanism that allowed the agency to proactively inspect high-risk workplaces and prevent heat-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths. Since its implementation, the program has led to approximately 7,000 inspections in industries with the highest exposure to extreme heat.
Temperatures in the Phoenix area climb above 100 degrees 111 days out of the year, on average — some parts of Arizona endure even longer heat seasons. And more than 1 million people in the state work in jobs where they’re regularly exposed to these extreme temperatures, according to an estimate from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“You take a breath and feel the heat go into your lungs and your whole body, drying out your muscles. It’s just indescribable,” said Trina David, a longtime crew chief at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “Your shoes melt every summer walking across the tarmac because it is so hot.”
Workers at a Panda Express in Downtown Phoenix have walked off the job, alleging unsafe heat conditions inside the restaurant and calling on state regulators to investigate. The Panda Express is staffed by Aramark and is part of the Arizona State University Dining Hall.
“It is suffocating”, said Vanessa Martinez, one of the Aramark workers at ASU the complaint was filed on behalf of. “I dread going into work most days. I have asthma flare-ups, and they get worse while I’m cooking. I’ve broken out in hives, and I was hospitalized for dehydration; the heat is just unbearable.”
