Robert Jarvis wants answers. “Why’d you make us work that day?” he asks. “Why?”
With five workers dead and one still missing since Hurricane Helene struck on Sept. 27, many of us in Tennessee and around the country also want to know what went wrong that day – and if we can prevent it from happening again.
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) strongly supports OSHA’s proposed rule to address heat-related hazards for both indoor and outdoor workers. The rule, which was announced today, is a critical step in protecting millions of workers from heat-related illnesses and injuries.
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.
“Heat is something that a lot of people misunderstand, but high indoor heat is something that we see a lot in this work,” said Jessie Cruz, who represents the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health in Chicago. “This bill is protecting a lot of warehouse workers from unrealistic quotas and hazardous safety conditions, but we would like to see more addressing indoor heat and ergonomics for the workers.”
Attending the fry station is one of the most dangerous jobs in commercial kitchens, noted Miso Robotics. Almost 80% of fast-food employees have sustained burns within the past year, according to a 2024 survey conducted by Hart Research Associates on behalf of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
Day laborers hired to clean up homes often don’t have protective equipment or safety training, exposing them to “severe hazardous materials” and dangerous environments, said Jessica Martinez, executive director for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a network of labor organizations that has trained workers in post-hurricane recovery. She added that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric also discourages workers from asking for basic resources because they fear being targeted and deported.
