Workers who spend their days toiling in the sun or in sweltering warehouses and kitchens say they need more safeguards before the next heat wave.

Airport, warehouse, cafeteria, delivery and construction workers will meet with New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su to discuss the health effects of extreme heat on the job.

The roundtable will focus on the physical toll of heat exposure and the safeguards available, or missing, in participants’ workplaces. Workers will also discuss what stronger heat protections would mean for them and their coworkers.

The TEMP Coalition, chaired by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), is organizing the discussion with Su and the Mayor’s Office of Economic Justice. Other participating organizations include the BlueGreen Alliance and the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH).

En el programa de radio La hora del Cafecito, transmitida por La Onda, desde Phoenix, tuvimos como invitada a Jazmín Moreno, fundadora de Agave Community Trade, con quien se conversó sobre el tema del calor en Arizona y las consecuencias para las personas que trabajan a la intemperie.

En estos trabajos, tener a la mano una botella con agua no es suficiente, es necesario que exista una regulación para las personas que son vulnerables al calor, por las condiciones que exigen las actividades que realizan estando expuestas al sol.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) started developing a heat standard in 2021 and proposed a draft in 2024, but now Republicans want to pass a law—with the Orwellian name “Heat Workforce Standards Act”—that will stop OSHA from creating or enforcing a national heat safety standard.

“Workers know what keeps people safe,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH): “access to water, rest, and shade; effective training and emergency plans; protection from retaliation; and strong standards that employers are required to follow.”

The annual injury logs are “an essential tool” ​for regulators and the public to identify and ​prevent hazards, said Jessica Martinez, executive director ⁠of the nonprofit National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. “These records are not just paperwork.”
 OSHA can penalize companies up to $16,550 per reporting violation. It did not respond to a request for comment about whether Taylor Farms’ reporting lapses also reflect insufficient enforcement by the agency following ​the company’s repeated failures to file injury logs.
A worker at a Taylor Farms vegetable processing plant in Swedesboro, New Jersey, died last ​year from injuries suffered while ⁠cleaning equipment that scalds produce in hot water, according to OSHA records.”

Lavar sábanas y toallas sucias puede no parecer un trabajo peligroso. Sin embargo, una investigación de un año de duración realizada por NJ.com reveló que, durante la última década, los trabajadores de lavanderías industriales de todo Nueva Jersey han sufrido quemaduras graves, exposición a sustancias químicas corrosivas, descargas eléctricas peligrosas, erupciones cutáneas dolorosas, caídas peligrosas y amputaciones espantosas.

Trabajadores y defensores de los derechos de los trabajadores se reunieron la tarde del miercoles frente al Capitolio para exigir protecciones en el estado para cumplir de manera obligatoria contra el calor... “Camina una Hora en los Zapatos de un Trabajador”, cerca de cincuenta participantes realizaron simulaciones de trabajos al aire libre, tales como la instalación de techos, jardinería, cosechas de frutas o legumbres y carga de compartimientos de aviones.

As extreme heat continues to endanger millions of workers across the United States, workers, unions, worker centers, health and safety advocates, and community organizations are launching a coordinated Fired Up! National Week of Heat Action from August 10-16 to demand stronger protections from dangerous workplace heat and educate workers about their rights.

Jessica Martinez is the executive director of the National Council For Occupational Safety And Health, better known as National COSH. Benjamin ...

Extreme heat in Arizona is not just a seasonal inconvenience. It’s a workplace hazard that is increasingly lasting longer and can make even routine work life-threatening. The Arizona Heat Standards Coalition hosted demonstrations that simulated loading heavy luggage onto airplanes, wearing pesticide-protection suits in agriculture, and working in roofing and landscaping under intense sun.

Trina David worked on the ground crew at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for 19 years, offloading and loading 4,000 to 6,000 pounds of baggage in less than an hour to get planes out on time. 

Arizona workers demonstrated the dangers of extreme heat Wednesday, pushing for new rules to protect people who work outdoors.

The event, called "Walk an Hour in a Worker's Shoes," let people experience the harsh conditions Arizona workers face every day — from construction to landscaping.

Last year, Cooperative Laundry was named one of the country’s worst employers in any industry — a striking distinction for a small, little-known operator with just two plants in New Jersey and Texas. It landed on the 2025 “Dirty Dozen” list alongside national retail and logistics giants and a private prison operator that runs ICE detention centers. The list is compiled annually by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a network of grassroots worker-safety groups.

As extreme heat continues to endanger millions of workers across the United States, workers, unions, worker centers, health and safety advocates, and community organizations are launching a coordinated Fired Up! National Week of Heat Action from August 10-16to demand stronger protections from dangerous workplace heat and educate workers about their rights.

“They’re bringing the work force back to the 1800s,” said Trina David, a crew chief at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport who oversees baggage handling and other activity while planes are parked at gates. The temperature in the city often hits triple digits in the summer, and it can be even hotter on the tarmac.

El Consejo Nacional para la Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (National COSH, por sus siglas en inglés) anunció esta semana su llamada 'Docena sucia' de los peores centros de trabajo de 2022, una lista que abarca empresas que ponen en riesgo a los trabajadores y las comunidades a partir de prácticas inseguras.

Katelyn Parady, Associate Director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the most pressing threats to worker safety in the United States.

Katelyn Parady, associate director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, says she’s proud of the state’s progress on this issue. “But even in Arizona, where there has been some local progress, a large swath of  people continue to be employed in localities and occupations with high heat exposure,” she tells The Progressive. “They know what this does to their bodies. They want increased rest and know that climate change is making this more important than ever.” 

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is applauding New York City officials and worker advocacy groups following the issuance of an executive order to strengthen protections for workers exposed to extreme heat.

The order comes as heat waves become more frequent and intense across the United States and as federal regulators continue developing a nationwide workplace heat standard.

Isola, Mississippi, U.S.A.-based Consolidated Catfish Producers was the sole winner of a USD 848,160 (EUR 734,955) contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the 21 May award, Consolidated Catfish will supply a total of 192,000 pounds of breaded and unbreaded catfish products. The government agreed to purchase 152,000 pounds of unbreaded, raw catfish fillets at a price of USD 4.08 (EUR 3.53) per pound for a total buy of USD 620,160 (EUR 537,386), as well as 40,000…

Host: Marty Peterson
Producers: Amirah Zaveri and Polly Hansen
As extreme heat intensifies, outdoor and factory workers are facing risks their jobs were never built to handle. With protections still varying by state, advocates are pushing for updated national standards on shade, water, rest and retaliation-free reporting.
Guests: 
Pamela Walaski, president, Board of Directors of the American Society of Safety Professionals
Katelyn Parady, development and strategic programs liaison, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health