Someone has to look out for them….
President Joe Biden is working to protect U.S. workers from the dangerous summertime heat in the first-of-its-kind legislation.
With the regulations unlikely to be finalized by the end of Biden’s first term and the election up in the air, another Trump administration is expected not to move forward with the measure. However, Biden’s cabinet argues the proposal would be a lifesaver, and experts and advocates agree.
Rice University’s presidential historian with a focus on environmental policy. Douglas Brinkley, says working on climate change and heat protections for workers will help secure an easy win for Biden in November since the topic is his “comfort place.” “He likes being ‘lunchbox Joe’ and being on the side of labor and the working class,” Brinkley said.
“It’s a good issue for Joe Biden. It reminds environmentalists that he’s an ally and rings the climate bell, but also shows he has the back of and the health of the labor movement.”
Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions, shared similar sentiments. “The families of people who lose their lives to heat illness don’t see this as an overly burdensome regulation,” he said.
Currently, there are no federal heat protections in place for workers, but some states and cities have mandated their own protections. States like Florida and Texas — which both suffer from extreme heat conditions — have banned cities from implementing heat protections for workers. Marc Freedman, vice president of the country’s largest business lobbying group — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — feels the move would present challenges for employers and make it “extraordinarily difficult for them to determine when heat presents a hazard because each employee experiences heat differently.”
The proposal already covers that. If established, workers would be entitled to acclimatization plans, which would allow newer employers who aren’t used to the heat to gradually increase hours to adapt to conditions.
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Source: Black Enterprise
