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“We are dying”: Houston workers protest new state law removing water break requirements
The protesters called House Bill 2127 the “law that kills” and said it will leave those who labor outdoors at the mercy of their employers.
https://archive.is/2CsfM
House Bill 2127, which takes effect on Sept. 1, will do away with local rules that require water breaks for construction workers. The cities of Austin and Dallas, for example, require 10-minute breaks every four hours. San Antonio officials had been considering a similar ordinance.
“We are human beings who need respect,” Martínez said. “We really need to be allowed to work without problems, without any barriers … Believe me, we are dying inside those buildings when they take away our water and our [break] time.”
Limited regulations make Texas workers responsible for preventing on-the-job heat injuries
In triple-digit temperatures, drinking water frequently and resting in the shade are minimum safety measures for avoiding injuries and deaths. But they are not applied to every job site.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1387305
> Heat kills more people annually in the U.S. than hurricanes, tornadoes or flooding. Texas has recorded 42 heat-related deaths on the job since 2011 — more than any other state, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. > > Since the start of the heat wave, at least two workers have died in Texas from causes that officials are investigating as possibly heat-related. Justin Cory Foster, a 35-year-old lineman, died in the East Texas town of Marshall, and Eugene Gates Jr., a 66-year-old letter carrier, died in Dallas.