OSHA Proposes New Rule Addressing Heat in the Workplace
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), America’s largest private sector union representing 1.2 million essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, retail, and other essential industries across North America, released a statement regarding President Biden’s announcement that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has formally proposed the nation’s first-ever federal safety standard addressing excessive heat in the workplace.
UFCW International President Marc Perrone released the following statement:
“President Biden’s decision to implement a federal workplace heat standard is a significant win for workers. Measures like water breaks, cool recovery spots, and rest will protect workers from heat-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths. A nationwide standard is essential to ensure safe working conditions in the ever-intensifying summer heat.
“If successful, these badly needed and long overdue protective rules will be in place to protect workers for the long haul. For far too long, our members who pack, sell, and process our food, check gas meters, and work in distilleries and chemical plants have been made to contend with extreme levels of heat in the workplace. Over the course of the next few years, we urge OSHA to pass this rule and save the lives of essential workers who are the backbone of our communities. This policy serves as a reminder of what is at stake in the fall–namely, that a strong labor movement and pro-union president are necessary for working families to win meaningful policy gains.”
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The UFCW International is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, health care, cannabis, retail, and other essential industries. UFCW members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.