Restaurant workers are feeling the heat now more than ever as they battle hotter working conditions due to climate change, and they are calling for safer regulations in the workplace.

A recent study conducted by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, titled "Beat the Heat: Restaurant Workers Fight for a Safe and Dignified Work Environment," highlighted the urgent need for improved working conditions in the face of rising temperatures. The report revealed elevated temperatures not only increase the likelihood of workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities but also lead to chronic dehydration and long-term kidney damage.

Cullen Page, a pizzeria worker, detailed his own experience in a work environment with excessive heat and poor ventilation.

"At a certain point, I feel that my body and brain start to give up," Page recounted. "I feel confused and sluggish. I have experienced stomach cramps while working, and I have developed a heat rash on my back from standing in front of a 550-degree oven all day."

He noted in addition to the bad conditions, workers' concerns are chalked up to the industry and are often not fixed.

While there are no regulations for the temperatures in the workplaces, OSHA recommends keeping work environments between 68 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and between 20% and 60% humidity. It is a suggestion Page argued is not strong enough to make a difference in his and many other restaurant workers' daily jobs.

Teófilo Reyes, chief program officer for Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and co-author of the report, said in a news conference they are calling on OSHA to move swiftly to issue a standard, which at the bare minimum meets California's Heat Illness Prevention standard, requiring all employees be trained on heat illness prevention, all workers receive access to shade and regular breaks and requires employers to develop and implement heat-prevention plans.

He pointed out the report offers even more safeguards to further cement a safer environment for workers.

"Our report includes additional recommendations, including an emergency response procedure for employees suffering from heat illness," Reyes explained. "It is way past time to take action, if we see that states are going to begin to block cities from enacting legislation to protect workers from the effect of climate change. A strong national standard that protects workers is more than necessary. It's already past due."

According to the report, restaurant workers, a majority of whom are women and disproportionately workers of color, also continue to bear disproportionate risk in the pandemic.

Another recent study found cooks to be one of the professions with the highest coronavirus mortality rates in the United States. Officials with ROC United said the facts reinforce why standards to protect active workers are more critical than ever to rebuild the restaurant industry after the pandemic.

School buses are getting cleaner in Washington state after this year's legislative session.

Lawmakers in Olympia passed House Bill 1368, which will fund the purchase of zero emission school buses.

Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, said the program is getting off the ground quickly.

"As we work towards that long-term goal of all new school buses being zero emission, we're kick-starting this year with $40 million in grants to school districts in overburdened communities," Senn explained.

Going forward, Senn noted school districts will have to purchase zero-emission vehicles once the total cost of ownership is equal to or lower than the cost of diesel vehicles. The state is leveraging the state's Climate Commitment Act resources to fund the transition of its 10,000 school buses.

Devin Denney, director of transportation for Highline Public Schools in King County, which already has electric school buses in its fleet, said he has driven the electric buses and talked about some of their benefits from a driver's perspective.

"You're not competing against that engine noise, the kids aren't competing against the engine noise," Denney observed. "It's a much quieter bus all the way around. The major advantage, of course, is that there's no tailpipe emissions with an electric bus, so our kids' health is better protected."

Senn emphasized health studies have shown there are negative health effects from diesel vehicles for kids, and it is easy to understand why.

"If you think about kids waiting to get on their bus in front of an elementary school and you have this line of buses idling, letting out diesel fumes right at the height of a little child, it becomes obvious that this is probably not the most healthy thing for our children," Senn added.


get more stories like this via email

Today, in honor of Earth Day, climate advocates are asking California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to rally around a plan to put a $15 billion bond measure on the November ballot.

If passed, the bond measure would fund a range of climate resiliency measures.

Sam Hodder, president and CEO of the Save the Redwoods League, said March was the tenth month in a row to break monthly heat records.

"I think Earth Day is a terrific opportunity for the broader public to recognize how nature is critical for resilience, for our quality of life, for our mental and physical health, and for our communities more broadly," Hodder outlined.

Two similar bills to put a bond measure on the ballot are under consideration in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 1567 and Senate Bill 867, but they have been stalled since last summer. The bond would finance many programs, including some to restore wetlands that guard against sea-level rise, and to remove dead wood in forests to guard against mega-fires, which Hodder noted have killed 20% of the giant sequoias in recent years.

Opponents pointed out the state already faces a budget deficit and cannot afford to take on more debt. But only 5% of California's old-growth coastal redwoods remain, mostly due to aggressive logging many decades ago.

Hodder argued the giant trees can be critical ingredients in the fight against climate change because they trap so much carbon.

"Redwood forests sequester more carbon per acre than any other forest system in the world," Hodder emphasized. "We have the opportunity to transition the redwood forest from something that is vulnerable to climate change to something that is helping to solve and address the climate crisis."

Experts blame climate change for California's wild weather over the past few years, which has been marked by extreme drought, devastating fires and flooding rain.

A new report from the National Wildlife Federation warns that the effects of climate change in the Quad Cities, along the Iowa-Illinois border, will be severe.

But researchers got the public involved in studying to find ways to head off some of the most pressing concerns.

The report says climate change means a warmer, wetter future for the Quad Cities, which straddle the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois.

But rather than repeat what experts have already been saying about drastic flooding along the Big Muddy, Prairie Rivers Network River Health and Resiliency Organizer Nina Struss said researchers and Quad Cities residents brainstormed solutions to tackle the effects of climate change.

"Flooding and flash flooding were the top concerns," said Struss. "Extreme heat was also a big concern, as well as drought and other extreme weather events."

Researchers combined that information with hard science at the University of Illinois to create 3D models depicting what climate-induced flooding along the Mississippi could look like in the future.

The survey also asked people to identify which geographical areas and populations are most at risk from the effects of climate change, and worked with the community on solutions to mitigate some of them.

Struss said this research proposes what are known as nature-based solutions to combat the effects of climate change - restoring, preserving and even expanding existing ecosystems, like wetlands and tree canopies. But creating more eco-friendly infrastructure, too.

"Can we work to maybe have our pavements that we're putting in be more permeable, so that they can absorb that water and have that higher water-holding capacity?" said Struss. "Can we focus on areas to plant more native plants that have stronger root systems, versus ones that have shorter root systems, to help with that water-holding capacity?"

Struss said this research isn't a one-off. It will continue to change, she said, as the climate changes, the needs become more clear, and the effects more drastic.

She said progress in addressing climate change relies on more research, education and funding.




get more stories like this via email