this post was submitted on 05 May 2024
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Florida workers brace for summer with no protections: ‘My body would tremble’ (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 2 months ago by MicroWave to c/news
30 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Effects of heat are expected to worsen after bill prohibiting municipalities from enacting shade and water protection is passed

For Javier Torres and other workers whose jobs are conducted outdoors in south Florida, the heat is unavoidable. A new law recently signed by Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, that prohibits any municipalities in the state from passing heat protections for workers ensures that it is likely to stay that way.

Torres has seen a co-worker die from heatstroke and another rushed to the emergency room in his years of working in construction in south Florida. He has also fallen and injured himself due to heat exhaustion.

“I work outdoors and have no choice but to work in the heat. I work often in painting and, in the majority of cases, we’re exposed to direct sun and we don’t have shade. Sometimes I feel dizzy and get headaches,” said Torres.

He said employers rarely provide workers with water, leaving workers to ensure they bring enough water to work or find a hose to drink from.

The effects of extreme heat on workers are only expected to worsen due to the climate crisis. Many parts of Florida experienced record heat last year. Orlando hit 100F (37.7C) in August breaking a record set in 1938. The National Weather Service recently issued its outlook for summer 2024, predicting Florida summer temperatures will be warmer than normal.

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[–] [email protected] 65 points 2 months ago (3 children)

The planet is burning. Every summer is going to be hotter for the foreseeable future and the priority of conservatives is to make it more dangerous to workers in the heat. The cruelty is the point, and we either unionize, vote, and beat them down to protect ourselves both in life and for the whole planet's environment.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago

Exactly. Would love to see the people who passed this law work one of these jobs for a day in extreme heat. They probably couldn't even bear it with pleasant weather conditions.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

But allowing protection for workers for heat could make people use the words that forbidden by law in Florida: climate change

[–] RunawayFixer 8 points 2 months ago

Even without climate change, working in the sun in the afternoon at that latitude and altitude, was always a bad idea. Sevilla in Spain is more northern than this and they're famous for their afternoon siesta, but that siesta is actually also present in many other countries with similar climates. And those people have been doing this for millennia, no climate change needed.

[–] unreasonabro 3 points 2 months ago

or we fucking die. you forgot to close your clause.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 months ago (1 children)

And yet these people will still go along with it, like good little slaves, instead of burning this shit to the mother fucking ground

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago (4 children)

A new law recently signed by Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, that prohibits any municipalities in the state from passing heat protections for workers

Why? Why would you do this, besides just enjoying torturing people? If you don't make a state law to protect people, that is one thing. But prohibition municipalities from trying to do so is just plain evil.

What was his justification for this?

[–] A_Random_Idiot 18 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Don't you know by now?

Cruelty.

Cruelty isnt a sideeffect.

Cruelty is the core point of action.

Republicans are all about casual cruelty to anyone and everyone (Thats not them). Why? The same reason disturbed kids torture animals. because they get off on it.

[–] Dlayknee 16 points 2 months ago

His excuse was some bs about, "companies should be allowed to decide for themselves without having the government mandate it for them".

This, from the same guy who wants the government to decide what aspects of history schools can and cannot teach, or what books libraries can and cannot include.

Very consistent, Ronny.

[–] Hazor 14 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I don't know the justification, but I imagine the why is that some wealthy construction company owner asked for it because providing shade/water/whatever would reduce profits, and the bribe costed marginally less than the protecting their employees.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Oh sure, I get that. That part is pretty obvious.

I was just wondering about how he sold this idea to his voters as something positive.

It's like... You'll all get anal probes with raspy tools, and it's not to check for cancer! Okaaayyy, but how are you ever going to convince people that this is a good thing (tm)?

[–] A_Random_Idiot 1 points 2 months ago

They'd bribe even if water and shade was cheaper.

because its not about the money.

its about cruelty and putting the peasants in their place.

[–] unreasonabro 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

money, what the fuck do you think

[–] sebinspace 3 points 2 months ago

Honestly, Nestle should step in and bribe him to require employers to provide water. Just any water, and Nestle would still see a significant increase in sales.

NESTLE, USE YOUR EVIL FOR GOOD

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I will never understand how some people have no morals and will purposely enact laws to make people's lives worse.

[–] FlyingSquid 18 points 2 months ago (2 children)

DeSantis seems to really get off on making people's lives worse. He just revels in cruelty.

[–] Jiggle_Physics 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

DeSantis was a JAG for Guantanamo guards. The claim was he was there to make sure they followed the law, but the portions of his cases that are public show he was working on defending guards that killed two inmates, and seemed to be working with others to create a legal shield going forward. While most of his stuff is classified, the little out there is pretty damning. He is a professional sociopath. Nothing evil he does will surprise me.

[–] FlyingSquid 7 points 2 months ago

I've read some of the stories and they're really fucking disturbing. And one of the former prisoners identified him as a man who facilitated his torture when he found out DeSantis became governor.

[–] FenrirIII 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

He must be a (American) Christian

[–] FlyingSquid 4 points 2 months ago

Not as Christian as Trump according to the Christian Republican voters, apparently.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

Hey, if you're a worker in Florida and can afford it... fucking leave.

[–] molten -4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wtf is this title

[–] FuglyDuck -4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Bullshit. I think the guardian is in with Florida’s assholes.

Federal protections still apply, including the mandate of providing a safe working environment.

[–] jpreston2005 7 points 2 months ago

Unless those federal protections don't include heat protection...

There are currently no protections in the US for workers from heat. Only a handful of states such as California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Minnesota have passed any heat protections for workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) is currently reviewing federal heat standard protections and issues fines against employers citing the general duty clause in cases where workers die due to heat stress, but worker groups have advocated that heat protections which include water, rest, shade, breaks and acclimatization are needed to save workers from heat illnesses and their lives.