Workers and Climate
As climate change intensifies, workers are facing dire consequences. Climate change impacts indoor as well as outdoor workers, and in a variety of ways.
Here are a few recent articles about the impact of climate on worker health, efforts to fight for better regulations, and employer attempts to resist regulation:
Climate-Related Health Risks Among Workers: Who is at Increased Risk?
Over the past few years, a plethora of research has linked climate change to adverse health outcomes around the world. People may be exposed to climate-related health risks through a variety of pathways, including through their work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) note that disproportionate exposure to adverse climate change-related conditions can exacerbate existing health and safety issues among certain workers and could potentially cause new and unanticipated harms. Risk of climate-related health impacts varies across occupations, with many of the same underlying drivers of disparities in climate vulnerability overall reflected in the occupational sector. See the rest of this report by Nambi Ndugga, Drishti Pillai and Samantha Artiga here.
Corporate Lobbyists Are Fighting Heat and Wildfire Protections for Workers
Rebecca Burns writes in Jacobin: "In addition to blocking action on climate change, lobbyists for oil and gas companies are pushing back against federal labor protections meant to safeguard workers from the effects of record-high temperatures." Full article here.
Threatened by Climate Change, Food Chain Workers Demand Labor Protections
The farm bill has long excluded farmworkers and other food chain workers. Now, workers and advocates are making a case for including their needs in the massive bill. By Grey Moran, Civil Eats.
It’s Time to Treat Climate Change like an On-the-job Hazard
Workers have long had to fight for protections on the job. Now, they need protections from things like wildfires, extreme heat, and air quality. By Kristin Toussaint, Fast Company.