TEMPE, Ariz. — Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su heard from Arizona workers impacted by extreme heat during a round table hosted by labor unions in Tempe.
Sitting around the table with Su were representatives of various unions, most of them dealing with airport and airline workers.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: La secretaria del trabajo escucha a trabajadores afectados por el calor
“It can reach upwards of 130," Imari Heard, an airport worker with the Communications Workers of America said. "The time that it takes to work an aircraft flight is about 60 minutes. So 60 full minutes that I have my agents outside in these extreme heat conditions, without shade, without a break."
"They are literally cooking outside there," flight attendant Alana Billingsly said. Billingsly said she's taken to pouring water for the workers who restock and clean the planes when she saw them struggling.
“Heat is now the weather phenomenon that causes the most deaths," Su said. "It's more than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined, and yet, there's never been a national standard to protect workers from heat until now."
The Biden administration proposes a rule through the Department of Labor to create federal heat standards for workers. It would require employees to have a heat plan and manage indoor heat as well as outdoor, among other measures.
That rule still has to go through the public approval process. The City of Phoenix created its own heat standards for workers as well.
"This is a long time coming and it's long overdue," Su said.
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