Who ARE We?

As we go into summer, as individuals, civil authorities, public health officials and clinicians we have to be aware of how deadly heat is, and how to protect ourselves, those we know and care about and, of course, our fellow humans whether we know them or not.

Clinicians need to be particularly aware of the issues, including, for example, how employment, recreational activities, community and personal resources, underlying diseases and medications, can put their patients at risk

One need not be motivated by religious or ethical  teachings.

 It isn’t partisan.

It is the basis of any civilization worth the name.

Slaves throughout the ages, and others who have been considered expendable, always were, well, expendable. But we are a caring and just people, we don’t do that anymore, right?

Guess again.

Texas Governor Abbott and the legislature of Texas decided that cities like Austin (since 2010) and Dallas (since 2015) having local laws to protect workers in such physically demanding outdoor occupations (e.g. construction) from dying by having a 10 minute heat and water break every four hours in some communities, but not others (and why not?), was just too onerous and confusing for businesses.

So, Governor Abbott signed into law House Bill 2127 on Tuesday June 13, 2023. A day that should be mourned by all who have any sense of human decency.

Now, it seems that the Texas legislature could have established the 10 minute every four hour break as state-wide, replacing the local ordinances. It could have been simply a matter of bookkeeping that improved the situation. But they didn’t.

Let that settle in.

First keep in mind that a 10 minute break every four hours needed to be codified into local law because it wasn’t happening as a matter of course.

Second, laws about water/shade breaks were too much for the poor feeble-minded businesses to keep track of and deal with. If only state law matters, they claim, it is simpler, less confusing for those who need to be told to be human, and your community can just suck it up.

From the Newsweek June 19, 2023 article titled  “Greg Abbott Axing Water Breaks Before Texas Heat Wave Sparks Anger: 'Cruel'”

BY GIULIA CARBONARO ON 6/19/23 AT 4:15 AM EDT:

“According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, at least 42 workers died in Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure—making Texas the state where the most workers die from exposure to high temperatures. Workers rights' advocates think this number could easily be higher than reported.”

Indeed, the number of workers who have died  has been found by others to be higher, and any count is  minimum; others may not have been reported as heat deaths. From Texas Public Radio:

“Surveys of Dallas construction workers before the city’s ordinance was adopted found that 33% said they didn’t receive rest breaks and 66% said they didn’t receive water. At least 53 Texas workers died from heat-related illnesses between 2010 and 2020, according to a 2021 investigation by NPR, The Texas Newsroom, The California Newsroom, Public Health Watch and Columbia Journalism Investigations.

Research published in 2018 — eight years after Austin passed its rest-break ordinance — found that construction workers were 35% more likely to get a break because of the rule.”

Six in ten construction workers are Hispanic in Texas. Maybe the legislature and governor figured they don’t vote for them anyway?

We are going to see more and more deaths as climate change worsens, many preventable. There are things communities often need to do better, and many are working on it: provide more green spaces for urban heat islands, resources for those with fewer resources (e.g. lack of air conditioning or the ability to pay the electric bills), protect workers, develop programs that increase awareness, identify and care for those at high risk (the sick, the young, pregnant women, the old, workers), and when necessary make sure there is adequate and readily available medical care for those who suffer from the heat.  

What we don’t need is a cruel law that makes matters worse.

Let’s save lives!

Remember to vote.

Remember to support politicians who don’t think remembering to allow two 10 minute breaks over an eight hour day, as a minimum, is onerous and taxes their brains.

 Really, just who are we?