Climate change

In These Times -  As climate change intensifies, worsening fires and extreme weather are creating increasingly hostile conditions for workers…. Alongside fighting for healthcare, wages and better treatment, these workers now find themselves fighting for protections from dangerous heat, smoke and storms — the severity of which is only expected to worsen if the status quo continues….

“In Minnesota, every summer, we now experience wildfire smoke in these hot months,” says Scott Wilkie, the president of Teamsters Local 638…

Workers say their uniforms add to the discomfort of the heat. ?“We have to use plastic sleeves covering our entire arms,” a worker tells me. ?  “The plastic sticks to our skin because of sweat, and it’s incredibly uncomfortable. It’s the same thing with the glove. You are sweating and can’t pull up your gloves comfortably because of the sweat.”

“I’m thirsty all the time but can’t leave the line and go get water,” a worker told me. ?“Maybe every hour you have a chance to get a drink.”