PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Philadelphia on Tuesday to talk to a labor union-heavy crowd about a new safety initiative to protect workers from the hazards of extreme heat.
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“The workplace to get the job done, that’ll make life easier for most people in our country — that workplace is not necessarily in an office with air conditioning,” Harris said, standing in front of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 building.
Harris focused her remarks on the dangers workers face from heat conditions in the summer months. According to White House data, 43 workers died because of high-heat conditions in 2019, and at least 2,400 others suffered from serious heat-related illnesses.
To improve those conditions, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is launching a new program to monitor and address outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards.
“OSHA will begin nationwide workplace heat inspections, targeting over 70 high-risk industries,” Harris said.
“We're going to put these rules in place, and we're going to monitor to make sure that the workers aren't out there without us making sure that they are receiving all the protections that they are entitled to receive.”
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Shana Udvardy, with the Union of Concerned Scientists, was among the dozens of union workers who came out for the announcement.
“[Harris] understands that we need to protect workers and that climate change is going to make this worse, when you consider extreme heat,” she said.
Other people who spoke to KYW Newsradio said they think the program is a good first step toward a safer workplace, but they want to see more work done. They want to see that an OSHA heat standard bill, currently before Congress, passes. And they want to make sure that the Biden-Harris administration continues to work with scientists to implement new standards for workplace safety.
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