Workers Are Organizing to Demand Protection Against Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke
As the climate crisis intensifies, workers are being forced to work amid noxious wildfire smoke and in dangerously high temperatures. But workers at UPS and elsewhere are organizing to demand health and safety precautions from their employers.
Construction workers rebuild the I-69 Southwest/I-610 West Loop Interchange during a heat wave in Houston, Texas, on July 14, 2023. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images)
On June 29, the air quality in Detroit was among the worst in the world.
“Outside it smelled like burnt plastic, almost like trash,” said United Auto Workers (UAW) member Cody Zaremba, who works at a General Motors (GM) plant in Lansing, Michigan. He and his coworkers were experiencing coughing, runny noses, watery eyes, and trouble breathing.
But GM didn’t even acknowledge the smoke, Zaremba said, much less offer any protection.
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