Advocates gathered on Dec. 9, 2024 to deliver a letter to incoming labor commissioner Luke Farley. (Photo: Christine Zhu/NC Newsline)
This story has been updated.
A coalition of workers, unions, and organizations delivered a letter to incoming labor commissioner Luke Farley in Raleigh on Monday stressing the necessity of heat protection for workers.
The group, which includes six organizations — El Futuro es Nuestro, Toxic Free NC, North Carolina State AFL-CIO, Raleigh City Workers Union, UE Local 150, and North Carolina Environmental Justice Network — is asking to meet with Farley in January after he’s sworn into office to seek an improvement in working conditions in North Carolina.
This falls in line with action at the federal level. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established a public comment period open for the first-ever federal workplace heat standard, with a deadline of Jan. 14 to submit comments.
The coalition is hosting three events across the state this week. Advocates spoke in Spring Hope on Sunday, Halifax Mall in Raleigh on Monday, and will be in Charlotte on Tuesday.
“No life should ever be cut short because employers cut corners in workplace safety,” Jeremy Sprinkle of the North Carolina State AFL-CIO said.
Speakers throughout the event spoke of inhumane working conditions, particularly in fields. Laborers speaking in Spanish recounted stories of not being allowed bathroom breaks or getting forced to work in excessive heat conditions.
Some of the workers said they just wanted to get treated like humans, not animals.
Leticia Zavala with El Futuro es Nuestro said these issues occur all over the state. Certain crops feature more difficult conditions than others, though.
“Tobacco workers are the workers that we’ve seen have it the worst, tobacco and sweet potato workers, because it’s harvested at the peak of the season,” Zavala told NC Newsline.
The pesticides and chemicals that are related to growing these crops also pose problems for the workers.
Advocates are asking for a change that would include putting a trained person at the site of these workplaces to identify people with symptoms of heatstroke and provide them the proper medical attention.
There should also be a plan so that workers know what to do when they’re laboring in excessive temperature conditions, Zavala said.
Joel Bryan has been employed by the city of Raleigh for more than 19 years. He’s part of the Raleigh City Workers Union, UE Local 150.
Bryan said heat safety affects everybody — from those growing food to those working in warehouses to those responding to emergencies.
“Every time there is a fire or something like that, we hear stories of firefighters being sent to the hospital for heat-related injuries,” he said. “It is imperative that the state and federal government pass common sense legislation to protect us.”
Advocates participated in a series of chants as they walked from Halifax Mall to the Department of Labor building down the street.
“What do we want?” one person said.
“Heat protection!” the crowd responded.
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”
After delivering the letter to a Department of Labor employee, the coalition’s next step is to meet with Farley when he takes office, according to Kendall Wimberley from Toxic Free NC. They didn’t meet with interim commissioner Kevin O’Barr, but did meet with former labor commissioner Josh Dobson previously.
“This should be a priority for the commissioner of labor and our lawmakers who can pass legislation now to protect the lives of workers from heat illness,” Wimberley said.