Thirst strike at Capitol to demand federal heat protections as Texas to ban water breaks for workers

‘It’s getting hotter and we should be protecting workers more. But Governor Abbott is deciding to take workers’ protections away and that’s unacceptable’

A thirst strike is taking place at the US Capitol on Tuesday to demand that President Joe Biden issue federal protections for workers during extreme heat, and safeguard their right to rest, shade and water breaks.

The protest was led by Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat from Austin, alongside civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, labour unions and climate groups as Texas Governor Greg Abbott prepares to eliminate local protections which require water breaks for workers.

Texas, along with much of the southern US, has battled a relentless heatwave since June with temperatures regularly topping 100F (37.7C). June and July have repeatedly broken heat records, both in the US and on a global scale, due to the worsening impacts of the climate crisis.

In Dallas, a postal worker died last month while on his route in 115-degree heat, and in Harrison County, Texas, a 35-year-old lineman working to restore power died, likely from heat exhaustion.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration currently has no rule requiring protection from extreme heat.

On Tuesday – when the real-feel temperature hit 100-degrees in Washington DC – Congressman Casar and others began all-day hunger and thirst strike – no water, no food, and no break until nurses required them to stop.

“I’m on thirst strike today because families across Texas and across America deserve dignity on the job,” said Congressman Casar. He called the elimination of water breaks at work “an outrageous attack on Texans”.

He later told The Independent that even compared to growing up in Texas, a state used to high temperatures, this past month has been exceptional.

“It’s getting hotter and we should be protecting workers more,” he said. “But Governor Abbott is deciding to take workers’ protections away and that’s unacceptable.

“I don’t think that’s what the vast majority of the American people want. That’s just what big corporate money wants.

He added: “I think we’re going to win ... and that’s why I’m engaged in this this strike today.”

The Independent has contacted Governor Abbott’s office for comment.

On Monday, more than 100 members of Congress sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to immediately implement a workplace heat standard “given the dire threat to the lives of workers exposed to extreme heat”.

Dolores Huerta, the legendary labour leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farmworkers Association with Cesar Chavez, also appeared at the strike.

She said that the Texas governor has already attacked women and immigrants, and “now he is attacking workers”.

“How many more people can he punish?” she asked.

“Water is life – I would like the governor to go a day without water. Stop this cruelty, the people of Texas deserve better from you.”

The crowd also heard an emotional statement from Jasmine Granillo whose 25-year-old brother Roendy Granillo, the father of a young daughter, died in 2015 from heat stroke at a construction job. Ms Granillo recalled how her parents were told by doctors that her brother’s organs had “cooked from the inside”.

“My brother’s life could have been saved by a simple water break,” she said.

The Granillo family were part of workers’ thirst strike in Dallas soon after Roendy’s death in order to pressure the city to pass a water break rule. At the end of 2015, Dallas city council passed a local law mandating that construction workers get a ten-minute break every four hours. The city of Austin had earlier established a similar rule.

Now Texas’ House Bill 2127, which has been referred to as the “Death Star bill”, will ban rest and water breaks across the state from 1 September.

“These are hardworking people who build our cities and build our homes. Please do not let this inhumane bill go into effect,” Ms Granillo said.