WASHINGTON â Construction workers, airport baggage handlers, letter carriers, and other outdoor workers â many of whom traveled to Washington, D.C., from Texas â gathered at the steps of the Capitol on Tuesday. They were joined by labor organizers and lawmakers for what was billed as âa vigil and thirst strikeâ to protest a law Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed, which, as a downstream consequence, for construction workers.
The Republican governor signed House Bill 2127 â known as the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act but dubbed the âDeath Starâ by critics â the same month the state saw at least amid a scorching heat wave thatâs .
The measure, heavily backed by business and building sectors, was designed to replace âthe regulatory patchworkâ of county and municipal rules across the state âwith a single set of predictable, consistent regulations,â according to circulated by its supporters. That means cities would no longer have the authority to enforce local ordinances related to agriculture, natural resources, finance, and labor; and local protections against extreme heat, such as water break requirements, would be rolled back.
The group of about three dozen people stood in the early-afternoon sun and held signs that read âWorking Shouldnât Be a Death Sentence,â âWater Breaks = Basic Right,â and âPeople Over Profits,â sweating and squinting. In the nationâs capital, the heat index had already reached 91 degrees. But protesters were focused on the plight of employees working in their even-hotter home state, where the thermostat had been reaching triple digits.
(D-Texas), who organized this weekâs protest, joined more than 100 other U.S. legislators in urging acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to continue the development and implementation of federal standards for rest and water breaks to prevent occupational heat illness and death.
Casar, along with others in the group, including members of San Juan, Texas-based and civil rights activist , didnât eat or drink from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., both to push for national action to reverse Abbottâs law and as a sign of solidarity with Texas employees, especially those who work outside.
âA basic thing like the right to a water break, a basic thing like being able to go to work and know that working is not a death sentence, is the baseline of what our democracy should be able to do,â Casar said, with sweat dripping from his forehead.
Huerta, 93, who worked alongside the legendary to create organizations like La UniĂłn, reminded the crowd that in the 1960s went on strike to protest poor and dangerous working conditions, including the lack of job security, bathroom access, and water during the day.
âThis is such a cruel thing,â Huerta said.
A steady stream of lawmakers came by to express support for the rally, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York and well-known progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and other members of âThe Squad,â a small group of . And from California, , Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, who is running for the Senate, and Ro Khanna also made appearances. California is among those states that have rules in place to protect workers from extreme heat.
was in attendance and challenged Abbott to spend a day without water. âOne day in the governorâs mansion, the air-conditioned governorâs mansion, without water,â he said. âOr better yet, one day with the folks who are out in the fields, the folks who are out on top of roofs, the folks who are at construction sites.â
At the front of the crowd were Jasmine and Daisy Granillo, younger sisters of Roendy Granillo, a construction worker of Fort Worth, Texas, who died in July 2015 from heat exhaustion. He was 25 and was installing hardwood flooring in a house without ventilation. The temperature was in the high 90s, he was wearing extra layers of protection because of the chemicals in the wood, and his request for a water break was denied. âMy parents were told that his organs were cooked from the inside,â Jasmine said.
On the day Roendy passed away, he told his sisters he would take them to the flea market when he came home from work. He didnât come home. Theyâre now committed to making sure others donât suffer from heat exhaustion as he did. âI know that a simple water break, a simple water break, could have prevented his death,â Jasmine told Âé¶čĆźÓĆ Health News.
This is the second time Jasmine and her family have rallied for water breaks for outdoor workers. After her brother died, she and others pushed the Dallas City Council in 2015 to establishing 10-minute rest breaks every four hours for construction workers. In 2010, Austin passed its own such rule. Abbottâs law, set to take effect Sept. 1, will dissolve those ordinances and prohibit local governments from passing similar ones.
The protesters gathered at the Capitol steps also said they worried that corporate interests would try to block the national rule from seeing the light of day. âThey delay them as long as they can until they die a slow death, and weâre here today to make sure that doesnât happen,â Casar said.
Taylor Critendon, a registered nurse who specializes in critical care at in Austin, attended the event to monitor the congressmanâs vitals and keep an eye on the groupâs well-being. She said she has been treating more patients because of heat exhaustion than before. âItâs definitely taking a toll on our community,â she said.
She emphasized that not drinking enough water while outside in hot temperatures can cause someoneâs heart rate to rise and blood pressure to drop. Often, patients start to feel weak and faint and lose blood flow, she said, referencing the bodyâs internal mechanism to cool itself down. People shouldnât wait to experience these symptoms before drinking water.
âWhen youâre thirsty, then youâre already farther down the line of dehydration,â Critendon said, explaining why outside workers need regular water breaks. âYou canât really wait until your body says, âOh, Iâm thirsty,â because by that time itâs already late.â
, president and executive director of La UniĂłn del Pueblo Entero, also participated in the daylong hunger and thirst strike. The union has historically protected the rights of migrant farmworkers in South Texas but has more recently expanded to include others, such as construction workers.
âWeâve been here for just about an hour,â she said. âWeâre sweatingâ and âitâs really, really hot,â she added. âCan you imagine what it is like for construction workers every single day?â