Las Vegas, Nev. – With the Las Vegas Valley continuing to experience record-setting high temperatures, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Executive Secretary-Treasurer Vince Saavedra of Southern Nevada Building Trades Union (SNBTU) and union members at a local construction site to discuss her urgent fight to protect workers during extreme heat conditions.
Senator Cortez Masto is leading legislation to ensure the safety and health of workers who are exposed to dangerous heat conditions in the workplace, and called for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to use its authority to enact a national heat safety standard. In response, the Administration launched a coordinated, interagency effort to respond to the health impacts of extreme heat on American workers.
“We need to make sure all workers can safely do their jobs – especially as we continue to experience record-breaking heat,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I’m working to pass legislation to create standards for workers in high-heat conditions and hold employers accountable to protect their employees. This is about keeping Nevadans safe and standing up for our working families who are helping drive our economy.”
This year is on pace to be the hottest on record and heat-related illnesses can cause heat cramps, organ damage, heat exhaustion, stroke, and even death. From 2011-2020, heat exposure killed at least 400 workers and caused nearly 34,000 injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work; both likely to be vast underestimates. Farmworkers and construction workers suffer the highest incidence of heat illness.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a champion for workers’ rights throughout her career in the Senate. She is an original cosponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to strengthen protections for workers’ right to organize a union and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.
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