[About the author] must implement emergency climate safety protocols

This summer, a record-breaking heat wave hit the Pacific Northwest, endangering the lives of essential agricultural workers across the region. On top of this, raging wildfires are threatening the respiratory health of thousands of employees like those at [Company] , who have no choice but to labor outdoors for extended periods of time.

In the context of this intensified climate emergency, we demand that ABC Farms immediately implement the following emergency measures:

• When the temperature is at or above 80 F (27 C), [Company] must provide workers with at least a quart of cool drinking water per hour. Water should be readily available in accessible locations.
• [Company] must provide workers with a shady, accessible place for breaks. When temperatures rise about 80 F, [Company] must ensure that employees have a paid cool-down rest period of at least 15 minutes every two hours.
• [Company] must provide all employees with comprehensive training on preventing and recognizing the signs of heat illness. [Company] must also inform workers of employers’ duties regarding workplace exposure to excessive heat and wildfire smoke.
• [Company] must hang a poster indicating the signs of heat illness and smoke exposure in all rest and hygiene areas. Posters should be in English and Spanish as well as include visual cues.
• [Company] must update and make public its heat illness prevention plan.
• [Company] must update and make public its protocol for protecting workers from wildfire smoke.
• If heat or wildfire conditions put workers at risk of illness, operations must be shut down and workers should be sent home for the day without losing pay.

This record-breaking picking season has already led to the untimely death of one farm worker. His young life probably could have been spared had his employers used common-sense measures to protect workers from extreme temperatures. Only by implementing a climate safety protocol can [Company] prevent such a tragedy from occurring at our own workplace, and ensure that we can keep putting fresh fruit on the tables of millions of Americans without putting our own lives at risk.