This commentary is by Casey Jennings of Lunenburg. He has a master’s degree in forestry and has worked a variety of jobs outdoors, ranging from the U.S. Forestry Service to the private sector.
With the Trump administration attempting to destroy the National Labor Relations Board and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., introducing a bill in Congress to abolish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, I am calling on the Vermont Legislature to expand worker protection in the state to counter any fallout.
I ask that private sector employees be allowed to bring their claims to the Vermont Labor Relations Board, that steps be taken to ensure VOSHA will not be impacted by any federal changes, and that H.348, a bill aimed at protecting workers from extreme temperatures, be passed.
I believe it reasonable that employers be required by statute to provide workers with opportunities to warm up when working in winter temperatures. I have witnessed coworkers in single-digit temperatures and subzero wind chills outdoors allowed only one or two short bathroom breaks for 8-hour shifts. One coworker’s nose was frostbitten while others experienced borderline hypothermia. This is unacceptable.
Vermont has also experienced record-high temperatures this summer, with temperatures hitting the upper 90s. It is probable that Vermont will continue seeing these extreme summer temperatures due to climate change.
I remember years ago working in a factory when it was merely in the 80s outside, and over 100 inside. It was quite unbearable, but normal production was still expected — and the one time I expressed concerns to management as well as to OSHA, it was rather callously brushed aside.
It shouldn’t be accepted as normal when there are reasonable ways of addressing this problem, including extra breaks and better ventilation. A federal proposal was issued by OSHA under the Biden administration to better protect workers from hot temperatures, but it seems unlikely that the Trump administration will follow through with the ongoing rulemaking process.
Vermont should not simply follow the rest of the nation in a backward direction on this subject. We should be a model state in terms of labor laws, and protecting workers from our increasingly extreme weather should be a top priority.
