Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, Co-Chair of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH), joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed heat rule.
Following several years of advocacy for workers working under extreme temperatures, the Biden Administration recently announced an OSHA standard for working in high temperatures. According to OSHA, heat is the leading weather-related death in the U.S. The proposed rule has entered a 120-day comment period for the public to provide feedback. According to OSHA, the new standard would cover about 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor industries.
Goldstein-Gelb discussed how the OSHA proposed heat standards could positively impact workers and what the 120-day comment period means for the standards' future. To help speed up the process, NCOSH is working with members of Congress to establish a national regulation. By establishing laws instead of using the final rule, the standards would be made law before they could be watered down, said Goldstein-Gelb.
Finally, Goldstein-Gelb discussed the next steps and what NCOSH will do to ensure workers have a seat at the table. She said the most important next step for the organization is to prioritize both indoor and outdoor workers in the future plans. Goldstein-Gelb discussed some of the recent examples of poor heat protections, or a lack of protections, that resulted in the death of workers in Texas and Oregon.
Listen to the show above to hear more from Goldstein-Gelb.