Governor Gavin Newsom is under scrutiny from one of the California’s largest newspapers for failing to protect workers from extreme heat. The story comes hot on the heels of the controversy surrounding Newsom’s divisive decision to pass bills such as the minimum wage increase in the fast food industry and the state’s alarming state audit.
According to The Los Angeles Times the state delayed the implementation of indoor workplace standards that are build to protect workers from heat. The newspaper called out the “ineptitude” of the state’s officials.
Delayed Progress by Governor Newsom
According to the editorial piece, Newsom was meant to appoint a board which was to decide on proper standards for workers in extreme conditions. These standards help to keep more than 1 million California workers safe.
However, the board was supposed to have been assembled way back in 2018 and there has still been little to no progress on the movement.
The Times Calls Out State Officials
LA Times had this to say in regard to state officials’ stalled progress: “Thanks to ineptitude by state officials, California is heading into another summer without rules to protect the nearly 1 million people who labor inside sweltering warehouses, boiler rooms, kitchens, and other facilities”.
The newspaper explained that current conditions and standards are completely unacceptable and while the standards put forth in the 2016 employee safety laws are manageable, beurocratic red tape has stopped them from being actually implemented.
2016 Laws Protecting Workers
In 2016, California passed a law which would require employees to provide escape from the heat in workspaces where it gets highly warm. These standards were meant to protect workers from health conditions as a result of the heat.
This includes having cool-down areas to escape the heat as well as air conditioning, rest breaks, and water. These standards would be required for any work environment that exceeds 82 degrees inside.
The Times Calls Out Newsom Directly
The editorial team at the publication is extremely unhappy with the lack of progress on an imitative that was signed into law 8 years ago. They called out Governor Newsom directly in the piece.
“State officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose office recently boasted that no other governor has done as much to protect people from extreme heat, should be ashamed. Oregon became the first state to adopt heat protection rules for indoor workers in 2022, just 10 months after the devastating and deadly heat dome the year before”.
Other States Doing Their Part
States like Oregon have been at the forefront for worker’s rights when it comes to protection from heat. State officials passed legislation which required shade, water, breaks, and preventative training for employees working in heat of 80 degrees or more.
OSHA spokesperson Aaron Corvin explained: “We’re talking about exposures to a very real hazard. We have been engaging with stakeholders and employers to help them understand. We want them to be successful. They have an obligation to maintain safe and healthy workplaces”.
CDC Weighs in on Heat-Related Health Risks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commented on how dangerous heat-related health conditions can be. Some of which include exhaustion, heat stroke, heat cramp, and heat syncope.
All of which can be dangerous, especially if exposed tot he heat for long periods of time. Of course, it costs money to implement the changes necessary to protect workers. Thus, the progress on the initiative has been extremely slow.
Changes May Cost Billions of Dollars
Implementing the changes necessary to meet the new standards proposed in the law could potentially cost billions of dollars. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health actually passed the standards.
However, the Department of Finance needs to approve them in order for them to take effect, causing the extreme delays.
Newsom Taking Action
Gov. Newsom did make an effort to move things along in 2022, where he signed some legislation that aimed to help protect Californians from the heat.
He stated that the state is “taking aggressive action to combat the climate crisis and build resilience in our most vulnerable communities”.
Newsom’s Efforts Against Climate Change
Newsom has not shied away from his views on climate change and what needs to be done in order to stop and revers the warming of the climate. He recently spoke about the climate crisis at the Vatican.
He even called out former President Donald Trump for partaking in “open corruption” as a response to Trump soliciting campaign donations from oil executives.
Looming Summer Months
Advocates for workers rights remain concerned about the heat conditions for thousands of workers across the state of California as the Golden State reaches temperatures in the 70s, 80s, and 90s in the summer months.
LA Times hopes their editorial piece will help encourage the necessary parties to start enacting more impactful and swift change in order to protect their workers.
LA Times Continues to Hold Newsom Responsible
Even more recently, the newspaper has called out Newsom again for his ineffective call to make a constitutional amendment on gun safety. In an article published on June 9, 2024 the LA Times explained that one year after his call for gun safety reform in the constitution, no other states have joined.
They explained that his proposal was seemingly impossible right from the start. He had hoped to convince two-thirds of state legislatures in American to “call for a constitutional convention to adopt national gun safety laws”. An entire year has passed since this and still no other states have joined Newsom.
Inability to Enact Change?
The article goes on to say that Newsom’s inability to garner support for the movement, event from Democratic-controlled states suggests his plan was “more flash than substance”.
It appears (for now at least) that the governor’s gun control movement is similar to the worker’s labor issues in that he cannot manage enact tangible change and California residents’ frustrations are mounting.
Golden State Struggling
It’s no secret that the Golden State has been struggling to retain it’s wealthier residents, which is a huge problem for the state’s economy. Mounting taxes and ridiculously high home prices are driving wealthy residents to other states.
California is far too reliant on the the business of these wealthy residents. If the 2024 state audit earlier this year was any indication, California needs it’s wealthy residents more than ever.
California’s State Audit Disaster
California’s state audit earlier this year revealed the state was multi-trillion dollars in debt. A leading cause of this was to do with a homelessness crisis program led by Gov. Newsom.
The program aimed to reduce and eventually eliminate the homeless problem in California, but it appeared the progress of the program was not accurately tracked and it was near impossible to understand if the billions of dollars put towards the initiative actually produced results.
