House Bill 2127 preempts municipalities from enacting legislation in eight areas—with predictable results.
You have to dig into the article to discover that the deaths are completely unrelated to HB 2127. It doesn’t go into effect until September 1st. I’m anti-Abbott and this bill but the author or editor is not being honest here.
Since then, 11 people between the ages of 60 and 80 have died of heat-related illness in Webb County, the Associated Press reported. Most did not have air-conditioning in their homes. A teen and stepfather died while hiking in extreme heat at Big Bend National Park, per a National Park Service release. According to the Texas Tribune, at least nine inmates, including two men in their 30s, died in Texas prisons that lack air conditioning. And at least four workers have died after collapsing while laboring in triple-digit heat: a post office worker in Dallas, a utility lineman in East Texas, and construction workers in Houston.
Only 4 of them were even workers out in extreme heat, and none of the deaths are confirmed to be from that.
I’ve seen a bunch of “anti-texas” reporting lately that takes things out of context. I think it’s just what’s getting these sites clicks at the moment. Abbott, and Texas in general, deserve to be shit on regularly, but most of the articles being written are simply trying to rage-bait leftists the way rightwing outlets have been successfully doing for decades.
The title is definitely implying a more direct connection than exists in reality, and the article doesn’t go into detail on when the bill is meant to go into effect. The author could be using it as an example of how much worse things could get once the bill goes into effect, especially with the references to the effects of past ordinances mandating water breaks.
But I agree, there’s definitely some intellectual dishonesty going on.
Well, the article says the anti-water break part of the bill goes into effect September 1st, and that is as much detail as I personally need.
The suggestion that employers didn’t start using it to abuse their workers immediately is ludicrous.
These deaths are completely on Abbot and the GOP
OSHA still requires reasonable water breaks. This law doesn’t override that. If you aren’t allowed one, report them.
I’m sure the governor gets all the water breaks and air conditioning he wants. “I got mine, fuck you”
This is absolutely asinine. Water is a basic necessity for human survival. What you will end up with is staff too ill to work… At the minimum. Whoever nodded and went “yep, this is a good idea” needs to actually see what it’s like to go work a shift in 40c+ heat and no hydration. Pure, concentrated stupidity. Their blood is on the governors hands but I sincerely doubt they give a shit.
I don’t think I’d be able to do my boring office job without regular water access. It’s purely madness to expect someone to do a physical job without as much water as one needs.
Some context here:
(1) The bill doesn’t take effect until September 1st, so these deaths are not a result of it.
(2) While OSHA has very good guidelines on what employers SHOULD do for worker hydration, they do not require it. I other words, OSHA does not say the employers MUST do it.
https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/water-rest-shade
I think things will get really bad NEXT summer.
