Kevin Randal, a construction worker in Houston, has his routine.
Mr. Randal, 60, who works on air conditioning, roofing, flooring and kitchens, spent Saturday inside an attic, drenched in sweat in 100 degree temperatures, fixing an air conditioning unit.
He takes breaks every 20 minutes, drinks a mix of lime juice, salt and water to keep him hydrated and takes little sips of water to prevent nausea and throwing up, he said.
“If you don’t calculate time correctly, you will faint,” Mr. Randal said, adding, “The heat comes and goes, and the jobs come and go with it.”
But for now, the heat is mostly coming and staying.
…but Republicans don’t care. From The Guardian:
Amid a dangerous heatwave that has brought blistering temperatures across Texas, the state’s governor signed a law this week eliminating local rules requiring water breaks for workers.
The measure, which will take effect later this year, will nullify ordinances enacted by Austin and Dallas that mandate 10-minute breaks for construction workers every four hours. It also prevents any other local governments from passing similar worker protections.
…Still, the Republican lawmakers pushing the new law have said it eliminates a “hodgepodge of onerous and burdensome regulations” that Texas businesses face. The effort aims to prevent cities and counties from enacting progressive policies that counter the state Republican supermajority’s aims.
I honestly don’t have a lot to say about this move by Texas Republicans, except to say their actions are wicked. The GOP has been a fount of climate denialism for decades. Now they’re on the side of preventing even the most meager rules to save workers from the blazing heat their policies and disinformation have helped bring about. Shameful.
What I’m reading
Thing about classic novels is that they always carry the whiff of homework to me, yet when I pick one up I almost always find there’s a reason they’ve lasted: A pleasure to read!
Currently on OF HUMAN BONDAGE. I will never be a British orphan finding my way through life, but Maugham captures the essence of being a young man — the callowness, the fickleness, the utter assuredness of one’s own opinions, the cruel ease with which one treats the feelings of others — which I unfortunately find all too relatable. A pleasure to read, and also sometimes cringe-inducing for … very personal reasons.
Good to see, I guess, that Kansas is not alone in having a state government that will go out of its way to prevent cities from enacting progressive policies which are not only environmentally wise, but which their own residents democratically support.