Originally published at: Texas, where heat deaths are at an all-time high, ends water breaks for construction workers | Boing Boing
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Christ, what an asshole.
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Make no mistake. This WILL kill people. And those lawmakers will be directly responsible.
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… but not held accountable.
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And then they’ll wonder why productivity in the construction industry goes into decline (“pay no attention to the sick and dead workers!”).
This is modern conservativism in America: stupid, mean-spirited, self-destructive. And all to squeeze a few more bucks into the pockets of rich greedpigs.
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I’m guessing non-fatal heatstroke will be an even bigger problem (logistically, not morally) - and lead to an even bigger loss of ‘bucks’ to the pockets of the rich.
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Texas is obviously making a big push to bring its labor policies into line with international standards … which is to say the way the Gulf states treat their migrant workers.
Referring to Texas as “Howdy Arabia” seems more and more appropriate with every passing day.
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Maybe Saudi Arabia is Howdy Arabia itself.
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Except, you know, treating workers like shit is a deeply ingrained American tradition, that existed for literally centuries prior to Saudi Arabia even existing… Prior to the House of Saud EVEN BEING A THING…
We really need to stop pretending like we’re getting this shit from Muslims, as if we don’t have deeply ingrained racist, sexist, classist traditions all our own.
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Ignoring the obvious intentional cruelty even from a business point of view this makes no sense:
“The more dehydrated a worker becomes, the more impaired they become. A 3-4% dehydration can bring about a 25% decline in worker productivity. It can slow an employee’s reaction time to the same degree as a 0.08% blood alcohol content.”
Dehydration: The Unexpected Workplace Hazard - TSS Safety.
And this law probably runs counter to state and federal EHS laws.
Yeah, science. Who needs it?
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Not how they see it. Just like the mine owners in WV, these laborers are viewed as anonymous, interchangeable cogs to be used up and replaced. Any effort to keep them safe just eats into profits, and when (not if) they die, they can easily be replaced. Besides, if they kill off some Mexicans, that’s a win as well, right?
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To be fair, the city ordinances were pretty shitty. I work inside an air conditioned office and give myself multiple water breaks an hour.
Maybe the state water break law will be less cruel. Doubtful, but maybe.
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Clearly “nO oNe WaNtS tO wOrK aNyMoRe!”
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The whipping heat strokes will continue until morale improves.
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Christ, 10 min in 4hours is not that much of a break.
I imagine productivity in general starts to lag off in the heat. And lack of breaks exacerbate that. Productivity falls with out breaks.
Also, looks like I went to Texas at the perfect time before the heat got really bad!
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Not for nothing, today’s high temperature in Austin is forecast to be 103°F, and the heat index 119°F.
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That is the correct take. There is no other rationalization for this abhorrent behavior.
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I thought surely this couldn’t be allowed but there is a lot more “should” in these OSHA guidelines than I recalled…
https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/water-rest-shade
Thanks, OSHA.
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The rhetoric will be, “people just don’t want to work anymore!”
(said only by people who have never held a shovel in their life)
Edit: for @RyeNCode :
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This is less about being cruel to workers than it is about the state legislature hating (and I mean really hating) Austin.
Or hey, let’s just get rid of the place.
Google “austin bashing legislation” for more examples.
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