{"id":239,"date":"2026-08-13T21:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T21:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=239"},"modified":"2026-08-13T21:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T21:56:17","slug":"smoke-heat-storms-how-climate-change-is-making-bad-working-conditions-even-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=239","title":{"rendered":"Smoke, Heat, Storms: How Climate Change is Making Bad Working Conditions Even Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One morning, when Jacob started his 9<\/span>\u00a0a.m. shift as a\u00a0UPS driver in Minnesota, he noticed it was hazy outside. It was July 16<\/span>, and wildfires raging across northeastern Minnesota and southern Canada had unleashed acrid, hazardous smoke across much of the state. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was urging people to stay indoors. But Jacob was expected to work an estimated 9<\/span>– or 10<\/span>-hour shift, getting in and out of his vehicle delivering\u00a0packages.<\/p>

Read more Affordability\u2019s Key Ingredient Is Union Power<\/a><\/p>\n

Management hadn\u2019t provided any protective measures, like masks, he says, and he was inhaling the toxic smoke for hours. \u200b\u201c<\/span>The worst part about driving and working outside is we don\u2019t have air conditioning or anything,\u201d he says over the phone. \u200b\u201c<\/span>On that day it was extremely hot as well as humid, so we drove with both doors open on the highway or just in our delivery area. We were exposed to the air.\u201d (Jacob is a\u00a0pseudonym, and we are not identifying his specific work location within Minnesota, to protect him from\u00a0retaliation.)<\/p>\n

Three hours into his shift, he felt a\u00a0tightness in his chest. \u200b\u201c<\/span>I didn\u2019t pay it no mind until I\u00a0started to get light-headed,\u201d he tells me. Determining it was unsafe to keep driving, Jacob sought medical attention. After hours of observation and tests, he was eventually cleared for release, but the experience left him unsettled. Wildfires are growing larger and more destructive due to human-made climate change. \u200b\u201c<\/span>It\u2019s a\u00a0little scary knowing that you\u2019re breathing in toxic air and still needing to service your community, and that there isn\u2019t anything in place that protects you or your wellbeing,\u201d he\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

As climate change intensifies, worsening fires and extreme weather are creating increasingly hostile conditions for workers like Jacob. Alongside fighting for healthcare, wages and better treatment, these workers now find themselves fighting for protections from dangerous heat, smoke and storms\u2009\u2014\u2009the severity of which is only expected to worsen if the status quo continues. Our warming planet, in other words, is defining the terrain in which workers must organize. \u200b\u201c<\/span>In Minnesota, every summer, we now experience wildfire smoke in these hot months,\u201d says Scott Wilkie, the president of Teamsters Local 638<\/span>, the union that represents Jacob. \u200b\u201c<\/span>It\u2019s been more intense, especially in the northern parts of Minnesota,\u201d he adds. \u200b\u201c<\/span>You\u2019re dealing with heat, already tough working conditions and then, on top of that, now you\u2019ve got an air quality index that\u2019s at an unhealthy\u00a0level.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the Affy Tapple food processing plant in Niles, Ill., workers describe sweltering indoor temperatures and cooling systems so insufficient that, during the summer, it\u2019s often hotter inside than out. \u201c\u200b\u200bIf the temperature is 85<\/span> [degrees Fahrenheit] outside, I\u00a0can bet the temperature inside is at least 95<\/span> [degrees],\u201d one worker told me. Like many labor issues, workers say the heat is the result of a\u00a0combination of factors, including management shortcomings. But they worry about what their workplace will be like as climate change\u00a0intensifies.<\/p>\n

Inside the factory, workers cook caramel and dip and prepare caramel apples on assembly lines, before they\u2019re packed and sent out for delivery. During candy season, which starts in August and goes through the fall, up to 200<\/span> people work at the facility, many of them hired through temporary staffing agencies. Outside of this busy season, around 50<\/span> workers work at the facility, workers\u00a0say.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Workers say their uniforms add to the discomfort of the heat. \u200b\u201c<\/span>We have to use plastic sleeves covering our entire arms,\u201d a\u00a0worker tells me. \u200b\u201c<\/span>The plastic sticks to our skin because of sweat, and it\u2019s incredibly uncomfortable. It\u2019s the same thing with the glove. You are sweating and can\u2019t pull up your gloves comfortably because of the\u00a0sweat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I\u2019m thirsty all the time but can\u2019t leave the line and go get water,\u201d a\u00a0worker told me. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Maybe every hour you have a\u00a0chance to get a\u00a0drink.\u201d Another worker put it this way: \u200b\u201c<\/span>I get tired very quickly. I\u2019m sweating and want water. Your body gets\u00a0exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

To protect them from retaliation, workers\u2019 identities and jobs are anonymous. They don\u2019t have a\u00a0union, and heat, they say, is only one of several issues they face. Health insurance and pay are inadequate, they tell me, and they are concerned about preventable workplace injuries, including severe burns. \u200b\u201c<\/span>The focus is on the product,\u201d one worker told me. \u200b\u201c<\/span>If the workers melt or the workers freeze, nobody gives a\u00a0damn. The apples have to come out\u00a0perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Smoke from the Camp Fire settles over Moose Lake as several wildfires burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness forced its closure and evacuation on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Ely, Minn. Photo by Anthony Souffl\u00e9\/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There is overwhelming evidence that rising temperatures increase heat-related illnesses among workers, especially those in fields like construction and agriculture. But rising temperatures also affect indoor workers, particularly those who face \u200b\u201c<\/span>confounding factors,\u201d such as \u200b\u201c<\/span>heat from machinery and surroundings\u201d and \u200b\u201c<\/span>wearing of personal protective equipment,\u201d according to a\u00a02025<\/span> report from the World Meteorological Organization and the World Health Organization. In 2023<\/span>, heat contributed to about 28<\/span>,000<\/span> workplace injuries in the United States, to one\u00a0estimate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Workers depend on their employers to create hazard-free work environments. Affy Tapple is owned by private equity, an opaque industry associated with cost-cutting and poor labor conditions. Affy Tapple is owned by Beavers Holdings, which is owned by Pritzker Private Capital, which is private equity, according to Matt Parr, communications director for the Private Equity Stakeholder\u00a0Project.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>It would not surprise me to see a\u00a0correlation there between private equity ownership and poor working conditions,\u201d Parr says. \u200b\u201c<\/span>It\u2019s a\u00a0scenario we\u2019ve seen play out across different types of sectors with cost-cutting or laying workers off or not having good working conditions.\u201d Affy Tapple did not respond to a\u00a0request for comment submitted through a\u00a0contact form on their\u00a0website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The same day Jacob, the UPS driver, was sickened by the smoke, his union, Teamsters Local 638<\/span>, issued a statement declaring, \u200b\u201c<\/span>Our guidance to members at this time in simplest form is, take care of your health needs no matter what\u2009\u2014\u2009especially if your employer won\u2019t. Seek medical attention immediately if\u00a0needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wildfire smoke is more dangerous than other forms of air pollution caused by traffic and agriculture, because wildfires burn far hotter, which means the fine particles they release \u200b\u201c<\/span>are much more chemically active and can be very, very toxic,\u201d according to University of California\u2009\u2013\u2009San Diego environmental epidemiologist Tarik Benmarhnia. A\u00a02022<\/span> study looking at California\u2019s wildfire seasons from 2004<\/span> to 2009<\/span> found that smoky days are associated with a\u00a010<\/span>.3<\/span>% increase in hospital visits for asthma, with children five and under most severely affected. Another study from June found that chronic exposure to fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke increases stroke risk in older\u00a0adults.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A UPS driver drapes a towel over his head while driving along Broadway during a heat wave on July 6, 2012, in New York City. Forecasts at the time predicted temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with a heat index as high as 106 degrees due to humidity, according to the National Weather Service. The severe heat wave gripping much of the Midwest also damaged crops and kept residents indoors. Photo by Spencer Platt via Getty Images<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Section 5<\/span>\u00a0of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970<\/span> says bosses must provide workplaces that are \u200b\u201c<\/span>free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.\u201d But Wilkie says he\u2019s concerned that UPS management failed to ensure a\u00a0hazard-free workplace\u2009\u2014\u2009despite reported warnings from the\u00a0union.<\/p>\n

Wilkie says he reached out to regional UPS management on July 15<\/span>, urging them to take proactive action in response to the worsening air quality index, but said they did nothing of substance. The next day, Wilkie says, \u200b\u201c<\/span>it was just business as usual, and they didn\u2019t provide any mask options.\u201d Management did encourage workers to run their fans during the day and take lunch breaks inside, he says, but did little beyond those suggestions. According to Wilkie, \u200b\u201c<\/span>They didn\u2019t say, \u200b\u2018<\/span>Hey, if you have concerns about working under the conditions, let us know. You don\u2019t have to work today because it\u2019s hazardous\u00a0conditions.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In some cases, climate change leads to degraded conditions not only for workers but for the communities they serve. In late September 2024<\/span>, Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina as a\u00a0Category 4<\/span>\u00a0storm, unleashing flash floods, deluges of rain and overwhelming winds, and killing 107<\/span> people in the state, and more than 200<\/span> people overall. Front-yard ditches turned into raging rivers, felled trees crushed houses and blocked roads, and mass landslides cut off access to roads. It was the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005<\/span>. Most of the deaths occurred in areas considered low risk for hurricanes\u2009\u2014\u2009in some cases hundreds of miles from the coast. Hurricane Helene portends what\u2019s to come as the globe warms: scientists say the deadly rains and wind it brought are likely to grow more frequent and severe due to human-made climate\u00a0change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Flood-damaged cars sit outside a restaurant in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on October 1, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. The Category 4 storm killed more than 200 people across the southeastern U.S. and left millions without power. Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits via Getty Images<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For workers at Asheville\u2019s Mission Hospital, the climate crisis became a\u00a0workplace crisis. The main medical facility in the area, it stayed open even as the hospital lost power for several days and had to switch to backup generators, prioritizing critical equipment. The hospital also lost running water for nearly 11<\/span> weeks and had to rely on water from trucks and wells. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Patients had wounds, patients had been exposed to chemicals, fuel and other toxins in the water, patients had been trapped under debris and wreckage, patients were continuing to have strokes and heart attacks, patients with ongoing medical needs, like dialysis, were in bad shape,\u201d according to an October 2024<\/span> dispatch from National Nurses United, which represents more than 1<\/span>,500<\/span> nurses at the hospital. \u200b\u201c<\/span>And of course many of the patients were traumatized by the flooding and the horror of watching others die, or their family homes being swept away by the angry, seemingly ever-rising\u00a0river.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kerri Wilson is a\u00a0nurse at the hospital\u2019s cardiology step-down unit, which treats patients with heart conditions. During the first couple of days of the storm, she was off work and at home with her then eight-year-old son. \u200b\u201c<\/span>When I\u00a0came back several days after the storm hit, we were still using buckets to flush toilets,\u201d she told me over the phone. \u200b\u201c<\/span>We had the Army Corps of Engineers who came in and figured out a\u00a0way to drill a\u00a0well, so we had tanker trucks with water, so we could have water to flush toilets and wash our hands and things. They would deliver these laundry push carts full of water, and we would take our buckets and fill up. Every two hours we were going through, trying to flush toilets, to keep things as sanitary as we could. Just finding somewhere to wash your hands with soap and water was difficult because the sinks weren\u2019t\u00a0running.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Storm damage in Asheville, N.C., where the western part of the state was devastated by heavy rains and flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on September 30, 2024 Photo by Peter Zay\/Anadolu via Getty Images<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Susan Coppin works as a\u00a0case management nurse at the hospital, covering all of its units. She lives in Hendersonville, 23<\/span>\u00a0miles south of the hospital, and had already taken off of work when the storm hit, which was a\u00a0good thing, she says, because her house was badly damaged. Around five days after the hurricane hit, she went back to work. \u200b\u201c<\/span>I was on a\u00a0heart unit, I\u00a0remember, and I\u00a0had heard that they couldn\u2019t even use the toilets. In patients\u2019 rooms, they put bedside commodes and lined them with garbage\u00a0bags.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I opened up our own bathroom, the employees\u2019 bathroom, and instead of the commode, there\u2019s this bedside commode in our employee bathroom,\u201d she\u00a0says.<\/p>

Read more Francesca Hong on What Democratic Socialism Means to Her<\/a><\/p>\n

National Nurses United reported that to decontaminate patients, they filled garbage cans with water and poured it over them. Some urinated in buckets. In the immediate aftermath, they say, the ER ran out of food for the workers, though the community stepped in with meals. At one point, the ER was at double its usual capacity, workers reported.<\/p>\n

Making the situation more challenging for workers, the hospital became a\u00a0place of respite for people facing weather-related emergencies. \u200b\u201c<\/span>People from the community who didn\u2019t actually need hospital care had to utilize the hospital because of their chronic health conditions, maybe they were on oxygen at home, or they had an LVAD\u2009\u2014\u2009a left ventricular assistive device, which is basically a\u00a0surgically implanted battery pack that helps their heart pump. They need a\u00a0power source, so if they\u2019re without power at home, they have no way to recharge their batteries,\u201d Wilson says. \u200b\u201c<\/span>And that is truly what keeps them alive. So they were having to utilize the hospital just to keep them\u00a0alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201c<\/span>For a\u00a0long time, nursing in particular has been looked at as, \u200b\u2018<\/span>They\u2019re this profession of martyrs,\u2019 because most people who go into nursing do want to help people,\u201d Wilson says. \u200b\u201c<\/span>And for many years, it was seen as a\u00a0calling more than a\u00a0profession. \u2026 These corporations like HCA try to exploit that when you have these natural disasters and things related to climate change.\u201d HCA Healthcare bought Mission Hospital in\u00a02019<\/span>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Nurses tend to sacrifice themselves for their patients, and they exploit that in every way they can. That\u2019s why, when we\u2019re short-staffed, our patients suffer, but we don\u2019t get a\u00a0lunch break because we\u2019re going to work through it to make sure our patients get everything they need. It\u2019s the same kind of situation when you\u2019re working in the aftermath of Helene and you don\u2019t have appropriate nutrition or water. You just keep going. You put yourself last and do what you can for your\u00a0patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to a\u00a0request for comment, a\u00a0spokesperson for HCA Healthcare said, \u200b\u201c<\/span>The interviews and accounts referenced in your questions present an incomplete picture of what occurred at Mission Hospital during and after Hurricane Helene.\u201d The spokesperson also sent an HCA press release titled, \u200b\u201c<\/span>HCA Healthcare to Donate $1<\/span> Million Towards Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief Efforts in North\u00a0Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In his book Or<\/em> Something Worse: Why We Need to Disrupt the Climate Transitio<\/em>n, Nicholas Beuret writes that \u200b\u201c<\/span>climate change is creating an increasingly hostile working environment for millions of people.\u201d The transition society is undergoing as a\u00a0result of climate change, in fact, \u200b\u201c<\/span>is the terrain of contemporary class and social conflict, one that is reshaping our everyday lives and radically transforming political strategy and action,\u201d he\u00a0writes.<\/p>\n

Regular people tend to grasp that there are profound changes taking place. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Overall, 65<\/span>% of U.S. adults expressed concern that climate change will harm their health,\u201d according to a\u00a0study published in Health Affairs Scholar<\/em> in May. Yet, alongside the political failure to curb fossil fuel emissions, the United States does not even offer the most basic worker protections. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Despite clear scientific evidence and well-established solutions that are low-cost and relatively easy to implement, the United States lacks a\u00a0comprehensive federal standard to protect workers from heat exposure, leaving worker safety dependent on employer discretion and uneven state policies,\u201d states a\u00a0May 2026<\/span> by Groundwork Collaborative, Workshop, and the Center for Labor and a\u00a0Just Economy.<\/p>\n

This lack of a\u00a0standard is not inevitable. Rather, it reflects \u200b\u201c<\/span>a coordinated campaign by large corporations, trade associations and allied political actors to resist enforceable heat protections,\u201d report authors Adam Dean and Jamie K. McCallum write. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Major business groups\u2009\u2014\u2009including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the so-called Coalition for Workplace Safety, and industry associations in construction, agriculture and logistics\u2009\u2014\u2009have opposed federal efforts to protect workers from extreme heat, characterizing the U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s proposed regulations as \u200b\u2018<\/span>rigid,\u2019 \u200b\u2018<\/span>burdensome\u2019 and \u200b\u2018<\/span>impracticable.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With scant protections, Johanna Bozuwa, the executive director of the Climate and Community Institute, a\u00a0think tank, tells me that \u200b\u201c<\/span>the labor constituency is on the front lines of the climate crisis. And the other piece that\u2019s really clear to me is that it\u2019s also the emergent power base for us to be able to get climate action over the line, because people are so grounded in the realities of their workplace environments becoming more and more hostile to\u00a0them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Workers are increasingly negotiating climate protections into their contracts and fighting for greener schools and more robust climate protections. The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America has a\u00a0Green Locomotives campaign aimed at promoting electric rail and reducing filthy locomotive emissions that hurt workers and communities near railyards. And United Auto Workers Region 6<\/span>\u00a0has been involved in efforts to pass legislation in California aimed at decarbonizing the economy and creating green\u00a0jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UPS drivers in Minnesota face the ongoing challenge of trying to protect the health of workers. Teamsters won some heat protections in their 2023<\/span> contract, but when it\u2019s time to negotiate the new deal,\u201d Wilkie says, \u200b\u201c<\/span>we will have to have language in there to protect our drivers from smoke. I\u00a0don\u2019t think the wildfire problem is going to go\u00a0away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob was just one of several workers who reported troubling health consequences. \u200b\u201c<\/span>I had UPS drivers calling me throughout the day saying, \u200b\u2018<\/span>I need to come off route because I\u2019m feeling sick,\u2019\u201d Wilkie says. The following day, he recalls, \u200b\u201c<\/span>we had people who were feeling sick and didn\u2019t feel like they could finish their work because of what they experienced the day\u00a0prior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilkie says that filing a\u00a0formal charge through the state\u2019s Occupational Safety and Health Administration \u200b\u201c<\/span>is still up for\u00a0debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I\u00a0asked UPS to comment on workers\u2019 concerns and reports regarding the wildfire smoke, a\u00a0company spokesperson sent me a\u00a0statement, which read, in part, \u200b\u201c<\/span>We follow all federal, state OSHA regulations, and remain focused on supporting our employees while continuing to safely serve our customers and\u00a0communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Our operations teams communicate with employees about the conditions in their area and reinforce guidance on staying hydrated, taking breaks as needed, recognizing signs of illness, wearing N95<\/span> masks, and seeking medical attention if they are not feeling well,\u201d the statement\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

But Jacob told In These Times <\/em>that \u200b\u201c<\/span>none of that was communicated to the team.\u201d He said that \u200b\u201c<\/span>no precautions or masks or anything about the conditions was brought up or mentioned to me that day ahead of when I\u00a0got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the report by Dean and McCallum, UPS has joined companies like Amazon in lobbying to weaken or obstruct heat regulations and \u200b\u201c<\/span>has spent more than $18<\/span> million lobbying against regulatory issues in recent years.\u201d The report also notes that OSHA \u200b\u201c<\/span>has cited UPS and Amazon for hundreds of safety violations, including heat-related incidents.\u201d One Texas UPS worker, Chris Begley, died in August 2023<\/span> after collapsing in the heat. When wildfire smoke meets climbing temperatures, it creates new levels of workplace\u00a0hazards.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>On this day, even with caution given by the Teamsters union beforehand, UPS, once again, did not uphold that commitment and failed their staff,\u201d Wilkie\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

This article is a\u00a0joint publication of <\/em>In These Times and <\/em>Workday Magazine<\/em>, a\u00a0nonprofit newsroom devoted to holding the powerful accountable through the perspective of\u00a0workers.<\/em><\/p>

Read more Make No Mistake\u2014The Left Is on a Winning Streak<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As wildfires, heat waves and hurricanes intensify, workers are increasingly fighting for basic protections on top of everything else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-labor"],"yoast_head":"\nSmoke, Heat, Storms: How Climate Change is Making Bad Working Conditions Even Worse - Summit Relocation Timess<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=239\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smoke, Heat, Storms: How Climate Change is Making Bad Working Conditions Even Worse - 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