Hurricane Ian is making its way toward the Gulf Coast of Florida, and already a federal emergency has been declared while 2.5 million residents remain under evacuation orders. Those orders vary based on zones ranging from A to F; already, 11 counties and counting are under mandatory evacuation orders. Some may have the means to comfortably leave—possibly indefinitely depending on how storm surge impacts their homes, utilities, and basic services—while for others, it’s sadly business as usual.
Labor Notes’ Jonah Furman has been collecting stories of bad employers forcing their workers to risk their safety for the sake of profits. It took public shaming for the marketing firm PostcardMania to reverse course and close its offices instead of trying to entice employees with perks that do nothing to protect them from the explicit danger of Hurricane Ian. Initial text messages sent by the company showed someone downplaying the storm itself and asking employees to bring their pets and children to the office. All of this could be averted if Rep. Cori Bush’s “Worker Safety in Climate Disasters Act” is passed.
Under HR 8819, which was introduced by Bush earlier this month, workers like those delivering mail in evacuation zones wouldn’t have to sacrifice so much for a paycheck and instead be provided paid emergency time to relocate and recover from such devastating disasters as “an earthquake, flood, heat event, hurricane, severe blizzard, superstorm, tornado, tsunami, utility failure, volcanic explosion, or wildfire) with the potential to cause great damage or loss of life.”
That time would not count against existing benefits for companies with 50 or more employees and can be used to care for family members or address any injuries in the wake of a major natural disaster. Smaller businesses with 50 or fewer employees would be exempt from the legislation. It’s a start, and a damn good one at that.
Addressing worker safety as the climate crisis worsens events like these will only grow more crucial with time, which is why it’s essential that this bill be taken up immediately—especially given the fact that climate change affects us all. Speaking with Dr. Michael E. Mann, the climatologist said “there simply is not” a single place on Earth untouched by this crisis:
“Whether it’s the coastal threat from sea level rise and intensified storms, or epoch droughts, heat waves, wildfires and floods—from the tropics to the Arctic, no place is safe now from the devastating consequences of climate change. Only be getting off fossil fuels as quickly as possible can we prevent these events from getting worse.”
Sign the petition to President Biden: Declare climate an emergency under the National Emergencies Act.
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