For skilled trade workers in Wisconsin, enduring heat has long been part of the job, but two organized labor advocates say extreme summer temperatures are making long hours outdoors more dangerous.
They say record temps last year and rising highs this year are forcing construction workers and others in the skilled trades to navigate physically demanding work amid increasing health risks.
David Ortiz-Whittingham, Worker Justice Wisconsin’s construction organizer, said heat exposure is one of the industry’s most common hazards. A recent needs assessment conducted by the organization of over 50 workers in Dane County found roughly 60% had experienced or witnessed extreme heat on the job — much more often than hazards like falls or electrocution…