The IBEW's Safety and Health Department is applauding the Biden-Harris administration's recent efforts to further protect millions of workers in the U.S. from heat-related illness and death by pressing forward on the process to create a first-ever blanket federal heat safety standard.

"It's fantastic that the White House thinks enough of workers to push this issue into the spotlight," said Mark MacNichol, the department's director. "Every aspect of the IBEW has a heat safety concern."

In July, the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration formally proposed a federal rule requiring all employers to develop workplace heat hazard management plans that protect workers, including those who deal with equipment that can generate dangerous heat if proper cooling measures are not implemented.

"The administration came to workers on this," the Safety and Health Department said. "It's not just the IBEW celebrating this announcement; all of labor was involved with OSHA in crafting this proposed rule."

Between 2011 and 2022, the last year for which Bureau of Labor Statistics data were available, there were 479 work-related deaths in the U.S. caused by environmental heat exposure, plus tens of thousands of heat-related injuries over the same period. OSHA noted that those numbers could be much higher; injuries and illnesses in the U.S. are underreported, and heat-induced illnesses or deaths are often misclassified.

If finalized, the proposed OSHA rule would mandate such workplace cooling measures as water, shade and rest breaks, along with indoor heat control actions and protections for workers in high-heat conditions, indoors and out. Employers also would be required to have procedures for acclimatizing workers to heat and for responding when workers show symptoms of heat-related illness.

"Every worker should come home safe and healthy at the end of the day, which is why the Biden-Harris administration is taking this significant step to protect workers from the dangers posed by extreme heat," said Julie Su, the acting Secretary of Labor.

California, Washington and Minnesota have their own heat protection policies. For the rest of the country, OSHA historically has relied on its "general duty clause" to protect workers from heat hazards.

"Making heat safety a federal standard will be a real value," the Safety and Health Department said. "The issue will no longer have to be addressed from state to state."

Once finalized, OSHA predicts, the rule will affect about 36 million workers and could substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses and deaths in the workplace.

Under the federal rulemaking process, after OSHA's proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, the public will have several months to submit written comments on it.

That means the rule likely will not be finalized until sometime next year. International President Kenneth W. Cooper pointed out that whoever is in the White House then will have the power to decide whether the rulemaking process will be allowed to play out or be canceled before it can be completed.

"We're grateful that our friends in the Biden-Harris administration have consistently listened to working people and that they are taking major steps like this right now to protect all workers from getting sick or dying on the job because of heat," Cooper said.

A recent poll by Data for Progress showed that most likely voters, regardless of their political persuasion, worry about heat safety, too. The poll found that 84% said they are "somewhat or very concerned about workers facing extreme heat while at the workplace," the organization said.

In the meantime, the Safety and Health Department reminds IBEW members to "follow the chain of command" whenever they feel their safety is threatened, bringing such issues to the attention of their shop steward first.

Improving safety on the job for IBEW brothers and sisters across North America. Providing insight to legislative bodies and industry leaders. Aiding the Brotherhood in its organizing efforts.

Local unions do all those things when they use Form 173 to report accidents on the job to the International Office.

The number of local unions registered for the system used to report accidents increased by 11% in just more than one year, Safety Director Mark MacNichol said. It is available at ibew.org. Click on Safety & Health under the department listings.

But while he's pleased with that, MacNichol is encouraging more to step up. Only about 7% of all locals actually reported jobsite accidents during the past year, even though it is required by the IBEW Constitution (Article XV, Section 15, page 47).

"We learn from the incident," MacNichol said. "They are never released to an employer."

MacNichol said he is often asked by business managers and other local officials how other IBEW locals have handled a safety situation they are facing. That job is easier when they are filling out their accident reports.

"If we don't have reporting," he said, "we can't even help our own brothers and sisters."

That was part of the message MacNichol and others delivered at the first-ever Safety Conference, held earlier this year.

"When we are fighting for OSHA standards, for instance, the labor movement likes to cite actual instances where if we had this protection in place, this could have been mitigated," said Tarn Goelling, an international representative in the Safety Department. "Form 173 entries help us to inform during those times. We can draw on real-life scenarios that have occurred."

Goelling noted that employers are not required to turn in accident reports to the IBEW.

"The labor movement will sometimes ask workers to testify before Congress and other legislative bodies specifically about their personal experiences," she said. "The only way the IBEW can tap into those experiences is through Form 173."

Safety has been a foundation of the IBEW since its birth in 1891. Founder Henry Miller formed the Brotherhood because an inordinate amount of linemen were dying on the job while working with the new technology electricity.

It since has been a key part of all IBEW sectors. The Safety Department is having t-shirts made with the Miller quote: "to prevent accidents if each man learning the business should work under the jurisdiction of the brotherhood."

International President Kenneth W. Cooper said reporting accidents on the job is vital and reminds local unions of their constitutional mandate.

"Safety is a key to our organizing efforts," Cooper said. "Because of our ability to speak up, ask questions and talk about something that is unsafe on the job, IBEW members are safer than our nonunion counterparts. That has a lot of appeal when you're talking about the value of union membership."

MacNichol pledged that he, Goelling and Safety Department staff member Brittany Scroggins will continue to explore ways to make submitting reports easier for local unions.

The IBEW is a member of the National Safety Council, a leading nonprofit devoted to preventing injuries and death on the job. It often seeks out the IBEW for advice, MacNichol said.

The more accident reports the International Office has, the better information it can provide.