By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — For the first time, Arizona has requiring water, shade, and a place to rest on all outdoor job sites — a change advocates say was long overdue as workers labor in triple-digit temperatures.
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Workers describe extreme conditions
Aaron McDonald, apprenticeship coordinator for Ironworkers Local 75 in Phoenix, said workers on some structures face temperatures far beyond what thermometers read at ground level.
“You get up to the top of some of these structures that are galvanized roof deck. Not only am I getting that reflection all day long, but I’m going to add that structural heat to it. So we’re working in temperatures of 140 degrees at some point,” McDonald said.
McDonald has worked construction in Arizona’s extreme heat for more than two decades.
“Just get in your winter gear and go hang out in the sauna for about 20 minutes and then you’ll figure out what we’re going through in a day’s time,” he said.
McDonald said conditions on job sites did not always reflect the urgency needed to keep workers safe.
“You could go to the job site and water wouldn’t be provided,” McDonald said.
Tristen David, an apprentice ironworker, said the heat is felt from the moment the workday begins.
“Like the moment the sun comes up, you can start feeling the heat and you can start feeling the temperature rise,” David said. “It’s intimidating to start to do this type of job and be out there to do these things, but obviously over time and with the experience and the knowledge that they give us, working out in this heat does tend to become easier.”
Heat illness a recurring threat
McDonald said heat illness has affected workers even in recent weeks.
“I would say just the last couple of weeks at TSMC, we’ve had about four or five different ironworkers that have experienced some type of heat illness,” he said.
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He said the danger extends beyond discomfort.
“These guys are out here for 8, 10, 12 hours a day, something has to be done and we need to address the fact that they’re dying in Arizona because of the heat,” McDonald said.
New regulations and enforcement
Ironworkers Local 75 advocated for the rule changes alongside the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Union. The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as ADOSH, is the enforcement agency.
Contractors who do not comply now face individual citations that could cost tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
McDonald said the push for change came from workers who recognized the threat to their safety and livelihood.
“We all want to go home to our families the same as everybody else does. This is a threat to us as far as our livelihoods go, as far as us being able to work. We just hit that threat and we decided let’s go do something about it,” McDonald said.
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