More Government Intervention To Kill Rightist Workers In Texas - Abbott's New Law About Drinking Water Outdoors

[Babu Razinajhan]

That's ole cripple Greg is doin' a great job trying to kill Texans.

Probably Republicans anyway.


Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a law overriding labor ordinances that
mandate water breaks for construction workers, during a week when many parts
of the state are reaching temperatures of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

House Bill 2127 was signed into law by Abbott on June 13 and is set to go
into effect on September 1. Both Austin and Dallas previously passed laws
ensuring construction workers received a 10-minute break for every 4 hours of
work. However, HB 2127 will require that cities and counties follow state
labor codes, as opposed to local codes, meaning that these laws, in addition
to many other local Texas labor ordinances, would be overturned on September
1.

Some supporters of the law argue that Texas’ patchwork of inconsistent local
ordinances has negatively impacted businesses. Opponents, however, worry that
it's a major setback for workers’ rights and that it'll be difficult to
obtain such protections again under the state’s conservative legislature.

“If you just address worker safety and do it in a consistent manner, then
that should be good for business,” Texas state Rep. Maria Luisa Flores (D-
Austin) told The Washington Post. “You don’t want your employees dying from
heat illness because that impacts your business. I think employers should be
some of the folks that are for worker protections.”

According to a lengthy joint study published by NPR and Columbia Journalism
Investigations (CJI), government data shows that Texas had the most deaths
due to high temperatures of any state between 2011 and 2021, with at least 53
on record. Now, with fewer breaks, some worry that the number will rise.