Behind every workplace injury or death is more than a number, it’s someone who went to work and didn’t come home the same, or at all.
This week in Phoenix, workers and advocates came together to remember them and to call for statewide protections, especially as extreme heat continues to put more people at risk.
“Every day, more than 340 workers die, and thousands more are injured or made sick from preventable hazards,” said Briona Parkinson, chair of the Maricopa Area Labor Federation, which unites smaller unions throughout the county.
A crowd gathered at a Phoenix union hall for Workers’ Memorial Day to remember those who died on the job.
“Behind every number is a person,” Parkinson said. “A mother, a father, a son or a daughter who never made it home. We're here to say one death is too many.”
In 2023, Arizona recorded 103 worker deaths.
According to Nile Bunger, climate justice director with the Arizona Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Advocates, it doesn’t end there. Families lose breadwinners, medical bills pile up, and, while some survive heat-related injuries, their lives are never the same.
“Yes,” she said, “having more access to water and shade is helpful, but also for companies to be held accountable if they are not providing those things.”
The Arizona AFL-CIO is a federation of 63 unions throughout the state. Executive Director Fred Yamashita said awareness isn’t the missing piece here; accountability is.
“Corporations are cutting corners,” said Yamashita. “Child labor laws are being rolled back. And efforts are underway to weaken the agencies that keep workers safe.”
In short, he said, worker protections are under attack.
“It's reported that a worker dies every 99 minutes,” Yamashita said. “Far too many workers die from preventable hazards.”
And in Arizona, there’s the added danger of extreme heat.
“The subject of heat has always been a topic of conversation at our dinner table,” said Jazmin Moreno-Dominguez, a community organizer with and representative of the Arizona Heat Coalition. “And the summer months have always been something that I have dreaded.”
Her father has worked for decades in Arizona construction. But there’s one specific day she says sticks out.
“When he came home,” she recalled, “he could barely stand. He was profusely sweating. He had to be helped into the home by his fellow colleagues. It took him a week to recover, but because he is a working man, he had to return to work the next week.”
And 10 years later, Moreno-Dominguez said her story still is not uncommon.
“So many brown, Black, specifically Indigenous families deal with this every single day. Clocking into work with conditions with no protections,” said Moreno-Dominguez. “No one should have to choose between a paycheck and their life. We know what needs to be done. We demand the courage to do it. Our workers deserve it.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Latinos face a disproportionate share of workplace fatalities, with foreign-born Latino workers accounting for roughly 8% of the employed U.S. workforce, but almost twice that (14%) share of work-related deaths in 2021.
Other BLS data shows Latinos as a whole, as well as Black and American Indian or Alaska Native workers, also face a disproportionate share of workplace deaths in Arizona and other states.
Katelyn Parady with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health said there’s no reason Arizona shouldn’t be leading the nation on heat protections.
And while some states have already taken action, Parady said, “the estimates are that at least 2,000 workers are killed by heat every year in the U.S. but really, the actual reports are an undercount because folks do fear retaliation.”
She added that ADOSH, the state OSHA branch, already has the power to propose protections for all indoor and outdoor workers without the Legislature.
The water, rest and shade breaks workers need to stay alive are non-negotiable according to Bunger, the regional climate justice advocate.
Even for jobs that might not immediately come to mind, like at Diamondback Stadium where, she said, “during the summer months, when they had to really push to get people to come, people have been passing out all the time in the parking lot trying to get people to, like, go to games and things like that.”
Which they said is exactly why it’s so critical for those that can speak up, to continue conversations about workers’ rights and extreme heat.
Because for many, Bunger said speaking up isn’t an option, like, “a lot of our individuals that might be working in immigrant communities or undocumented in general. Our unsheltered population. There's a lot of prison labor that happens where they don't have that right, unfortunately.”
As the summer approaches, Bunger said it’s going to take community action and sustained noise on these topics to keep the pressure on.
At the end of the day, Parady said no matter what’s on the table, “any health and safety standard, any heat standards should include really strong protections for worker voice and really strong anti retaliation protections.”
And she said there’s still time for Arizona to set the bar if leaders are willing to act.
