Michael Reynolds, a member of UE Local 150, testified at a Heat Safety Town Hall last night about the struggles faced by city workers across the state working outside in the increasingly hot weather.
"This July, one of our UE150 union members in the Water Department in Durham passed out from heat exhaustion,” Reynolds told the town hall. “He was digging holes with a shovel to lay water lines for new construction. This same situation happens every summer with city workers in Durham and across the state." Reynolds works for the City of Durham in the General Services department.
The statewide town hall was organized by the Union of Southern Service Workers. Food service workers, city workers, laundry workers, airport workers and farmworkers from across the state all spoke out about the effects of rising temperatures due to climate change.
Watch the full video of Reynold’s testimony here.