We Are One Movement!

Subscribe

Inland Empire Labor Council , AFL-CIO

Celebrate the Golden Age of Labor at our COPE Gala, on February 28, 2026.

Tickets

IELC Attends CAL/OSHA Safety Series on Warehouse Hazards and Heat Illness Prevention

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

Spanish

Photo from Department of Industrial Relations.

On Friday September 27th, the IELC attended Cal/OSHA’s Safety Series Workshop on Warehouse Hazards and Heat Illness Prevention. It was very informative, and many workers and community organizations were present. There was a large amount of speakers, including:

  • David Wesley, Deputy Chief of Enforcement of Cal/OSHA
  • Randy Korgan, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 1932
  • Tim Shadix, Legal Director of Warehouse Worker Resource Center
  • Richelle Vasquez, UFCW 1428 member, Food4Less employee, and shop steward
  • David Hornung, Enforcement Senior Industrial Hygienist of Cal/OSHA
  • Lex Eaton, District Manager of Cal/OSHA’s High Hazard Unit South
  • Charlene Gloriani, Senior Safety Engineer of Cal/OSHA
  • Brandon Hart, Regional Manager of Cal/OSHA
  • Cynthia Sandoval, DIR CWOP Project Manager

As a brief overview of what was covered, Tim Shadix outlined the fight for heat protection for warehouse workers, with a reference to the following article being made: KQED | Rising Heat is Making Workers Sick.

Richelle Vasquez spoke about conditions in her workplace prior to heat protection. A stark story she told was about how it got so hot while restocking cooking materials like coconut oil and ghee, they were both completely liquefied! She went on to note the struggle workers took before a heat standard to implement one, and how they ultimately succeeded in forcing their employer to add an external cooling system and fans to their Food4Less location.

David Hornung went into the specific details behind the new Indoor Heat Standard, noting the differences and similarities between the Outdoor and Indoor laws. Hornung specified that consultation with Cal/OSHA regarding a safer workplace is available to both employers and employees for free, with information about consultations being provided here. He also noted that temperature is not the only metric to take into account for a heat standard but it must be measured in conjunction with the heat index. This is crucial because a temperature under the heat standard like 80 degrees, can cross into being above the heat standard at only 60% humidity. If an employee would like to file a formal complaint because they feel the Indoor Heat Standard law is not being respected, they can find information about the exact process at the following address: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/Complaint.htm

Lex Eaton and Charlene Gloriani presented on safety and health in warehousing/storage, noting that warehousing is one of the industries considered High Hazard due to their abnormally large amount of “Days away, restricted, or transferred” (DART) as a result of injury. It is determined by how many workplace injuries/illnesses resulted in employees being transferred to a different job, having their normal activity restricted, or being completely absent from work led. It’s the average number of cases that employees weren’t able to do their standard job because of injury or another incident in a given year. The average is around 1.5 in the private sector, whereas warehousing’s rate is over 6. Lex mentioned several tragic accidents that occurred in warehouses, including deaths and permanent injury.

In conclusion, the event was very informative and above all useful. Cal/OSHA is a key partner in making our workplaces safer, and scheduling workshops like this will be essential for understanding the complex laws that protect workers. Organizing for a safer workplace beyond the protections bound by law is necessary as this will be more attuned to specific workplace needs.

Links linked above:

More resources/information:

Pages: 1 2

,

From the blog

Translate »