The wildfire smoke spreading across the United States and Canada shows the need for urgent action to protect workers from the ongoing effects of climate change.

As complaints of retaliation against whistleblowers skyrocket during the COVID-19 pandemic, safety advocates say workers’ lives are at risk due to a slow and inadequate response from the OSHA.

The family of a construction worker who died on the job last year was honored recently for becoming workplace safety activists in the wake of his death. At the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health (#COSHCON16) just outside Baltimore, Maryland, The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) recognized the sister and father of Roendy Granillo, who died from heat exhaustion during a heat wave in Dallas in July, 2015.

An effort to derail OSHA’s silica rule – which is expected to be finalized in February of 2016 – was defeated in the appropriations bill released by Congress this week.