World

US House Democrat holds thirst strike to protest Texas water break law

2023.07.25 14:37

2/2

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Congressman-elect Greg Casar (D-TX) speaks at a congressional progressive caucus news conference at the AFL-CIO union headquarters in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy/File Photo

2/2

By Moira Warburton and Josephine Walker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Representative Greg Casar of Texas held a thirst strike at Congress on Tuesday to protest a new law signed by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott blocking local ordinances that mandate water breaks for workers.

Casar, whose district includes parts of Austin and San Antonio, Texas, said would not drink water for eight hours while standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building, as temperatures in Washington rise to almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C).

A day earlier, over 100 Democrats signed a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration, asking for federal workplace heat safety regulations.

“It’s challenging and it’s hot, but it’s not as hot as it is in Texas,” said Casar, who was sweating in the sweltering humidity. Temperatures in Casar’s district were expected to top 100°F (38°C) on Tuesday.

Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called Abbott’s bill “unreasonable, unconscionable and un-American.”

Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The legislation blocks cities from writing local rules that go further than state laws, an attempt by Texas Republicans to limit the ability of local Democratic lawmakers to enact their policies.

The cities of Houston and Austin have sued the Texas government over the bill set to take effect in September.

Jasmine Granillo, whose family successfully pressured the city of Dallas to implement mandatory water breaks in 2015 after her brother died of heat stroke while working a residential construction job, said Abbott’s bill “is chipping away what my family has fought for.”

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 98,394.36 0.24%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,424.12 2.19%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.02%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 256.95 1.63%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 664.65 2.59%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 1.47 4.07%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.438068 4.46%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.02%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 1.07 1.43%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,423.22 2.24%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.215288 3.49%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.588336 38.51%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 42.68 3.26%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 6.48 16.27%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000027 0.44%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 4,059.37 2.24%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 98,182.31 0.05%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 9.16 22.74%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 17.84 6.37%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 514.31 4.37%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 3,425.16 2.25%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 3.46 3.38%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000021 2.87%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 8.66 1.02%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 6.49 4.36%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 101.41 2.35%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 13.02 2.06%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 11.04 8.06%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,609.08 2.35%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.150903 0.97%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 11.78 7.97%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.199331 6.34%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.41%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.584942 12.57%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 30.22 3.65%
render-token
Render (RENDER) $ 7.97 2.63%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 539.68 4.49%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.52 16.00%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.154041 1.13%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.07%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.888577 9.74%
bonk
Bonk (BONK) $ 0.000048 5.64%
cosmos
Cosmos Hub (ATOM) $ 9.17 19.20%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 24.74 0.48%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 5.91 19.51%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.043319 7.76%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.01%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 3.73 2.27%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 3.34 0.29%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 54.74 10.55%