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) $ 67,486.08 1.42%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,407.69 1.83%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.998959 0.34%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 553.94 0.25%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 159.76 0.54%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.999676 0.15%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.50836 1.70%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,410.12 1.67%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.15515 5.41%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.163542 0.52%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.74 0.22%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.324605 2.70%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,869.08 0.53%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 67,637.12 0.80%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000017 0.18%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 22.86 1.32%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,408.88 1.75%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 332.97 1.92%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 10.26 4.21%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.993406 0.82%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.03 1.52%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 3.76 0.28%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 1.86 0.03%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 66.40 0.36%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 3.59 1.78%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,531.87 1.85%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 8.00 0.88%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.79 2.84%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000008 1.00%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.06 0.50%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.99956 0.23%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 418.08 2.48%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 160.84 2.86%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.12 0.08%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.18%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.091094 0.46%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 18.93 0.08%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 17.60 0.59%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.101437 6.80%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 0.992328 1.01%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 37.46 0.11%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.290439 3.87%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.45 1.06%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.32 0.19%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 1.98 1.78%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.070993 0.34%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 127.48 2.84%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.472012 1.10%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.552181 1.16%
celestia
Celestia (TIA) $ 4.33 3.43%