As the storm hits vast parts of the US, outdoor workers are pushing for greater protections and compensation
Photograph: Smiley N Pool/APs millions of Americans around the country experienced the effects of a winter storm, thousands of workers in essential and emergency jobs had no choice but to work outdoors in blizzards and record low temperatures.were placed under winter weather alerts heading into Christmas weekend. Regions throughout the west and midwest were hit by record-breaking low temperatures. In the south, Florida experienced its coldest Christmas in decades.
Inclement winter weather poses a lot of risks and increases workloads for cell tower climbers to maintain and conduct repairs, said Ryan Dupal, a tower foreman and member of Tower Climbers Union /CWA. “The physical stress it does to you and your mentality when you go on to a site in frigid temperatures … It doesn’t even have to be -6F out. If it’s 20F out, a few hundred feet in the air the temperature is a lot different, and the windchill is a huge factor,” said Dupal. “All of that is really tough. It’s tough on your body, your lungs. Your joints ache more. If there’s any bare skin, there is possible tissue damage, and you don’t even realize it because you’re so busy until you get down.
He said there is significant pressure on workers to perform jobs through the worst weather, as they are not compensated for downtime if they don’t perform the work. Tower climbers are often away from home, staying in hotels near job sites, and employers will often find someone else to complete work on a tower in cases where a worker declines to work because of poor weather.
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