When Hurricane Helene swept through the South in late September, the extreme rainfall sent rivers over their banks across the region, including in eastern Tennessee. And when the Nolichucky River flooded, workers at Impact Plastics a riverside factory in Erwin, Tennesse,, were still on the job. Eleven workers, most of them Latinx, were swept away in the floodwaters, and six were killed.
It’s a deadly example of a scenario that plays out routinely now in extreme weather events driven by climate change, where vulnerable workers who are often Black and Brown are stuck on the job even when weather alerts and local government guidance say that no one should be out and about due to the dangerous conditions. In Spain, where recent floods killed more than 200 people in Valencia, the left-wing government has a new solution to the sometimes deadly labor problem of extreme weather: national paid climate leave.
The new law provides four days of paid leave to workers in the event of a weather emergency, with the option for employers to add additional days with reduced hours if necessary too. Spanish labor minister Yolanda Díaz told the country’s public broadcaster, RTVE, that the law would make it so “no worker must run risks” in the event of a major storm or other weather-related disaster.
Extreme weather often highlights the stark and potentially deadly reality of who can afford to stay home when the weather turns dangerous.
In Valencia, where a foot of rain fell over parts of the city, workers of all stripes were stuck on the job during the flooding — from waiters at restaurants in a shopping center to white-collar employees trapped in office parks. Many employers reportedly told workers in Valencia that they had to stay on the job despite the national weather agency issuing a red alert due to the weather conditions (though companies say that alerts were sent out too late). In future storms when there are official warnings about dangerous conditions, “the worker must refrain from going to work,” labor minister Díaz said.
Such a simple idea, with the social safety net support to back it, isn’t even in the radar in the United States, however. Instead, extreme weather often highlights the stark and potentially deadly reality of who can afford to stay home when the weather turns dangerous.
During extreme heat, letter carriers, UPS drivers, and other delivery workers, many of whom are Black or Brown, have little respite from high temperatures. In 2023, a Black postal worker in North Texas died after collapsing on June day when the heat index hit 113, and the lack of air conditioning in UPS trucks has become a key labor issue for the Teamsters-back workforce.
In New York City, the current period of drought was preceded by a number of dramatically wet years. During major storms, the image of e-bike delivery drivers (many of whom are immigrants) wheeling takeout orders through flooded and otherwise impassable streets has become one of the enduring symbols of the labor imbalance of the climate crisis in the city.
But while seeing that workers are still making deliveries — or still on the clock manufacturing plastic while floods are rushing around them has generated outrage and frustration for some Americans — it has yet to spark any kind of legislative solution like Spain’s almost immediate response to the Valencia flooding.
