Heat Waves Make Restaurant Kitchens Unsafe. Workers Are Fighting Back. | Eater

"Workers at the Seattle-based sandwich chain successfully unionized and won contract language tying extra pay and concrete heat protections to in-store temperatures: time-and-a-half when store temperatures hit 82°F and double pay at 86°F, plus the right to clock out for extreme heat without facing discipline. Employees described aging buildings with poor air conditioning and large windows that turn stores into “big brick ovens,” and reported heat-related incidents including fainting and asthma attacks and staff resorting to breaks in walk-in freezers. The heat-pay clause has both provided immediate relief—some locations received 10–15 days of heat pay since the contract took effect in March—and pressured management to repair equipment; when AC failed this spring, workers received heat pay for several days and a technician arrived to fix the system. Organizers say the pay is a stopgap while they continue to push for reliable, year-round climate control and other mitigation measures like shade treatments and upgraded HVAC." - Frida Garza