The measure, which impacts about 10,000 people, requires city contractors to maintain a heat safety plan that provides outdoor workers with sanitized cool drinking water, regular hydration breaks, access to shaded areas or air conditioning, air conditioning in vehicles with closed cabs, and training on heat illness and first aid.
The revisions to the ordinance passed 7 to 0, though councilmembers Jim Waring and Debra Stark were absent. The expanded ordinance takes effect in May, but the requirement for vehicles to have air conditioning won’t start until May 1, 2025.
Employees at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport applauded the new heat-related measures. Workers for airport contractors complained to state workplace safety watchdogs about heat-related working conditions last summer.
“With a deadly summer heat around the corner, someone — our employer, the city or the airlines, whoever controls our workplace environment — needs to do the simple and humane thing and ensure all workers are safe from the heat,” Linda Ressler, a cabin cleaner at Sky Harbor with Prospect Airport Services, said at the council meeting before the vote.
Katelyn Parady, who works with health and safety issues in Phoenix for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, also praised the expanded ordinance.
“This is the first time in Arizona that we’ve seen rules on the books that establish exactly how employers have to protect workers from dangerous heat,” she told Phoenix New Times.
The new measures are similar to ones required by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health. But this ordinance mandates that the heat protections be included in city contracts, which allows city officials to investigate complaints and require compliance by contractors.
Filiberto Cordova — a truck driver for LSG Sky Chefs, which prepares and transports meals for Sky Harbor flights — told the council about the impact of working in the severe summer heat.
“We spend our days during the summer out there, many times under extreme heat, “ Cordova said. “I have an ailment in my feet. I start to think about whether I am going to be able to finish this shift … whether my body is going to be able to tolerate these temperatures.”
Linda Ressler spoke during a Sept. 6 press conference about the demands on cabin cleaners. They can spend as long as an hour working in a single cabin and often have to rush to the next plane with little time to stop for a drink of water, she said.
O'Hara Shipe
‘The heat at Sky Harbor is dangerous’
The expanded protections come as temperatures begin their slow climb to summer's triple digits. In 2023, the heat killed 645 people in Maricopa County — the highest fatality rate ever recorded.In 2023, Arizona recorded 73 days with temperatures above 100 degrees and broke a record when temperatures topped 110 for 31 consecutive days.
Cecilia Ortiz, a passenger service agent organizing with the Service Employees International Union, called on city contractors to take the expanded ordinance seriously.
“The heat at Sky Harbor Airport is dangerous, and all of us who work there know it,” Ortiz said during a press conference before the city council vote. “We are going to hold our employers accountable. They must take this ordinance seriously, so we can stay safe at work.”
Ortiz filed a heat complaint against airport contractor Prospect last summer.
Parady said the city ordinance applies to contractors and subcontractors whose employees are working outdoors, as well as some people in quasi-outdoor areas, such as jet bridges. But the ordinance doesn’t cover cabin cleaners due to jurisdictional issues with the Federal Aviation Administration, she added.
“Cabin cleaners are frontline safety and security personnel who work under brutally hot conditions on planes with AC turned off. They need these protections. I’m optimistic they’ll be able to be included in the future,” Parady said.
Prior to the vote, councilmembers advocated for adding more heat-related protections in the future.
“Extreme heat is our natural disaster,” Councilmember Yassamin Ansari said. “This ordinance is an important step. This ordinance should go farther.”
Ansari said some workers fear retaliation from their employer if they take breaks from the heat or feel sick.
“For all who have voiced support, this is your win,” she added.
Councilmember Laura Pastor also spoke about a need for an avenue for protecting workers from retaliation.
“We do not have specific retaliation language in the ordinance itself,” Pastor said. “It is our expectation that none of our contractors would retaliate against our workers should they complain.”
Councilmember Kesha Hodge Washington asked if the tarmac is covered by this ordinance.
“Ground workers would be covered by this ordinance,” said Assistant City Attorney Lori Bays. “It’s really the airplanes that are outside our jurisdiction."
